| The Dharma of Dragons and Daemons: Buddhist Themes in Modern Fantasy | 
 enlarge | List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $3.77
You Save: $11.18 (75%)
Buy New/Used from $3.77
Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 3 reviews)
Sales Rank: 231347
Category: Book
Author: David R. Loy
Publisher: Wisdom Publications
Studio: Wisdom Publications
Manufacturer: Wisdom Publications
Label: Wisdom Publications
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 155
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 0.5
ISBN: 0861714768
Dewey Decimal Number: 809.3876609382943
EAN: 9780861714766
ASIN: 0861714768
Publication Date: November 25, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
In the tradition of David Loy's cutting edge presentation of a Buddhist social theory in The Great Awakening, this pioneering work of Buddhist literary analysis offers ways of reading modern fantasy-genre fiction that illuminate both the stories themselves, and the universal qualities of Buddhist teachings.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Not for scholars November 27, 2005
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
As a graduate student specializing in religion I found this book wanting. If you're looking for a "soft" approach to finding spirituality in popular culture, then this book may be for you. Despite the autho'rs credentials this minimally researched book acts more as a stepping stone to creative thinking about identifying basic Buddhist concepts in fantasy writing than a serious attempt at scholarly inquiry. Often the connections are weak, but I commend Roy for his attempt because the field definitely needs more books that attend to Buddhist themes in popular culture. Instead, I would refer readers to the "Philosophy and XX" series that looks at specific movies/books such as The Matrix, The Lord of the Ring trilogy or The Simpsons.
 You don't have to be a Buddhist or a fanstasy reader October 2, 2005
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is an enjoyable ( and rare) look at Buddhist themes in Western literature. I picked it up for the section on the His Dark Materials trilogy, but was drawn into the section on Tolkien, and was introduced to several works I had never heard of. Just as a book does not need to be explicitly Buddhist to illustrate Buddhist concepts, you don't need to be a Buddhist-or a fantasy reader- to enjoy the literary and spiritual insights of this book.
The Dharma of Dragons and Daemons: Buddhist Themes in Modern November 15, 2004
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
The Dharma of Dragons and Daemons: Buddhist Themes in Modern Fantasy is a compilation of research examining the presence of Buddhist themes in popular books and movies. Traditionally, the main method of presenting mythology and legend was the oral tradition. Whether these stories were completely true, partially true, or completely fiction was not important to the purpose of the story as the aim of these tales was to reinforce particular culture specific themes, dichotomies, or expected behaviours.
Popular movies and books are the modern equivalent to oral story telling, Even if these stories are completely fiction, the contents of these works include mythological aspects, culture specific themes, dichotomies, or expected behaviours. Though many popular works largely contain traditional Christian themes such good versus evil and the end justifies the means, other traditional cultural themes are also sometimes present. Thus, with the intention of identifying traditional Buddhist themes, the authors have explored several popular works including the Lord of the Rings, Momo, and the Earthsea series.
The Dharma of Dragons and Daemons: Buddhist Themes in Modern Fantasy is a fascinating read. The studies contained in this book are complete, well researched, and explained in an easy to read fashion. Thus, this book will be equally enjoyed by anyone interested in popular culture, the student of Buddhism, or the researcher looking for information on religion themes in popular works.
|
|
|
