By setting traditions and thinkers such as Zoroaster, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Gautama Buddha, Confucius, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle side by side, we are able to see more clearly the questions with which they struggled, their similarities and differences, and how their ideas have influenced religious thought down to our day.

The Age of the Sages

Religion & Spirituality

Mark W. Muesse

Other Eastern Religions & Sacred Texts

Fortress Press

Great World Religions: Hinduism

DVD- This course contains 2 DVDs and 1 paperback course guide.

The Teaching Company

Religions of the Axial Age: An Approach to the World's Religions

These 24 extraordinary lectures offer you the rare opportunity to relate your own spiritual questions to a variety of ancient quests for meaning and transcendence. Professor Muesse looks at the historical conditions in which the world religions arose and explores how they answered shared metaphysical and human dilemmas. The Axial Age - a pivotal era between 800 and 200 B.C.E. - saw the rise of many of the world's religions in Iran, South Asia, and China. On this stirring journey, you'll learn about the rise of Zoroastrianism in Persia (now Iran); Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism on the Indian subcontinent; and Confucianism and Daoism in China. You'll also see how these religions compare, contrast, and contribute to contemporary Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Through sacred texts, modern scholarship, and thoughts arising from his own personal experiences, Professor Muesse reveals what it meant to be a conscious, morally responsible individual in the Axial Age. You'll enjoy a ringside seat as each founding sage wrestles with moral accountability, the nature of self and ultimate reality, good versus evil, suffering and transcendence - all topics that still puzzle us today.

History

Teaching Company

The first classics in human history-the early works of literature, philosophy, and theology to which we have returned throughout the ages-appeared in the middle centuries of the first millennium bce. The canonical texts of the Hebrew scriptures, the philosophical writings of Plato and Aristotle, the Analects of Confucius and the Daodejing, the Bhagavad Gita and the teachings of the Buddha-all of these works came down to us from the compressed period of history that Karl Jaspers memorably named the Axial Age.

Teaching Company, LLC

No understanding of human life could be complete without factoring in the role and contribution of four history-shaping teachers: Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad. These 36 lectures take you deep into the life stories and legacies of these four iconic figures, revealing the core, original teachings, and thoughts of each, and shedding light on the historical processes that underlie their enduring impact. First, in their presentation of the vital wisdom of each sage, these lectures offer you the chance to reflect in depth on the most essential values of spirituality and the art of living, seen from four archetypal perspectives. Second, these lectures provide far-reaching insight into the historical contexts and individual lives of the four sages, and how the religious and philosophical traditions we associate them with came into being. The lectures serve as a unique window on the origins of these traditions, through their focus on the teachings, actions, and historical roles of the sages who inspired them. In uncovering the original wisdom and practices of each sage, you'll grapple with these key questions: How did each man understand the nature of the universe and ultimate reality? How did each envision the human self and the matter of human fulfillment? What moral and ethical principles did each advocate, and why? What spiritual disciplines did each practice and teach as a means of self-realization? What do texts like the Confucian Analects, the Buddhist Pali Canon, the Gospels, and the Hadith of Islam reveal about the movements these individuals inspired? In words reflecting profound and compassionate insight, these lectures bring the teachings vividly to life as they speak to their essential purpose - as a guide to the realities, challenges, and possibilities of life - and as they shed light on the choices we all face in living deliberately and savoring life to the fullest.

Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad

The Great Courses/ The Teaching Company

A three-part set including the printed Course Guidebook and two DVDs, each containing 6 30-minute lectures for a total of 12 lectures. Course No. 1933. Professor Mark W. Muesse is the W. J Millard Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Asian Studies Program at Rhodes College. A member of the American Academy of Religion, he previously held teaching positions at Harvard College and Harvard Divinity School. Professor Muesse's effective and motivational teaching style earned him the Clarence Day Award for Outstanding Teaching - Rhodes College's highest faculty honor.

Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Alternative Medicine

Meditation - the technique of mental focusing for enhanced awareness and self-mastery - offers deep and lasting benefits for mental functioning and emotional health, as well as for physical health and well-being. This practice is closely related to "mindfulness," which Professor Muesse defines as "a deliberate way of paying attention to what is occurring within oneself as it is happening. It is the process of attentively observing your experience as it unfolds, without judgment or evaluation." "Meditation," he adds, "refers to certain exercises that can be used to enlarge and refine mindfulness." Meditation cultivates mindfulness by training you to develop deep attention to the present moment, allowing the mind to become settled and centered. These 24 detailed lectures teach you the principles and techniques of sitting meditation, the related practice of walking meditation, and the highly beneficial use of meditative awareness in many important activities, including eating and driving. You will also learn how to use the skills of meditation in working with thoughts and emotional states, in deepening sensory awareness of the body, and in becoming deeply attentive to the operation of your mind. You'll come away with a solid basis for your own meditation practice and for bringing meditation's remarkable and empowering benefits to every aspect of your life.

The Great Courses

Getting to Know Hinduism

Aleph Book Company

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mark W. Muesse. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Mark W. Muesse

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mark W. Muesse. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Age of the Sages

Great World Religions: Hinduism

Religions of the Axial Age: An Approach to the World's Religions

Religions of the Axial Age: An Approach to the World's Religions

Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad

Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation

Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation

Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation

Getting to Know Hinduism

Great World Religions: Hinduism