Rising from Shanxi Province like a three-dimensional mandala; the soaring peaks of Wutai Shan (""Five-terrace Mountain"") have inspired pilgrims and travelers for almost two millennia. A striking terrain of towering emerald forests; wraith-like mists and crenellated ridges; this consecrated and secluded site is said to be the spiritual home of Wenshu Pusa; Bodhisattva of Wisdom. It is one of the most venerable and important Buddhist sanctuaries in China; yet still remains relatively little known in the West. Christoph Baumer has traveled extensively in the Wutai Shan region; and here offers the first comprehensive account of the cradle of Chinese Buddhism. In his remarkable new travelogue; 300 luminous photographs capture the unique spirituality of the 60 monasteries which straddle the complex. Charting festivals; rituals; pilgrimages; and the daily life of the monks; abbots; and abbesses; China's Holy Mountain is both a splendid introduction to the history of Buddhism in East Asia and an evocative and lavishly-illustrated gazetteer of the monasteries and sacred artifacts themselves. It will be an indispensable resource for students of Asian religion and philosophy; with further appeal to general readers.
#1540394 in Books 2010-02-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 10.25 x .25 x 7.50l; .50 #File Name: 184797140764 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. For collectors and history buffs...By HMS Warspite"Modern British Webbing Equipment"; part of the Europa Militaria Series; is a short (64 page) handbook on the personal load carrying equipment (PLCE) of the British Army. It is designed to allow collectors to identify and appreciate individual items of equipment; but it should also be of interest to students of the British Army. The book offers a short but detailed history of the transition from the 1958 cotton canvas-based webbing equipment to the more durable nylon-based PLCE. The transition was likely long overdue; but the Army's unhappy experience with the older equipment in the wet-cold environment of the 1982 Falklands War put paid to it. The modern webbing has much in common with similar systems evolved by the U.S. Army after its warm wet experience in Vietnam. The very readable text is much enhanced by an extensive selection of photographs. Recommended.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. One of the best of its kind.By G. Bear DrurySimon Howlett's follow-up to his previous book; Modern British Webbing Equipment (Europa Militaria No. 33) is a well written; well researched book. It chronicles the steps taken by the British War Ministry to improve the basic soldier's load bearing equipment based on the shortcomings uncovered during the Falklands Islands War.While the Pattern 58 gear covered in his previous book was a huge improvement over the earlier Pattern 37 and Pattern 44 gear; the tactics of the modern battlefield called for load bearing equipment that was a bit more flexible in use.Howlett covers the improvements by showing them along with the advances in the soldier's individual weapons systems. Both high quality photographs and detailed descriptions make this book a wealth of information for both the novice and advanced webgear enthusiast.Howletts also devotes adequate space for information aimed towards the novice gear collector on good ways to get started.A must have book for any modern LBE collector or enthusiast. Now if only someone of Howlett's expertise would produce books of this quality about post 1970s US and German LBE.The only annoyance I found with this book are the constant photo captions assuring us that all ammunition in the photos are non-functioning dummy rounds. They're PHOTOGRAPHS for Pete's sake. Who really cares if it's live ammo or not? Or is there some sort of arcane British law that makes it unlawful to photograph real ammunition?0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. PLCEBy Frank E. RimkusSince I have put together the PLCE webbing for personal use; I needed to find out the history and evolution of the webbing to its use in Iraq and Afghanistan. Great photos and care in descriptions.
