Eric Lee

UWRT 1102
Annotated Bibliography
1. Krakauer,Jon.IntotheWild.NewYork:Anchor,1997.Print.

JonKrakauerisanAmericanwriter/journalistthatisprimarilyknowntowriteabout
nature.AfterbeingborninMassachusettsandgraduatingfromHampshireCollege,he
beganmountaineeringinwhichheisbestknownforhisvoyageonhisclimbofEverest
duringthe1996MountEverestdisaster.HismostpopularbooksareIntoTheWild,Into
ThinAir,UndertheBannerofHeavenandWhereMenWinGlory:TheOdysseyofPat
Tillman.
IntotheWildisabookaboutamannamedChristopherMcCandlessthatwentbythe
nameofAlexanderSupertramp.McCandlessdecidestotravelthroughvariouspartsof
Americainordertoescapetheboundariesofsocietyandtofind"Whoarewe?Whereare
we?"Throughouthistravels,hefindscompanions,thatinhisopinionmaynotabideby
socialconstrictsaspeoplesuchashisparentsdid.ThisleadtoMcCandless'ultimatumof
realizingthat"happinessonlyrealwhenshared."
ThisarticleaccordswiththeaspectofNirvanaofwhichpeopleremovethemselvesfrom
anythingthatistoxictotheirstillnessofmind.Ultimately,theteachingsofNirvana
wouldbringtruehappinessofwhichnothingbothersnordisruptsthemindofpeace.
McCandlessisasuperbexampleofpeaceofmind,anepitomeofNirvana.

Reflection
ChrisMcCandlessopinionofsocietydirectlycorrelatedtotheteachingsofNirvana.To
attainNirvanameanstogetridofalldistractionsinordertocreateanundefeatable
stillnessofmind.McCandless,inhissituationremovedhimselfofsocietybyburninghis
money,leavinghiscarbehind,andleavingbehindhisfamily.Nirvanaalsohasasimilar
beliefthattechnologyandsocietycanbeaformofadistraction,animpuritywhichcan
disturbthestillnessofmind.
InIntotheWild,KrakauernotonlytalksaboutMcCandless,whoisasuperbexampleof
onethatisonajourneytoattainNirvana,butalsoGeneRosellini,JohnWaterman,Carl
McCunn,andEverettRuess,thatallhadsimilarquotasasChristopherMcCandless.The
imageofNirvanaisdesiredbyavastpopulationoftheEartheithertheyareawareof
whatitisoracceptwhatitis.ThiscorrelationofNirvanashowshowcloselypeoples
beliefsoflifecanbetoitandalsogiveaprogressionofidealsthatcanbepassedon
throughouthistory.AsKrakauertellsusaboutthesefellowtravelers,theirindividual
storiestweakalittleacrossthelineandtheiridealsalsodivergeandconvergeatacertain
pointwhichbringstheultimateconclusionthatthereisanunderlyingpower/motivation
thatpushesthemtotakeactionsastheydid.
SomeofthenovelwasbasedonKrakauersinterpretationbuttheunderlyingstoryand
quotationswereverbatimfromMcCandlessjournalandasavisionaryandmemoryfrom

thosewhowereclosetohim.Asthoughtheinformationprovidedfromthenovelisvery
generalizedintothetopicofNirvana,thereisstilladirectcorrelationbetweenthetwo.
AlthoughthisnovelwasamemorialforChristopherMcCandless,thisbookisalsoa
warningandarevelationforthosewhoread.Itisintendedforpeoplewithmaturitybut
itsthemeandmessagecanbeappliedtoallagesandinmanyways.Therearealsomany
interpretationsandmanymessagesforthethemeandultimatumofthemovie.While
watchingandreadingIntotheWild,manythingscametomindsuchastheimportanceof
hishappinessandtheMcCandlessconnectionofsocietytopoison.McCandlessbecame
acornerstonetoadventuretosomeandawarningofdeathtootherswhilebecominga
memoryheldclosetothepeople.

2.Grinstead,EricD.TheTangutTripitaka.Delhi:Mrs.DharadaRani,n.d.Print.

TherealauthorofTheTripitakaisunknownandwastranslated(broughttogether)by
EricGrinstead,whoisasinologistandatangutologistwhospecializesinthetranscription
ofTangutscripts.TheTangutTripitakaisknowntobethe"BuddhistBible."
Althoughitdoesnotcontainstrictcommandsassuchinthebible,ittellsusofgateways
toachieveenlightenment,otherwiseknownasNirvana.Ittellsusofthebasisofthe
idealsofBuddhismincludingbirth,life,death,andrebirth.AllofthethingsstatedinThe
TangutTripitakaareveryimplicitandmaynotbetranslatedinthemostoptimalway.
ThisscriptrelatestomytopicbecauseittellsusofthenatureofNirvanaalongwithits
rootsandendings.ItallowedmetoattainabetterunderstandingofNirvana.

Reflection
TheTangutTripitakaisoneoftheoldestcollectionsofBuddhistwritingsthat
tellsusoftheteachingsofBuddhism.TheTangutTripitakatranslatestoTheThree
Baskets,whichisananalogyforthethreemainteachingsofBuddhism,karma,
reincarnation,andimpermanence.Thisinformationisreallyimportanttomyresearch
becauseitgivesusinsightinthetruebeliefsofBuddhismincomparisontoaskewered
moderndayidealofNirvana.
IbelievethatthistextisexclusivelyforBuddhistsasitrefersonlyofBuddhistteachings.
Thetexttalksaboutotherreligionsandtheircorruptionandbringslogicintotheirbelief
ofthethreeteachings.Eachportionofthetexttalksabouteachofthethreeteachingsand
tellsthereaderhowtofollowuptothem.Itistomybeliefthatthistextisveryuseful
becauseitbringstheviewpointsofextremelydevoutBuddhists,ofwhoseteachingsare
reveredbyamajorityofBuddhistfollowersandrenouncedtobeoneofthecornerstones
totheirregime.
ThereissomeaberrancethatmayexistintheinformationgivenfromTheTangut
Tripitakathough.Ergoitisanoriginalscript,itwaspassedthroughgenerationsthrougha
formofspeech,whetheritbeaspeechorappraisal,asitmayhavebeenchangeddueto
thenearimpossibilityofverbatimofsuchalongscript.

3.V,Jayaram."TheConceptofLiberation,MokshaorNirvana."TheConceptof
Liberation,MokshaorNirvana.Hinduwebsite,n.d.Web.

JayaramVisaleadingphilosopher,mysticandaspiritualistwithinIndianreligions.
Jayaramhaswrittenamultipleofbooksthatrevolvearoundreligionandhundredsof
articles.GrowingupasanenthusiastofBuddhism,Jayaramisnowawellknown
communicatorandfollowerofthereligion.
Reflection
ThisarticlecoversthecorerequisitesforattainingNirvana.Jayaramtalksabout
whatittrulymeanstohavegonethroughNirvanabecausehehimselfclaimedtohave
hadhisinnerawakeningattheageof22andbegantoindulgehimselfinBuddhismever
since.JayaramswordstellusabouttheideologyofBuddhismandNirvanain
comparisontootherreligionsandelaboratesonthedifferencesbetweenotherreligions
andconnotationsofNirvana.Althoughthisinformationmaybemorepersonalized
towardJayaramsviews,theydoexplicitlyshowitsrelevancewithinthematerial.He
alsotalksabouthisworksasifheistalkingtobothnewcomersandpractitionersof
BuddhismwhichallowsbetterunderstandingofNirvana.
4.Tweed,ThomasA.TheAmericanEncounterwithBuddhism:18441912:
VictorianCultureandtheLimitsofDissent.Bloomington:IndianaUP,1992.Print.
ThomasTweedisareligiousstudiesprofessoratUniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapel
Hill.TweedattainedhisPh.D.atStanfordUniversityandM.T.D.atHarvardUniversity
andisnowanassociatedeanofUNCatChapelHill.Hisbook,TheAmericanEncounter
withBuddhism:18441912:VictorianCultureandtheLimitsofDissentwonthe
AmericanAcademyofReligionsbookaward.TweedtellsusthatBuddhism,unlike
manyotherreligionsretainsmanyofitsvaluesthroughouttimeandlocation.As
BuddhismintegratedintoAmerica,thepeopleretaineditsintegrity.Healsotellsusof
howBuddhismisimpactingAmericamoreandmore.Thiscanbeintegratedintomy
paperbecauseofChrismindsetalsogoesalongthesideofAmericanizedBuddhism.
Reflection
Thistextgivesusaninsightoftherevolutionizedidealsthatwereintegratedfrom
Chinaduringthe19thcentury.Therearemanypoliticalaffairsthataretoldaboutwithin
thebookthatarebasedaroundBuddhistidealsbecauseofthedifferenceofthought.
Althoughthisbookmainlyfocusesonitsintegration,itshowsustheslowassimilationof
ideologywhichbringsustoassumethatBuddhismcanbeanaturalstateofmindthat
everyonecanachievebecauseslowlybutsurely,thedifferencesofpoliticscanbeseen.
5.Kung,Hans."ChristianityandtheWorldReligionspathsofDialoguewith
Islam,Hinduism,andBuddhism."288241(1998):n.pag.NTU.Web.
HansKungisaSwissCatholicPriestthatisthepresidentoftheFoundationforaGlobal
Ethic.Kungiswellknownforhisrejectionofthedoctrineofpapalinfallibility,whichis
thepetrinesupremacyofthepope.Duetothis,KunghadtoleavetheCatholicfacultybut

remainsaprofessorteachingecumenicaltheology.Kunghasbeenreveredtostudymany
otherreligionsincludingBuddhismandHinduismandhaswrittenmanyarticles
comparingthem.
Reflection
InthebookChristianityandtheWorldReligions,Kungtalksabouthow
Christianitycanbeseenwithinmanyreligions,includingBuddhism,Hinduism,and
Islam.Thishelpsusunderstandtherootsofreligionandthegoalsofeachreligion.This
isimportantbecausewemustfullygrasptheconceptthateachofthesereligionaimto
achievepeacethroughdeathwhetheritmaybethroughgodorthroughNirvana.Kung
tellsusthateachindividualhavetherighttoendtheirownlives,whichisvisiblewithin
eachexceptChristianity.Kungtellsusthattherearedistinctdifferenceswithineach
religionthatareveryimportantbecausetheygivetheindividualityofbelief.
6.Paul,DianaY.,andFrancesWilson.WomeninBuddhism:Imagesofthe
FeminineinMahayanaTradition.Berkeley:UofCalifornia,1985.Print.
DianaPaulisagraduateoftheUniversityofWisconsinMadisonwithaPh.Din
BuddhistStudies.DianaPaulisaprofessoratStanfordUniversityandisfamousfor
makingmixedmediaart.Dianasbooktellsusofthediscrepanciesfoundwithin
Buddhisttextswithineachdivision.ThereisamajordownsizeofwomeninBuddhism
whichiscommonlyfoundinamajorityofreligions.
Reflection
AccordingtoBuddhistteachings,womencannotachieveNirvana.Thereare
manystrictteachingsofthiswithinmostcategoriesofBuddhism.Thisshowsusthat
thereismuchbiasinreligion.Dianadoesntonlytalkabouttheinabilityforwomento
reachNirvanabutalsothephilosophyofBuddhism.Thewayofthinkingalongwiththe
stateofmindthateacharebornwitharecompletelydifferent.Thiscanbeseenthrough
McCandlesssister,whogrewunderthesamesituationsyetwithcompletelydifferent
mindsets.