In the fifteenth century; the princess Chokyi Dronma was told by the leading spiritual masters of her time that she was the embodiment of the ancient Indian tantric deity Vajravarahi; known in Tibetan as Dorje Phagmo; the Thunderbolt Female Pig. After suffering a great personal tragedy; Chokyi Dronma renounced her royal status to become a nun; and; in turn; the tantric consort of three outstanding religious masters of her era. After her death; Chokyi Dronma's masters and disciples recognized a young girl as her reincarnation; the first in a long; powerful; and influential female lineage. Today; the twelfth Samding Dorje Phagmo leads the Samding monastery and is a high government cadre in the Tibet Autonomous Region.Hildegard Diemberger builds her book around the translation of the first biography of Chokyi Dronma recorded by her disciples in the wake of her death. The account reveals an extraordinary phenomenon: although it had been believed that women in Tibet were not allowed to obtain full ordination equivalent to monks; Chokyi Dronma not only persuaded one of the highest spiritual teachers of her era to give her full ordination but also established orders for other women practitioners and became so revered that she was officially recognized as one of two principal spiritual heirs to her main master.Diemberger offers a number of theoretical arguments about the importance of reincarnation in Tibetan society and religion; the role of biographies in establishing a lineage; the necessity for religious teachers to navigate complex networks of political and financial patronage; the cultural and social innovation linked to the revival of ancient Buddhist civilizations; and the role of women in Buddhism. Four introductory; stage-setting chapters precede the biography; and four concluding chapters discuss the establishment of the reincarnation lineage and the role of the current incarnation under the peculiarly contradictory communist system.
#1387853 in Books James E McWilliams 2007-11-26Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.88 x .70 x 6.06l; 1.14 #File Name: 0231129939400 pagesA Revolution in Eating How the Quest for Food Shaped America
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. chapter five focuses on how the upper middle colonies became the most successful in growing traditional crops due to expansive bBy ChloeThe text is introduced with a description of a colonial family’s daily chores and habits surrounding food. Chapter one looks at the growth of sugar plantations and slavery in the West Indies; and how the regional diet was influenced by West African foods that intertwined with native food culture. Chapter two contrasts this with New England where garden farming and self sufficiency existed; resembling traditional English farming that adapted to new crops. Chapter three shows how the middle colonies combined both elements of cash crop and sustenance farming. Chapter four highlights the Southern colonies and how planters focused on cultivating a cash crop that became rice. Relying on specialization of slave labor; including livestock care; food way influences from slaves developed a culinary culture that abandoned English ones. In contrast; chapter five focuses on how the upper middle colonies became the most successful in growing traditional crops due to expansive back country and better cooperation with the native tribes that; coupled with the influences of non-English settlers; diversified markets; industries; and food choices. Covered in chapter six; the change of attitudes about food and the interest of maintaining cultural hegemony with England altered regional divisions of food ways into integrated ones. This was aided by alcohol consumption; as McWilliams explains in chapter 7; where; especially Rum; facilitated trade and exchange of culture between the colonies. However; alcohol was detrimental to Native American culture and power. Finally in chapter eight; after the Revolution; Americans looked to redefine themselves through food by embracing and defending a “frontier†diet that embodied “simple republicanism†removed from European decadence.I would suggest this book to anyone interested in the development of culinary culture in the United States; especially in regards to the influences of Slavery and Native Americans. My only critiques are the repetition of detailed recipes; especially in the section of chapter three about William Byrd’s dietary selection. Otherwise McWilliams shows how regional developments of food shaped national identity.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The sources he uses for these formative years in Colonial America are in great abundance and range from the journals of colonistBy CustomerReview of A Revolution in EatingJames McWilliams’s book A Revolution in Eating very articulately uses the Anglicization model to depict the evolution of colonial American edibles and the process of production. The first half of the book consists of chapters that detail the specific food culture of particular British American colonies or regions; such as the Chesapeake Bay region (Chapter 3); the middle colonies (Chapter 5); and New England (Chapter 2). The sources he uses for these formative years in Colonial America are in great abundance and range from the journals of colonist John Winthrop to modern peer reviewed articles; all of which can be seen in the extensive endnotes(319; to be exact) at the end of his book(granted; the lack of associated superscript in the book’s text makes it much harder to find what you are looking for). Partially evident by his regional division; and in line with the Anglicization theory; McWilliam’s argues that the American colonies first developed unique food cultures that were distinct both from England and the other colonies. Once he has gone though his overview of distinct colonial American food ways; he artfully pulls all the regions together and depicts how; as the American Revolution neared; the colonies became more like their British masters and more like one another. Starting in Chapter 6; McWilliams makes ample use of period cookbooks and often details how colonial products were made to detail how the Colonies were becoming Anglicized. For the layman reader; these historic recipes are just as insightful for McWilliam’s overarching thesis as they are a quaint pleasure to read.. He argues that rum; for example; “…might be called the first genuine colonial productâ€(pg. 264) and there is satisfaction in knowing how an important piece of Americana was manufactured. The book concludes by devoting a chapter to post-revolutionary American food and how the trend towards simplicity. Like the rest of this book it is full of delectable quotes; descriptions; and recipes that manage to be both scholarly and entertaining.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy tom waltmanThis book is awesome. Great historical read.
