Yoshida Kenko's Essays in Idleness is a collection of his thoughts on his inner world and the world of Japanese life in the fourteenth century. He touched on topics as diverse as the benefits of the simple life ("There is indeed none but the complete hermit who leads a desirable life"), solitude ("I am happiest when I have nothing to distract me and I am completely alone"), lust ("What a weakly thing is this heart of ours"), the impermanence of this world ("Truly the beauty of life is its ...

'I have relinquished all that ties me to the world, but the one thing that still haunts me is the beauty of the sky'These simple, inspiring writings by three medieval Buddhist monks offer peace and wisdom amid the world's uncertainties, and are an invitation to relinquish earthly desires and instead taste life in the moment.One of twenty new books in the bestselling Penguin Great Ideas series. This new selection showcases a diverse list of thinkers...

These two works on life's fleeting pleasures are by Buddhist monks from medieval Japan, but each shows a different world-view. In the short memoir Hôjôki, Chômei recounts his decision to withdraw from worldly affairs and live as a hermit in a tiny hut in the mountains, contemplating the impermanence of human existence. Kenko, however, displays a fascination with more earthy matters in his collection of anecdotes, advice and observations. From ribald stories of drunken monks to ach...

Essays in Idleness by Yoshida Kenkō is one of the most treasured works of classical Japanese literature, a timeless collection of reflections that captures the beauty, simplicity, and fleeting nature of life. Written in the fourteenth century by the Buddhist monk and courtier Yoshida Kenkō, this remarkable work offers a series of short observations and meditations on human experience, nature, culture, and the passing of time. Composed of brief and often contemplative passages, the book inv...

This book gathers contributions from a multidisciplinary research team comprised of control engineering and economics researchers and formed to address a central interdisciplinary social issue, namely economically enabled energy management. The book’s primary focus is on achieving optimal energy management that is viable from both an engineering and economic standpoint. In addition to the theoretical results and techniques presented, several chapters highlight experimental case studies, wh...

A new translation of the idiosyncratic diary of a C10 court lady in Heian Japan. Along with the TALE OF GENJI, this is one of the major Japanese Classics.

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu is widely considered the world's first novel and one of the greatest achievements in global literature. Written in 11th-century Japan, this richly detailed narrative explores court life, romance, aesthetics, and impermanence through the life of Prince Genji. Elegant, introspective, and emotionally complex, the novel offers deep psychological insight and cultural richness. A cornerstone of Japanese literature and world classics, this work is es...

The acknowledged masterpiece of Japanese literature, Murasaki's great 11th century novel is a beautifully crafted story of love, betrayal and death at the Imperial Court.At the core of this epic is Prince Genji, the son of an emperor, whose passionate character, love affairs and shifting political fortunes, offer an exquisite glimpse of the golden age of Japan. Royal Tyler's superb new translation is scrupulously true to the Japanese original but appeals immediately to the modern r...

**The world’s first novel, in a translation that is “likely to be the definitive edition . . . for many years to come” (The Wall Street Journal)A Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, with flaps and deckle-edged paper**Written in the eleventh century, this exquisite portrait of courtly life in medieval Japan is widely celebrated as the world’s first novel. Genji, the Shining Prince, is the son of an emperor. He is a passionate character whose tempestuous nature, family ...

Cambodia is a long way from Germany - thousands of miles, as it turns out. And in between are some of the world's highest mountains, most inhospitable deserts and least welcoming countries. Trying to make the journey overland was always going to be difficult. But one group of twenty-somethings, bored with the predictable wanderings of the backpacker generation, thought they'd spice things up a little. They would go by car. The worst car in the world. The infamous Soviet-era Trabant. This w...

Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS (19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia, Africa and the Americas, as well as his extraordinary knowledge of languages and cultures. According to one count, he spoke 29 European, Asian and African languages. Motivated by his love of adventur...

The American TeacherTwo months after 9/11, an American teacher arrives in Muscat with little more than a contract and a suitcase.What follows is a year that changes him forever. And changes everything he thinks he knows about Muslims, the Middle East and the world.DiscoveryThrown into an Arabian kingdom still half a step from the Middle Ages, he discovers a world most outsiders never see — modern cities and exotic cultures, ...