Rooted in the Buddhist teaching of the bardo − states of ‘in-between’ − the text offers a way to understand death, life and transformation as deeply intertwined.
Articles on Ancient wisdom
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‘Apocrypha’ means ‘hidden’ in Greek, but it is often used to describe texts that are outside the official biblical canon.
The Kalevala, a poetic epic filled with myth, reflects the shared roots between Finnish and Karelian cultures.
The Christian apocrypha, texts not included in the Bible, include stories of Jesus’ female followers – including St. Thecla.
Two main groups of followers are fighting over the real meaning of ‘tantra’. But in fact they have a lot to learn from one another.
If you’re overworked, skipping gym and drinking too much – fret not. People had the same concerns some 2000 years ago.
The Book of Job and ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ both make fun of preachy know-it-alls and resist conventions of their genres.
In religious traditions, patience is more than waiting, or even more than enduring a hardship. But what does patience look like? And when should we not exercise patience?
Faith and reason are often treated as opposites. But some philosophers believe they can only strengthen each other, including the Jewish sage Maimonides, who wrote the famous ‘Guide to the Perplexed.’
Stoicism isn’t just a set of ideas; it’s meant to be put into practice. The ancient philosophy is finding new fans through online communities.
Advanced artificial intelligence is new, but a similar idea has been around for hundreds of years: the power of a just-right sequence of numbers, letters or elements to animate matter.
There is a long tradition in China of associating monkeys with the mind – symbolism that has helped the novel’s most memorable character, the Monkey King, find universal resonance.
People sometimes assume religious traditions’ ideas about gender have always been conservative and unchanging.
Female characters in Greek mythology lived under strict patriarchal rules, but they spoke truth to power and resisted injustice.
A scholar of ancient Greek philosophy writes about Aristotle’s timeless advice on how to nurture and keep friendships.
The ancient Chinese text is considered a military classic, but Western readers often overlook its philosophical roots.
Lucian’s work provides insight into the second-century Roman world, which fostered multilingualism and multiculturalism.
Top contributors
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Associate Professor of Christianity, University of Denver
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Assistant Professor, University of North Georgia; Non-resident Fellow, Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, University of North Georgia
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Associate Teaching Professor, Arizona State University
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Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Northeastern University
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Visiting Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Oklahoma State University
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Associate Professor of Classics and Digital Humanities, University of Florida
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Adjunct fellow, Department of Philosophy, Macquarie University
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Associate Professor of Judaic Studies, Binghamton University, State University of New York
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Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History, The University of Western Australia
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Associate Professor of Chinese Studies, College of the Holy Cross
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Professor of Religious Studies, Indiana University
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Associate Teaching Professor of English, Florida International University
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Associate Professor of Classical Studies, Tufts University
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Professor of Scandinavian Studies, Folklore, and Religious Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Associate Professor of Ancient Greek Philosophy, Michigan State University