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CONTENTS ix Preface xv Acknowledgements xvii Timeline 1 Introduction: What Was the Axial Age? Part I. Part I. West Asia West Asia 9 1. The Noble Ones 21 2. The Life of Zoroaster 27 3. Zoroaster’s Legacy Part II. Part II. South Asia South Asia 39 4. South Asia before the Axial Age 49 5. The Start of the Indian Axial Age 59 6. Death and Rebirth 67 7. The Quest for Liberation 75 8. The Vedantic Solution 85 9. The One and the Many 97 10. The Life of Siddhattha Gotama 107 11. “I Am Awake” 115 12. Why We Suffer 123 13. The Noble Path 133 14. From Buddha to Buddhism 143 15. Jainism Part III. Part III. East Asia East Asia 155 16. East Asia before the Axial Age 165 17. The World of Confucius 175 18. The Foundations of Confucianism 185 19. The Cultivation of Virtue 193 20. Early Confucianism and the Rise of Daoism vii 203 21. The Daodejing 213 22. Daoist Politics and Mysticism 223 Conclusion: Reflections on the Axial Age 233 Glossary 253 Bibliography 261 Index viii ...

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