Karel Werner

Freedom was the goal Karel Werner was sure of achieving at the start of his 'third' life. As one of the 'bouncing Czechs’ given refuge by Britain after the 1968 Moscow-led invasion of his homeland, he was at last free to teach, soon becoming a lecturer at Durham University and remaining there until he retired. Shedding communist shackles, he was now able to publish many uncensored books and articles, and founded a prestigious ‘Symposium for Indian Religions’ which continues to this day. After Karel and his first wife divorced, he married a former Wimbledon tennis player, Marian Boundy. Their explorations abroad included eight visits to South Korea. He describes his third life as being continuous joy marred only by the realisation that many people in this country have taken their freedom for granted and some have even worked against it. Another academic career opened after the Velvet Revolution; while helping Masaryk University in Brno to found a department for the study of religions he wrote many notable books in Czech. During the fifty years he and Marian were together, each undertook to be in touch after death. Marian records in the Epilogue how, after he died in 2019, Karel has been fulfilling his promise.

Karel Werner’s reluctance to write a book about his life was cleverly overcome by his wife, who started interviewing him onto a camcorder. She enjoyed hearing about his idyllic childhood in Jemnice, south Moravia, but ended up transcribing 46 hours covering the years up to 1968, when he emigrated. During the war he worked for a German firm in Brno, then obtained a doctorate and was poised for a professorship at Olomouc University. After the communist putsch in 1948, no teaching jobs were available to him. He became a good tram-driver but a less competent coal-miner and plumber. Unwittingly he gave the political commissar a nervous breakdown during his army service, most of which he spent sitting at a typewriter. From his teens he had been interested in oriental philosophy and was practising deep meditation, which helped him to stay true to himself during secret police interrogations and at other times of intense pressure. His research into the benefits of Hatha Yoga led to his writing the first book on it in Czech, and founding the Yoga Club in Brno, all under the eyes of the communist regime. Before he was deemed to be ‘illegally abroad’, the book had sold 95,000 copies.

Collected Bodhi Leaves Publications Volume II (includes Bodhi Leaves 61-90) This book contains 30 of the Bodhi Leaves Publication series, dealing with various aspects of the Buddha's teaching. BL61: The Law of Karma and Mindfulness by Dr. Karel WernerBL62: Drugs or Meditation? by Lama GovindaBL63: The Buddha a Unique Teacher by Francis StoryBL64: Arahantship by Jacqueline DunningtonBL65: When the Ego Meets Buddhism by Carlo GragnaniBL66: The Twin Pillars and Other Essays by John Andrew StoreyBL67: The Buddha's Teachings by Soma TheraBL68: The Elimination of Anger by K. Piyatissa TheraBL69: The Search For Buddhist Economics by Padmasiri De SilvaBL70: The Buddhist Code of Discipline by Soma TheraBL71: The Taste of Freedom by Bhikkhu BodhiBL72: The Development of the Will by Wladyslaw Misiewicz and Perfection of Energy by ShantidevaBL73: Emancipation from the World by Buddhadasa BhikkhuBL74: What Meditation Implies by Acariya BuddharakkhitaBL75: Perfections of Buddhahood by Nina van GorkomBL76: The Population Crisis and Conservation in Buddhist Perspective by Dr. Douglas M. BurnsBL77: Coming to Terms With One's Shadow by Ruth WalsheBL78: The Concept of Peace as the Central Notion of Buddhist Social Philosophy by O. H. de A. WijesekeraBL79: Words Leading to Disenchantment and Sa?sara by Soma TheraBL80: Two Buddhist Essays by J. F. McKechnie (Bhikkhu Silacara)BL81: The Path to Purity by M. B. WerapitiyaBL82: A New Age? A Buddhist View and Relating Religions by Bhikkhu KhantipaloBL83: Heredity Beyond Materiality and Causality and Moral Responsibility by D. D. P. NanayakkaraBL84: Insight Meditation in the Forest by Ron OhayvBL85: Beginning Insight Meditation by Dorothy FigenBL86: Buddhism in Daily Life by M. O' C. WalsheBL87: Buddhism as a Practical Teaching by H. L. SeneviratneBL88: Buddhist Tales from Sanskrit Sources retold by Ratna HandurukandeBL89: Anattā and Moral Responsibility by D. JayasundereBL90: Your Best Friend by M. B. Werapitiya(Note: This title was previously published under ISBN 9781681720807. Due to technical issues a new ISBN had to be assigned. Rest assured that both versions of this title are exactly the same.)

A multi-purpose reference work which should become an indispensable companion for anybody who comes into touch with Hinduism. Includes a dictionary of Sanskrit and vernacular terms; a glossary of terms and concepts; and a survey of the historical development of Hinduism.

Explores the nature and function of bhakti or devotional involvement in religious practice in India in areas where it is seldom sought or where its existence has been doubted or even denied.

A thorough survey of great interest and value to scholars in this field.

Embraces a wide range of aspects of Indian mysticism, displaying the structural patterns in mystical experiences and the mystic paths in different traditions and schools, while there are also significant contributions to comparative mysticism, Eastern and Western. First published in 1989.

A multi-purpose reference work which should become an indispensable companion for anybody who comes into touch with Hinduism. Includes a dictionary of Sanskrit and vernacular terms; a glossary of terms and concepts; and a survey of the historical development of Hinduism.

Embraces a wide range of aspects of Indian mysticism, displaying the structural patterns in mystical experiences and the mystic paths in different traditions and schools, while there are also significant contributions to comparative mysticism, Eastern and Western. First published in 1989.

A thorough survey of great interest and value to scholars in this field.

Explores the nature and function of bhakti or devotional involvement in religious practice in India in areas where it is seldom sought or where its existence has been doubted or even denied.