A Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher
The definitive companion guide to Patrul Rinpoche's Words of My Perfect Teacher, the classic text on Tibetan Buddhist practices and teachings This guide provides readers with essential background information for studying and practicing with Patrul Rinpoche's Words of My Perfect Teacher--the text that has, for more than a century, served as the reliable sourcebook to the spiritual practices common to all the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. By offering chapter-by-chapter commentary on this renowned work, Khenpo Pelzang provides a fresh perspective on the role of the teacher; the stages of the path; the view of the Three Jewels; Madhyamika, the basis of transcendent wisdom; and much more.
Sattipatthana
"Surely destined to become the classic commentary on the Satipatthana" --Christopher Titmuss Now in its second printing!
Tibet’s Great Yogi Milarepa
This life story of Milarepa--the important Tibetan religious leader who lived over 800 years ago--is part of a remarkable four-volume series on Tibetan Buddhism produced by the late W.Y. Evans-Wentz, all four of which are being published by Oxford in new editions. While there are many parochial differences among the several sects of Tibetan Buddhism, each holds the Great Yogi Milarepa in the highest reverence and esteem. For exemplified in Milarepa's life, as we discover in these pages, are all of the teachings of the great yogis of India--including those of Gautama the Buddha, the greatest yogi known to history. Amid his detailed introductory and explanatory notes for this text, Evans-Wentz also reveals compelling similarities between the life and thought of Milarepa and those of Jesus, Gandhi, and "saints...in ancient China, or India, or Babylonia, or Egypt, or Rome, or in our own epoch." In composing this translation from the original Tibetan, the late Lāma Kazi Dawa-Samdup, who was Evans-Wentz's guru for many years, aimed to show Western readers "one of our great teachers as he actually lived...much of which is couched in the words of his own mouth, and the remainder in the words of his disciple Rechung, who knew him in the flesh." For this third edition, Donald S. Lopez, author of Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West, has written a critical foreword that updates and contextualizes this crucial part of Evans-Wentz's scholarship within the yoga tradition.
Jizo Bodhisattva
Jizo is an important bodhisattva or "saint" of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. Most prominent today in Japanese Zen, Jizo is understood to be the protector of those journeying through the physical and spiritual realms. This bodhisattva is closely associated with children, believed to be their guardian before birth, throughout childhood, and after death. Here, an American Zen master offers an engaging and informative overview of the history of this important figure and conveys the practices and rituals connected with him, including a simple ceremony for remembering children who have died. Inspired by her own personal experience with Jizo practice, Bays explains how the Buddhist teachings on Jizo can bring peace to those confronted with suffering and loss.
A Lifetime of Peace
A Lifetime of Peace follows the successful model established by A Lifetime of Wisdom: Essential Writings by and about the Dalai Lama. It draws on dozens of sources to collect the very best writing by and about Thich Nhat Hanh, the revered Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist. This timely collection is both a political and spiritual handbook which encompasses all of Thich Nhat Hanh's major themes--mindfulness, love, truth, compassion, and peace on earth. In 1967 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. nominated Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing the monk's lifelong efforts to encourage peace and reconciliation around the world. This important collection will not only present Hanh's writing about his experiences during the Vietnam War and excerpts from his journals, but also collect a range of other highlights, such as his advice for those entering into meditation practice and his unique insights into Buddhist and Christian theology. But above all, A Lifetime of Peace is a timely and thought-provoking examination of the nature of peace--both as an inner state of being and as a real condition in the world.
The Sacred Art of Bowing
Shares helpful insights that will inspire you to begin or deepen your own bowing practice.
The Moon Appears When the Water Is Still
Drawn from the Buddha's teachings, contemporary literature, and the author's own life, this collection of stories, anecdotes, and aphorisms provides inspiration and refreshment for practitioners of meditation. A sympathetic, observant, and compassionate voice drives these narratives, offering practitioners guidance and strength in their pursuit of eternal bliss. The anecdotes pair lasting truths with contemporary concepts, pointing to Dharma in all things, from a shoe repair shop to the World Wide Web. With one story, poem, or aphorism per page, Buddhism's ancient wisdoms are presented in an easily digestible format.
Spectrum of Ecstasy
Ngakpa Ch繹gyam and Khandro D矇chen offer a radical challenge to the misconception that inner Vajrayana is primarily an esoteric system of ritual and liturgy. Spectrum of Ecstasy focuses on the transformative potential of emotions in Vajrayana Buddhism. Through the lens of the five wisdom emotions, the authors guide readers to embrace the full spectrum of human experience. Rather than viewing emotions as obstacles, Ch繹gyam and D矇chen present them as pathways to deeper understanding and spiritual awakening, challenging conventional perceptions and encouraging readers to engage authentically with their feelings and discover the inherent wisdom within each emotional state. Readers will benefit from the book's insightful teachings on the interconnectedness of emotions and the elements, providing practical guidance for personal growth. The authors delve into the complexities of duality and perception, offering tools like silent sitting meditation to foster a direct experience of reality. By dismantling habitual thought patterns, individuals can unlock their potential for liberation, cultivating a richer, more meaningful connection with themselves and the world around them. The authors' engaging writing, filled with personal anecdotes and Tantric wisdom, offers a fresh perspective on Vajrayana that resonates with both seasoned practitioners and newcomers alike.
One Dharma
One of America's most respected Buddhist teachers distills a lifetime of practice and teaching in this groundbreaking exploration of the new Buddhist tradition taking root on American soil.
Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness
Warning: Using this book could be hazardous to your ego! The slogans it contains are designed to awaken the heart and cultivate love and kindness toward others. They are revolutionary in that practicing them fosters abandonment of personal territory in relating to others and in understanding the world as it is. The fifty-nine provocative slogans presented here--each with a commentary by the Tibetan meditation master Ch繹gyam Trungpa--have been used by Tibetan Buddhists for eight centuries to help meditation students remember and focus on important principles and practices of mind training. They emphasize meeting the ordinary situations of life with intelligence and compassion under all circumstances. Slogans include, "Don't be swayed by external circumstances," "Be grateful to everyone," and "Always maintain only a joyful mind." This edition contains a new foreword by Pema Ch繹dr繹n.
Buddha in Your Backpack
A guide for navigating the teen years, Buddha in Your Backpack is for young people who want to learn more about Buddhism or for those who simply want to understand what's going on inside themselves and in the world around them.This ispirational guide tells Buddha's life story in a fashion teens will relate to, describing Buddha as a young rebel not satisfied with the answers of his elders. It then introduces Buddha's core teachings with chapters like "All About Me" and "Been There, Why'd I Do That?"Celebrated, bestselling author, Franz Metcalf, presents thoughtful and spiritual insights on school, dating, hanging out, jobs, and other issues of special interest to teens -- inviting readers to look inside themselves for answers.
Self, Reality and Reason in Tibetan Philosophy
This book reconstructs and appropriates in contemporary language the Middle Way philosophy of Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), arguably Tibet's greatest philosopher.
Good Life, Good Death
"This book is a must-read for those who have ever feared death for themselves or for those they love." -Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., author of Kitchen Table Wisdom By the late Gehlek Rimpoche, the bestselling book that changed the way we think about death Who are we? Where did we come from? Where are we going? How do we get there? Many have asked these questions, and many have attempted to answer them. But there is another question Good Life, Good Death asks us to contemplate: how does the idea of life after death affect how we live our lives? Gelek Rimpoche tells stories of the mystical Tibet he lived in, as well as the contemporary America he is now a citizen of, and shares the wisdom of the great masters. He asks us to open our minds and see if we can entertain a bigger picture of life after life, even for a moment. He makes the connection between powerful emotions such as anger, obsession, jealousy and pride, and our past as well as our future.
The Story of Buddhism
How and when did the many schools of Buddhism emerge? How does the historical figure of Siddartha Guatama relate to the many teachings that are presented in his name? Did Buddhism modify the cultures to which it was introduced, or did they modify Buddhism?Leading Buddhist scholar Donald S. Lopez Jr. explores the origins of this 2,500-year-old religion and traces its major developments up to the present, focusing not only on the essential elemenmts common to all schools of Buddhism but also revealing the differences among the major traditions. Beginning with the creation and structure of the Buddhist universe, Lopez explores the life of the Buddha, the core Buddhist tenets, and the development of the monastic life and lay practices. Combining brilliant scholarship with fascinating stories -- contemporary and historical, sometimes miraculous, sometimes humorous -- this rich and absorbing volume presents a fresh and expert history of Buddhism and Buddhist life.
The Feeling Buddha
This engaging introduction to Buddhism explains the Buddha's earliest teachings, and is a practical guide for how to live fully in today's stressful world. The Feeling Buddha is a lucid account of how the Buddha's path of wisdom and loving kindness grew out of the challenges he encountered in life. Brazier explains the concepts of enlightenment, nirvana and the four Noble Truths, free from mystification. Buddha emerges as a very human figure whose success lay not in his perfection, but in how he positively utilized the energy which was generated through his suffering. This rare guide illustrates how Buddha's philosophy of the "middle way" can lead to a balanced, harmonious, and serene existence in the 21st century.
Wake Up to Your Life
The key to becoming fully alive and joyful is to develop our natural capacity for attention and to be fully present here and now. In this informative guidebook to practical Buddhism you discover: How to live life with equanimity, loving-kindness, compassion, and joyHow to cut through obsessions with the external world, relationships, harmful emotions, pleasure and power, and selfTried-and-true methods for cultivating active attention with your body and mind.
Awakening the Buddhist Heart: Integrating Love, Meaning, and Connection into Eve
Surya Das illustrates how to develop authentic presence, how to connect to our own life experience, build deeper relationships, embrace life's lessons, as well as learn how to love what we don't like. Everyone needs to feel connected, to love and feel loved, to reach out to others and communicate in order to overcome alienation, loneliness, and a feeling of being disconnected. In AWAKENING THE BUDDHIST HEART Surya Das shows you how to reach inward and outward. By developing spiritual intelligence, a sense of compassion that helps us be more sensitive, more aware of our own feelings and the feelings of those around us, we become more intuitive; we relate better and love better. Cultivating spiritual intelligence and learning how to connect will improve our capacity for intimacy, making us better mates, friends, parents, and coworkers; it helps all of us to become more giving and brings us fulfillment, meaning, and love. With tremendous insight he explores specific ways in which we can more fruitfully relate to our own experiences as well as each other in today's fast-paced, complicated, and often confusing world.
Boundless Healing: Meditation Exercises to Enlighten the Mind and Heal the Body
This book offers simple meditation techniques to awaken healing energies in the body and mind. Using Buddhist principles as a basis, Tulku Thondup has created a universal guide that anyone can use. It will benefit those who want to preserve good health as well as those who need comfort and relief from illness or mental distress. Boundless Healing offers: - Ways to employ the four healing powers: positive images, positive words, positive feelings, and positive belief - Detailed healing exercises that can be done individually or as part of a twelve-stage program - Exercises for dispelling anxiety - Healing prayers for the dying and the deceased, plus advice for helpers and survivors These meditations draw on our innate capacity for imagination and memory, our natural enjoyment of beauty, and our deep-seated longing for a state of quiet calm. For all those who wish to become healthier, happier, and more peaceful in everyday life.
Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness
From the best-selling author of Mindfulness in Plain English! In his classic and engaging style, Bhante Gunaratana delves deeply into the noble eightfold path, the Buddha's most profound teaching on bringing an end to suffering. With easy-to-understand and specific advice, Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness offers skillful ways to handle anger, find right livelihood, cultivate loving-friendliness, and overcome the mental hindrances that prevent happiness. Whether you are an experienced meditator or someone who's only just beginning, this gentle and down-to-earth guide will help you bring the heart of the Buddha's teachings into every aspect of your life.
Living Zen
Zen Buddhism is a spiritual practice that impacts how we view ourselves and one another, as well as our environment. It is an awakening of our senses that enables us to see the world from a different perspective. As a way of life, Zen is growing in popularity, and this book demystifies the age-old Zen tradition, explaining how an understanding of Zen can transform our lifestyle.Michael Paul, who has practiced Zen Buddhism for over twenty-five years, covers many facets of the subject in his clearly written text, including the meaning of Zen, Zen living and practice for every day, and Zen art forms. He also covers Zen in the home, describing the lifestyle it evokes -- clarity of expression and a bold way of decorating resulting in pared-down simplicity. Similarly in the garden there is a minimalist landscaping style using plants that provide not only color, but also shape and form. Supplementing the text are evocative color photographs, specially commissioned for this book, that convey the spirit Zen. All those seeking simplicity, peace, and harmony in their lives and surroundings will find this book intriguing.
Going Home
"[Thich Nhat Hanh] shows us the connection between personal, inner peace and peace on earth." --His Holiness The Dalai Lama Nominated by Martin Luther King, Jr. for a Nobel Peace Prize, Thich Nhat Hanh is one of today's leading sources of wisdom, peace, compassion and comfort. Exiled from Vietnam over thirty years ago, Thich Nhat Hanh has become known as a healer of the heart, a monk who shows us how the everyday world can both enrich and endanger our spiritual lives. In this book, Jesus and Buddha share a conversation about prayer and ritual and renewal, and about where such concepts as resurrection and the practice of mindfulness converge. In this unique way, Thich Nhat Hanh shows the brotherhood between Jesus and Buddha-- and in the process shows how we can take their wisdom into the world with us, to "practice in such a way that Buddha is born every moment of our daily life, that Jesus Christ is born every moment of our daily life."
The Raft Is Not the Shore
A new dialogue between the radical Jesuit priest and the Vietnamese Zen master covers a wide range of topics relevant to the Buddhist-Christian relationship, including war, peace, death, Jesus, and the Buddha. Original.
The Unborn
In 1633, at age eleven, Bankei Yotaku was banished from his family's home because of his consuming engagement with the Confucian texts that all schoolboys were required to copy and recite. Using a hut in the nearby hills, he wrote the word Shugyo-an, or "practice hermitage," on a plank of wood, propped it up beside the entrance, and settled down to devote himself to his own clarification of "bright virtue." He finally turned to Zen and, after fourteen years of incredible hardship, achieved a decisive enlightenment, whereupon the Rinzai priest traveled unceasingly to the temples and monasteries of Japan, sharing what he'd learned. "What I teach in these talks of mine is the Unborn Buddha-mind of illuminative wisdom, nothing else. Everyone is endowed with this Buddha-mind, only they don't know it." Casting aside the traditional aristocratic style of his contemporaries, he offered his teachings in the common language of the people. His style recalls the genius and simplicity of the great Chinese Zen masters of the T'ang dynasty. This revised and expanded edition contains many talks and dialogues not included in the original 1984 volume.
Discovering Kwan Yin, Buddhist Goddess of Compassion
Sandy Boucher, celebrated author of Opening the Lotus and Turning the Wheel, now offers North American readers their first opportunity to share in Kwan Yin's illuminating wisdom. Along with providing meditations, chants, and prayers this lovely, illustrated volume recounts the stories of this bodhisattva (one who delays her own full enlightenment to work for the liberation of all beings) and explains Kwan Yin's role in Buddhism. Discovering Kwan Yin is sure to become an important spiritual touchstone for those who seek to celebrate the goddess in their lives, to give and receive the loving power of her presence.
Dakini Teachings
Padmasambhava, the Indian mystic and tantric Buddhist master, is second only to Buddha Shakyamuni as the most famous personage in the Tibetan tradition of Buddhism. In the ninth century, he made the journey across the Himalayan Mountains to establish Buddhism for the people in that country. Now, more than 1,000 years later, we are able to hear and be touched by his voice as contained within this collection of oral advice. Sometimes with humor, sometimes with biting sarcasm, Dakini Teachings covers a wide range of instructions. Given not only to the king of Tibet but also to uneducated people, it is a classic work of valid truths for anyone who sincerely wants to follow a spiritual path in every walk of life.
As It Is
The teachings presented in As It Is, Volume I are primarily selected from talks given by the Dzogchen master, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, in 1994 and 1995, during the last two years of his life. The unambiguous Buddhist perception of reality is transmitted in profound, simple language by one of the foremost masters in the Tibetan tradition. Dzogchen is to take the final result, the state of enlightenment itself, as path. This is the style of simply picking the ripened fruit or the fully bloomed flowers. Tulku Urgyen's way of communicating this wisdom was to awaken the individual to their potential and reveal the methods to acknowledge and stabilize that prospective. His distinctive teaching style was widely known for its unique directness in introducing students to the nature of mind in a way that allowed immediate experience. This book offers the direct oral instructions of a master who inspired admiration, delight in practice, and deep trust and confidence in the Buddhist way.
Entering the Diamond Way
A perfect book to introduce Westerners to Tibetan Buddhism. This is the genuinely compelling story, and spiritual odyssey, of Ole and Hannah Nydahl, who in 1968 became the first Western students of the great Tibetan master, His Holiness the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa. Their exciting travels on the worn path between the green lowlands of Europe to the peaks of the Himalayas, led them to experience the skillful teachings of numerous Tibetan lamas who helped transform their lives into "limitless clarity and joy." From their first contact with Tibetan Buddhism in Kathmandu in the form of a lama with extraordinary psychic powers, Ole and Hannah encountered the full spectrum of the Buddhist "view." Their aim in writing this book is "to form a bridge between two worlds, and especially to share with all who are looking for their true being ... an introduction to a time-proven way to Enlightenment." "One cannot really transmit anything, except what one has directly experienced, and the reason many of you will be able to identify with what happened to us is that, deep within, we are so very much alike."
Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Libe
With poetry and clarity, Thich Nhat Hanh imparts comforting wisdom about the nature of suffering and its role in creating compassion, love, and joy - all qualities of enlightenment. "Thich Nhat Hanh shows us the connection between personal, inner peace, and peace on earth."--His Holiness the Dalai Lama In The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, now revised with added material and new insights, Nhat Hanh introduces us to the core teachings of Buddhism and shows us that the Buddha's teachings are accessible and applicable to our daily lives. Covering such significant teachings as the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Three Doors of Liberation, the Three Dharma Seals, and the Seven Factors of Awakening, The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching is a radiant beacon on Buddhist thought for the initiated and uninitiated alike.
The Empty Mirror
Seen by many as a contemporary classic, Janwillem van de Wetering's small and admirable memoir records the experiences of a young Dutch student--later a widely celebrated mystery writer--who spent a year and a half as a novice monk in a Japanese Zen Buddhist monastery. As Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, author of Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, has written, The Empty Mirror "should be very encouraging for other Western seekers." It is the first book in a trilogy that continues with A Glimpse of Nothingness and Afterzen.
Buddhism
This book begins by posing and answering the question: What is Buddhism? Assuming no previous knowledge, issues such as the legacy of India and the life of the Buddha are discussed. Later sections include: the beliefs and practices of the Mahayana and Theravada schools, with particular emphasis on the four main Mahayana schools of Nichiren, Tibetan, Zen and Pure Land; the Four Noble Truths; the Buddhist councils; rebirth; meditation; festivals; concepts of reality; and yoga. The book ends with a look at the state of Buddhism in the world today and discusses its current popularity. As one commentator has written: New Buddhist groups are springing up like lotus flowers on a hot day. The appeal is due to its undogmatic and open-minded approach which encourages understanding and questioning, and makes Buddhism a prime source for discovering the self within a non-violent tradition.
Accidental Buddhist
The Accidental Buddhist is the funny, provocative story of how Dinty Moore went looking for the faith he'd lost in what might seem the most unlikely of places: the ancient Eastern tradition of Buddhism. Moore demystifies and explains the contradictions and concepts of this most mystic-seeming of religious traditions. This plain-spoken, insightful look at the dharma in America will fascinate anyone curious about the wisdom of other cultures and other religions. Cutting through religious jargon and abstract concepts, Moore explains in clear terms why Buddhism is becoming part of popular culture. He has the rare ability to be at once sincere about religion and good-humored about the human condition. The Accidental Buddhist never takes itself too seriously--which, as Moore discovers, Buddhists aren't supposed to do, even when they are mindful, enlightened, and sitting perfectly still. "Moore's hilarious and sometimes irreverent look at Buddhism is a perfect primer for the budding Buddhist."--Publishers Weekly "[Moore's] witty and candid 'regular guy' approach to these experiences is entertaining and comforting, and his conclusions are right on target."--Booklist
Way of Zen
In his definitive introduction to Zen Buddhism, Alan Watts ("the perfect guide for a course correction in life" --Deepak Chopra), explains the principles and practices of this ancient religion. With a rare combination of freshness and lucidity, he delves into the origins and history of Zen to explain what it means for the world today with incredible clarity. Watts saw Zen as "one of the most precious gifts of Asia to the world," and in The Way of Zen he gives this gift to readers everywhere. "Perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West, Watts had the rare gift of 'writing beautifully the unwritable.'" --Los Angeles Times
Quietly Comes the Buddha
Take a moment and commune with the heart of the Buddha.Discover peace, transformation and divine solutions to your everyday problems through the creativity of the Buddha-nature in your heart.You can realize your Buddha-nature by cultivating its qualities known as the Ten Perfections. See them as ten habits of highly -effective Buddhas to be: - Giving of yourself (alms) - Attaining enlightenment (precepts) - Centering in ultimate reality (renunciation) - Transcending the human mind (wisdom) - Overcoming fear and unworthiness (courage) - Refining the soul through communion (patience) - Freeing yourself from the effects of errors (truth) - Conquering self-destructive habits (resolution) - Integrating the divine into your daily life (goodwill) - Sustaining intensity and equanimity as you fulfill your goals (indifference)Quietly Comes the Buddha is an offering of meditations, poetry and prayers for developing your Buddhic nature to bring wholeness into your life and the lives of others. Includes meditations on the heart for resolving conflicts and chakra meditations for purification and healing.
Light Of Wisdom
Padmasambhava, the Indian mystic and tantric Buddhist master, is second only to Buddha Shakyamuni as the most famous personage in the Tibetan tradition of Buddhism. In the ninth century, he made the journey across the Himalayan Mountains to establish Buddhism for the people in that country. He also concealed timeless instructions and practices to benefit future generations. The volume presents in-depth explanations of the Tibetan Buddhist perspective. The Light of Wisdom, Vol. II will be of special interest to students of Buddhism for its clear overview from a Vajrayana perspective of teachings particular to Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism. Included is an extensive commentary by Jamgon Kongtrul the Great, one of the most prominent Buddhist masters of nineteenth-century Tibet.
Unique Tenets of the Middle Way Consequence School
According to Tibetan traditions, the Indian Buddhist Prasangika-Madhyamika school is the one that represents the final true thought of the Buddha. Unique Tenets of the Middle Way Consequence School presents and analyzes the issues that separate that school from the other principals schools of Buddhism--issues such as the existence (or non-existence) of an external world the way in which karma and reincarnation operate the nature of consciousness the nature of time and the status of Arhats (enlightened but not omniscient beings). Parts Two and Three of the book are annotated translations of Tibetan texts that are used as source books in monastic education.
That's Funny, You Don't Look Buddhist
In this landmark book, esteemed Buddhist teacher Sylvia Boorstein addresses this incisive question in a warm, delightful and personal way. With the same down-to-earth charm and wit that have endeared her to her many students and readers, Boorstein shows how one can be both an observant Jew and a passionately committed Buddhist.
A Concise History of Buddhism
An ideal introduction to the history of Buddhism. Andrew Skilton - a writer on and practitioner of Buddhism - explains the development of the basic concepts of Buddhism during its 2,500 years of history and describes its varied developments in India, Buddhism's homeland, as well as its spread across Asia, from Mongolia to Sri Lanka and from Japan to the Middle East. A fascinating insight into the historical progress of one of the world's great religions. "..an excellent synopsis of current scholarship..."--Alan Sponberg, Professor of Asian Philosophy and Religion, University of Montana
Essential Tibetan Buddhism
WINNER OF THE TRICYCLE PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCEExpertly and lucidly surveying the basic varieties and teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, renowned scholar Robert Thurman makes this authentic spiritual tradition available to contemporary Western audiences
The Long Discourses of the Buddha
This book offers a complete translation of the Digha Nikaya, the long discourses of the Buddha, one of the major collections of texts in the Pali Canon, the authorized scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. This collection--among the oldest records of the historical Buddha's original teachings, given in India two and a half thousand years ago--consists of thirty-four longer-length suttas, or discourses, distinguished as such from the middle-length and shorter suttas of the other collections. These suttas reveal the gentleness, compassion, power, and penetrating wisdom of the Buddha. Included are teachings on mindfulness (Mahasatipatthana Sutta); on morality, concentration, and wisdom (Subha Sutta); on dependent origination (Mahanidrana Sutta); on the roots and causes of wrong views (Brahmajala Sutta); and a long description of the Buddha's last days and passing away (Mahaparinibbana Sutta); along with a wealth of practical advice and insight for all those travelling along the spiritual path. Venerable Sumedho Thera writes in his foreword: "[These suttas] are not meant to be 'sacred scriptures' that tell us what to believe. One should read them, listen to them, think about them, contemplate them, and investigate the present reality, the present experience, with them. Then, and only then, can one insightfully know the truth beyond words." Introduced with a vivid account of the Buddha's life and times and a short survey of his teachings, The Long Discourses of the Buddha brings us closer in every way to the wise and compassionate presence of Gotama Buddha and his path of truth.
The Dhammapada
For 2,500 years, The Dhammapada has been an essential Buddhist classic. Translated by Ananda Maitreya, the 100-year-old elder of Sri Lankan Buddhism. From the foreword: "Even though the Dhammapada appeared a little later than some other writings attributed to the Buddha, there is no doubt that the 423 verses of the Dhammapada contain the authentic teachings of the Buddha. They express the insight of this special human being who suffered, practiced the Way, experienced transformation, and reached liberation. There is a Buddha in each of us. That is why, while reading the Dhammapada, we feel that the insights of the Buddha are also our own. When we read and contemplate this book, we touch seeds of understanding and love that are buried deep inside of us, and we help them grow so we can offer to ourselves and the world the flowers of insight and liberation. I encourage you to carry this small book in your pocket and use it like a mirror, reflecting your deepest true nature back to you. Let us live our daily lives in harmony with the deep understanding brought to us by the Buddha in the beautiful verses of the Dhammapada." --Thich Nhat HanhPlum Village France, 1998
Nothing Special
A Zen Center weekend in a book! The delightfully contemporary teacher and bestselling author "of Everyday Zen" shows how to make living itself a spiritual practice and how to discover that the extraordinary is really "nothing special."
Bankei Zen
The eccentric Bankei (1622-1693) has long been an underground hero in the world of Zen. At a time when Zen was becoming overly formalized in Japan, he stressed its relevance to everyday life, insisting on the importance of naturalness and spontaneity. This volume presents his teachings -- as refreshing and iconoclastic today as they were three hundred years ago -- in a fluent translation by Peter Haskel, accompanied by a vivid account of Bankei's life and times, illustrations, and extensive notes for the scholar.
The Essential Confucius
Gathers selections from the Analects of Confucius grouped by subject followin the order of the I Ching.
Journey in Search of the Way
A rich and detailed autobiography of one Japanese woman's journey through life.This autobiography describes a woman's attainment of enlightenment in modern Japan. Satomi Myōdō rejected the traditional roles of good wife and wise mother, broke with her unhappy past, and followed her spiritual path beginning as the disciple of a Shinto priest. At midlife she turned to Zen Buddhism encouraged by a female dharma friend and by various teachers. Under the guidance of Yasutani Rōshi she attained Kenshō, the goal of her lifetime's search.
An Introduction to Zen Buddhism
One of the world's leading authorities on Zen Buddhism, D. T. Suzuki was the author of more than a hundred works on the subject in both Japanese and English, and was most instrumental in bringing the teachings of Zen Buddhism to the attention of the Western world. Written in a lively, accessible, and straightforward manner, An Introduction to Zen Buddhism is illuminating for the serious student and layperson alike. Suzuki provides a complete vision of Zen, which emphasizes self-understanding and enlightenment through many systems of philosophy, psychology, and ethics. With a foreword by the renowned psychiatrist Dr. Carl Jung, this volume has been generally acknowledged a classic introduction to the subject for many years. It provides, along with Suzuki's Essays and Manual of Zen Buddhism, a framework for living a balanced and fulfilled existence through Zen.
The Practice of Kalachakra
The Kalachakra spiritual legacy is a vital and central part of Tibetan Buddhism. Presented here is a detailed and practical overview of this unique spiritual path. In Part One, the author discusses the tantric path to enlightenment by drawing on the writings of great scholar-practitioners of the past. He describes the sutrayana and vajrayana paths, outlines the four classes of tantras, compares the Kalachakra generation and completion stage yogas to those of the mainstream tantra, s and details the unique Kalachakra methods for attaining enlightenment in this lifetime. Part Two contains translations for seven texts for the pratice of Kalachakra, including a sadhana selected by the Dalai Lam for this book. Glenn Mullin's perceptive and very readable discussion of the theory and practice of this profound tantric system is an excellen addition to the literature on this subject.
The Analects of Confucius
One of the most influential books of all time, The Analects of Confucius collects the sayings and wisdom of the Chinese philosopher and his followers. Still as relevant today as they were over two thousand years ago, these teachings together present a moral code that values virtue above all, and make up the core values of the Confucian tradition. This edition includes a full introduction that gives the social and political background of the ancient work, analyses of key terms in Chinese thought, and a careful study of the history of the book and its interpretations. There are also full notes illuminating the references to contemporary events and clarifying obscure passages. An essential work of literature and philosophy, The Analects of Confucius has shaped generations of readers around the world.
