It has had the most profound and wide-reaching influence of any text in Buddhism. Its full title, Prajna Paramita Hrdaya Sutra, "The Sutra of the Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom," explains that this sutra contains the essence of the Buddha’s teaching, the core of perfect enlightenment. It is the source of the famous and puzzling declaration, "form is emptiness, emptiness is form." For this new translation into English, Red Pine, award-winning translator of Chinese poetry and religious texts, has utilized various Sanskrit and Chinese versions, refining the teachings of dozens of ancient teachers together with his own commentary to offer a profound word-for-word explication. The result is a wise book of deep teaching destined to become the standard edition of this timeless statement of Mahayana truth.

    Thought-provoking and inspiring, this selection is aimed at the mind, body and spirit.

     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.

    An inspiring and very accessible compilation of essays and edited talks on the Buddhist practice of mindfulness. As Gil Fronsdal states, "the search for the issue at hand is the search for what is closest at hand, for what is directly seen, heard, smelt, tasted, felt, and cognized in the present." Gil brings the practice of mindfulness not only to formal meditation but to all the varying aspects of every day life.http://www.insightmeditationcenter.or....

    Here Pema provides the tools to deal with the problems and difficulties that life throws our way. This wisdom is always available to us, she teaches, but we usually block it with habitual patterns rooted in fear. Beyond that fear lies a state of openheartedness and tenderness. This book teaches us how to awaken our basic goodness and connect with others, to accept ourselves and others complete with faults and imperfections, and to stay in the present moment by seeing through the strategies of ego that cause us to resist life as it is.

    Now, with Buddhism for Beginners, celebrated teacher and author Jack Kornfield invites you to experience for yourself the gifts of this vast spiritual tradition.Created specifically to address the questions and needs of first-time students, this full-length retreat on audio offers an ideal way to learn Buddhism's essential principles and insights. Join this gifted speaker, as he guides you through:Buddhism's cornerstone teachings, including the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path to inner freedom, the meaning and varieties of karma, the Ten Perfections for opening the heart, the inner tools of samadhi and prajna (concentration and insight), the Four Great Immeasurables, the Buddha's last great teaching, and many other topics- The principles of meditation practice, covering such fundamentals as clarifying awareness and focusing your mind; overcoming distractions and other inner obstacles; using heart-centered practices to sprout the seeds of compassion and loving-kindness, and more- Wisdom stories, poetry, teaching parables, and inspiring true accounts distilled from Buddhism's many historical branches, plus invaluable advice gleaned from Kornfield's own years of experience as a student and a teacherThe ancient Buddhist scripture The Path to Purification poses this riddle: The world is entangled in a knot. Who can untangle the tangle? According to the Buddha, the answer is: you can, by learning to see things clearly and simply, as they actually are.Now, with Jack Kornfield's Buddhism for Beginners, you will find the tools and teachings you need to begin this great inner adventure of self-discovery and freedom.

    Through real-life examples, the authors explain how adopting this outlook has positive effects on one’s health, relationships, and career, and gives new insights into world environmental concerns, peace issues, and other major social problems.

    Beautiful illustrations are featured.

    The Tantric tradition is a unique collection of lesser-known texts, concepts, and meditation practices that are usually made available only to experienced and specially initiated practitioners. The "Vajra World" ( vajradhatu in Sanskrit) is a realm of indestructibility, the level of reality beyond all thought and imagination, all impermanence and change, which a fully realized person knows and inhabits. Used metaphorically, "Vajra World" refers to the traditional culture of Tibet and the unique spirituality that is its secret strength. Topics include:    •  The tantric view of human nature and the external world    •  The special role of the guru, or tantric mentor    •  The preliminary practices that prepare the student for full initiation    •  The major dimensions of Vajrayana practice, including visualizations, liturgies, and inner yogas    •  The tradition of the tulku, or incarnate lama    •  The lore surrounding the death of ordinary people and of saints    •  The practice of solitary retreat, the epitome of traditional Tibetan Buddhism Secret of the Vajra World is the companion volume to the author's earlier book, Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism. While that book focuses on the history, cosmology, philosophy, and practice of the more public, exoteric side of Tibetan Buddhism, this work treats its more hidden and esoteric aspects as they take shape in Vajrayana. Together, the two volumes provide a broad introduction to the major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.

    Going straight to the heart of the matter, each page offers a gem of spiritual wisdom to enable us to defeat depression, anxiety, anger, jealousy and the many and varied emotions that form a barrier to our happiness. Melding the knowledge of 2500 years of Buddhist meditations with modern Western psychology, the book offers spiritual balance and joy, and a souce of profound wisdom.

    He emphasizes the path to freedom from emotional and psychological suffering and provides insight into the fact that taking ourselves seriously causes unnecessary hardship. Ajahn Chah influenced a generation of Western teachers: Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Sylvia Boorstein, Joseph Goldstein, and many other Western Buddhist teachers were at one time his students. Anyone who has attended a retreat led by one of these teachers, or read one of their books, will be familiar with this master's name and reputation as one of the great Buddhist teachers of this century.

    These teachings are on Dzogchen, the heart essence of the ancient Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Exploring this esoteric subject in print for the first time, His Holiness offers the reader insights into one of Buddhism's most profound systems of meditation. He discusses both the philosophic foundations and the practices of this system—taking into account the approaches of various schools and teachers. Paying tribute to the uniqueness of Dzogchen, His Holiness sets it within the wider spectrum of Tibetan Buddhism as a whole. He explains the essence of Dzogchen practice and addresses questions such as why Dzogchen is called "the pinnacle of all vehicles," what are its special features, and what are the crucial principles of the other Buddhist paths which a Dzogchen practitioner should know.

    

    Over the years, it has been studied and cherished by Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. Luminous Emptiness is a detailed guide to this classic work, elucidating its mysterious concepts, terms, and imagery. Fremantle relates the symbolic world of the Tibetan Book of the Dead to the experiences of everyday life, presenting the text not as a scripture for the dying, but as a guide for the living. According to the Buddhist view, nothing is permanent or fixed. The entire world of our experience is constantly appearing and disappearing at every moment. Using vivid and dramatic imagery, the Tibetan Book of the Dead presents the notion that most of us are living in a dream that will continue from lifetime to lifetime until we truly awaken by becoming enlightened. Here, Fremantle, who worked closely with Chögyam Trungpa on the 1975 translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Shambhala), brings the expertise of a lifetime of study to rendering this intriguing classic more accessible and meaningful to the living. Luminous Emptiness features in-depth explanations of:    •  The Tibetan Buddhist notions of death and rebirth    •  The meaning of the five energies and the five elements in Tibetan Buddhism    •  The mental and physical experience of dying, according to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition

    Robert Thurman is one such teacher. Now, in his first experiential course on the essentials of Tibetan Buddhism, adapted and expanded from a popular retreat he led, Thurman -- the first Westerner ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself -- shares the centuries-old wisdom of a highly valued method of insight used by the great Tibetan masters. Tibetans think of their cherished tradition of Buddhism as a "wish-fulfilling jewel tree" for its power to generate bliss and enlightenment within all who absorb its teachings. Happiness, in fact, is the true goal of Tibetan spirituality, and the wish-fulfilling jewel tree will enable you to reach that goal. Using a revered, once-secret text of a seventeenth-century Tibetan master, with thorough explanations for contemporary Westerners, The Jewel Tree of Tibet immerses you fully in the mysteries of Tibetan spiritual wisdom. A retreat in book form as well as a spiritual and philosophical teaching, The Jewel Tree of Tibet offers a practical system of understanding yourself and the world, of developing your learning and thought processes, and of gaining deep, transforming insight. One of the most explicit teachings of the steps on the path of enlightenment available, explained by a skilled Western teacher, The Jewel Tree of Tibet will enable you to honor the full subtlety and hidden depths of the Tibetan Buddhist path and realize at last its deeper rewards -- for yourself and others.

    As Tibet's leader-in-exile, he has worked tirelessly not only on behalf of the Tibetan people, but as a voice for human rights worldwide.

    Western scholars and interpreters of the dakini, influenced by Jungian psychology and feminist goddess theology, have shaped a contemporary critique of Tibetan Buddhism in which the dakini is seen as a psychological "shadow," a feminine savior, or an objectified product of patriarchal fantasy. According to Judith Simmer-Brown—who writes from the point of view of an experienced practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism—such interpretations are inadequate. In the spiritual journey of the meditator, Simmer-Brown demonstrates, the dakini symbolizes levels of personal realization: the sacredness of the body, both female and male; the profound meeting point of body and mind in meditation; the visionary realm of ritual practice; and the empty, spacious qualities of mind itself. When the meditator encounters the dakini, living spiritual experience is activated in a nonconceptual manner by her direct gaze, her radiant body, and her compassionate revelation of reality. Grounded in the author's personal encounter with the dakini, this unique study will appeal to both male and female spiritual seekers interested in goddess worship, women's spirituality, and the tantric tradition.

    It features talks to students presented in Dudjom Rinpoche's characteristically incisive and direct style, bringing the timeless heart-counsels of this great teacher vividly to life.

    It includes clear and simple meditation techniques which we can use to transform our attitudes, in order to generate love, compassion, understanding and wisdom. In plain, accessible language, it gives instructions for two meditation practices - lo-jong and tonglen meditation - that release anger and negative emotions and increase our ability to act with kindness.

    

    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.

    Illuminating themes touched upon in The Good Heart and The Art of Happiness, this generous and gentle book contains some of the most beloved teachings on compassion that the Dalai Lama has ever offered. Touching and transformative, The Compassionate Life is a personal invitation from one of the world's most gifted teachers to live a life of happiness, joy, and true prosperity.Collected here for the first time are four of the Dalai Lama's most accessible and inspiring teachings on compassion. The purpose of life is to be happy, His Holiness reminds us. To be happy, we should devote ourselves to developing our own peace of mind; the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own peace of mind. Therefore, we must develop compassion for others in order to be truly happy.In these four teachings--imbued with the gentle humor and extraordinary kindness of this incomparable teacher--His Holiness explores altruism and the need for compassion on an individual as well as a global scale. He offers specific practices for developing loving-kindness and compassion in even the most difficult situations.

    The volume includes: Zen Lessons: The Art of Leadership This guide to enlightened conduct for people in positions of authority is based on the teachings of several great Zen masters of China. Zen Essence: The Science of Freedom Drawn from the records of the great Chinese Zen masters of the Tang and Song dynasties, this collection represents the most open and direct forms of instruction in the entire Zen canon. The Five Houses of Zen These writings are widely considered to be preeminent among Zen literature. Minding Mind: A Course in Basic Meditation The meditation instructions in this book focus on attaining a state of true objectivity that enables the practitioner to use all other forms of meditation freely and consciously, without becoming fixated or obsessed. Instant Zen Presented here are the teachings of Foyan, who offers simple exercises in attention and thought designed to lead to insight into the real nature of self.

    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.

    This book is a short introduction to the basic principles of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Dhamma (his teachings), and Sangha (the community of his noble disciples), also known as the Triple Refuge.

    The Ninth Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje (1556–1603), was the acknowledged master of this approach. No more authoritative or useful instructions exist than in his three definitive texts on Mahamudra, of which this easy-to-use, practical manual is the shortest. Pointing Out the Dharmakaya is an indispensable companion to The Ocean of Definitive Meaning, the most vast and detailed of the texts. An invaluable guide for Mahamudra practitioners on how to look at the Mind, it is clearly laid out so that the instructions are easy to recall and put to use.Brilliant explanations by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, tutor of the young Seventeenth Karmapa, make the Karmapa's text vividly relevant for contemporary Western practitioners. For those committed to ascertaining the mind's true nature, checking their experience, and refining and extending their insight, there is certainly no more systematic or comprehensive approach than can be found in this extraordinary set of instructions.

    Tonglen is a gentle, step-by-step process of opening the heart. By embracing, rather than rejecting, the unwanted and painful aspects of experience, we overcome fear and develop greater empathy for others. Here is a practical guide for deepening our practice and understanding of this powerful technique. Working with questions and answers, dialogue and exchange, Pema's tonglen teachings provide an invaluable reference for practitioners of all levels.

    In Zen Is Right Here, his teachings are brought to life powerfully and directly through stories told about him by his students. These living encounters with Zen are poignant, direct, humorous, paradoxical, and enlightening; and their setting in real-life contexts makes them wonderfully accessible.Like the Buddha himself, Suzuki Roshi gave profound teachings that were skilfully expressed for each moment, person, and situation he encountered. He emphasized that while the ungraspable essence of Buddhism is constant, the expression of that essence is always changing. Each of the stories presented here is an example of this versatile and timeless quality, showing that the potential for attaining enlightenment exists right here, right now, in this very moment.

    In Ultimate Healing, internationally renowned meditation master Lama Zopa Rinpoche helps us to recognize the root of illness and gives us the tools to create our future happiness. Beginning with stories of people who have recovered from disease through meditation, Rinpoche addresses the central role played by karma and by the mental habit of "labeling" in causing illness, and shows how meditation and other thought techniques for developing compassion and insight can eliminate the ultimate cause of all disease.Ultimate Healing shows us that by transforming our minds, especially through the development of compassion, we can eliminate the ultimate cause of all disease. In addition to relating stories of people who have recovered from disease through meditation, Lama Zopa presents practical healing meditations, including white-light healing, compassion meditation, "taking and giving", and techniques to cure depression.

    In the Tibetan tradition, it is common for a meditation master to offer explanations and interpretations in this way, in order to share his understanding with students and to shed light on centuries-old texts that may be difficult for contemporary practitioners to fully understand. Such a commentary is usually read at the end of a comprehensive course of study and is designed for seasoned students of Tibetan Buddhism. To make the work more accessible to Western Buddhists, the translators have added detailed notes and appendixes.In this case, the well-known original text by Jigme Lingpa (1730–1798) presents in elegant verse the entire Buddhist path according to the Nyingma school. Because it is pithy and concise and makes use of elaborate poetic language, a commentary is indispensable.The root text consists of two main sections devoted, respectively, to the Sutras and the Tantras. The Sutra section, which is the subject of the present volume, covers the ethical, psychological, and philosophical teachings shared by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The essential thrust is toward the Mahayana, but the text also addresses questions associated with the Hinayana perspective, such as the fundamental issues of karma and ethics, the four noble truths, and the twelvefold chain of dependent arising.

    Thich Nhat Hanh focuses on the direct experience of recognizing, embracing, and looking deeply into the nature of our feelings and perceptions. Presenting the basic teachings of Buddhist-applied psychology, he shows us how our mind is like a field, where every kind of seed is planted -- seeds of suffering, happiness and joy, and sorrow and fear. The quality of our life depends on the quality of the seeds in our mind. If we know how to water seeds of joy and transform seeds of suffering, then understanding, love, and compassion will flower.

    For the next ten years, he studied with many teachers. Using his newfound knowledge, Crow opened a clinic in Kathmandu and another in a small mountain village, where he treated beggars from the street as well as high abbots of monasteries. This colorful and captivating story interweaves medical teachings with insights into Tibetan Buddhism, evoking the beauty and wonder of a faraway land.

    Yet we see people, such as the Dalai Lama, who have faced circumstances far worse than many of us have faced—including exile, persecution, and the loss of many loved ones—but who do not burn with rage or seek revenge. How do they do it? Working with Anger presents a variety of Buddhist methods for subduing and preventing anger not by changing what is happening, but by framing it differently. No matter what our religion, learning to work with our anger is effective for everyone seeking personal happiness as well as world peace. Working with Anger was chosen for a Spirituality and Health Magazine Award as one of the Best Spiritual Books of 2001.

    Some of them accord with reality and serve us well throughout the course of our lives. Others are out of alignment with reality and cause us problems. Tibetan Buddhist practice isn't just sitting in silent meditation, it's developing fresh attitudes that align our minds with reality. Attitudes need adjusting, just like a spinal column that has been knocked out of alignment. In this book, B. Alan Wallace explains a fundamental type of Buddhist mental training which is designed to shift our attitudes so that our minds become pure wellsprings of joy instead of murky pools of problems, anxieties, fleeting pleasures, hopes, and frustrations. Wallace shows us the way to develop attitudes that unveil our full capacity for spiritual awakening. The author draws on his thirty-year training in Buddhism, physics, the cognitive sciences, and comparative religion to challenge readers to reappraise many of their assumptions about the nature of the mind and physical world. By explicitly addressing many practical and theoretical issues that uniquely face us in the modern world, Wallace brings this centuries-old practice into the twenty-first century.

    act as informal caregivers for ill or disabled loved ones. We can add to these countless workers in the fields of health and human service, and yet there is still not enough help to go around: as many as three fourths of our informal caregivers report "going it alone." It's no wonder that "caregiver burnout" and depression afflict so many.Sure to be welcomed by caregivers of all types, the groundbreaking new Medicine and Compassion can help anyone reconnect with the true spirit of their caregiving task. In a clear and very modern voice, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and Dr. David R. Shlim use the teachings of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy to present practical tools for revitalizing the caring spirit. Readers, in turn, will find their patience, kindness, and effectiveness re-energized.Offering practical advice on dealing with people who are angry at their medical conditions or their care providers, people who are dying, or the families of those who are critically ill, Medicine and Compassion will strike resonant cords with medical professionals, hospice workers, teachers and parents of children with special needs, and those caring for aging and infirm loved ones.

    These selections from the Buddhist scriptures deal with the search for truth, the way of contemplation, life and death, living in community, and many other topics, serving as an excellent introduction to the Buddha's teaching. Whether addressed to monks and nuns, householders, outcastes, or thieves, the Buddha's teachings are characterized by one main concern: conveying the reality of our bondage to suffering—and the supremely good news that liberation is possible. It is a concern as relevant for people today as it was for the people of north India a millennium and a half ago.

    Rinpoche, has king included many basic principles of tantric theory and practice in general.

    The Yogācāra view is based on the fundamental truth that there is nothing in the realm of human experience that is not interpreted by and dependent upon the mind.Yogācāra Buddhism was unable to sustain the same level of popularity as other Buddhist schools of India, Tibet, and East Asia, but its teachings on the nature of consciousness profoundly impacted the successive developments of Buddhism. Yogācāra served as the basis for the development of the doctrines of karma and liberation in many other schools.In this refreshingly accessible study, Tagawa Shun'ei makes sense of Yogācāra's subtleties and complexities with insight and clarity. He shows us that Yogācāra masters comprehend and express everyday experiences that we all take for granted, yet struggle to explain. Eloquent and approachable, Living Yogācāra deepens the reader's understanding of the development of Buddhism's interpretation of the human psyche.

    She also offers a series of guidelines to help us reconnect with dying persons, whether they are friends or family, clients or patients. Lief highlights the value of relating to the immediacy of death as an ongoing aspect of everyday life by offering readers a variety of practical methods that they can apply to their lives and work. These methods include:    •  Simple mindfulness exercises for deepening awareness of moment-by-moment change    •  Practices for cultivating loving-kindness    •  Helpful slogans and guidelines for caregivers to use Making Friends with Death will enlighten anyone interested in coming to terms with their own mortality. More specifically, the contemplative approach presented here offers health professionals, students of death and dying, and people who are helping a dying friend or relative useful guidance and inspiration. It will show them how to ground their actions in awareness and compassion, so that the steps they take in dealing with pain and suffering will be more effective.

    While the mind is the foundation of Buddhism, it is rarely directly described in its complexity. For this reason the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, wrote a treatise called Distinguishing Consciousness from Wisdom, which describes the eight consciousnesses in great detail and explains how we as ordinary beings are deluded by them. He then describes how to transcend ego and transform these consciousnesses into the five enlightened wisdoms. Transcending Ego: Distinguishing Consciousness from Wisdom presents a translation of Rangjung Dorje's brilliant 36 verse doha spanning this topic and includes a lucid and accessible commentary on these verses by Thrangu Rinpoche. This book is a virtual textbook of Buddhist psychology by an authentic teacher from a lineage that continues to be alive today even though it is a thousand years old. "An illuminating text which provides the 'missing link' between Yogacara philosophy and Mahamudra practice, demonstrating how we might transform our confusion and emotional obscurations into wisdom. Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche has lucidly and generously provided a commentary which will deepen your understanding and enliven your practice. A must for all practitioners of Vajrayana!" --Judith Simmer-Brown, Ph.D. Professor of Buddhist Studies, Naropa University

    Softcover(Trade PB) Edition

    In providing a detailed commentary on the Vajra Song of the first Jamgön Kongtrül (1813–1899), the author elucidates the stages of ground, path, and fruition for those who wish to meditate according to this system.

    These meditations center on different Buddhist themes and provide a good resource for the practicing meditator. The book also includes brief spiritual autobiographies that allow the reader to trace each contributors' entry into and study of Tibetan Buddhism. Our true spiritual friends are the positive potentials in our minds, which will never never disappoint us and never desert us. Similarly, the generous and personal meditations offered in this book help us develop these potentials and thus are true friends to whom we can always turn. Likewise, the Sangha, as the ordained followers of the Buddha upon whom the continuity of the Buddha's teachings depend, are spiritual friends who encourage us and inspire us to transform our minds. This unique book--the first from the International Mahayana Institute--contains meditations written by eighteen nuns and monks of the IMI Sangha as well as an autobiographical essay from each in which these nuns and monks share how they came to the ordained life.

    A deeply humble and religious man, he expressed himself in exquisite verse.Here, presented in both the original Tibetan and in English translation, are twenty-one devotional poems by Tsongkhapa. Each verse--dedicated to the Buddha, bodhisattvas, and lamas--illuminates some aspect of the Buddhist path. Gavin Kilty's commentary places each prayer into context, and his careful, artful translations will appeal to anyone with a love of poetry.

    Informed by the teachings of Nichiren, the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist teacher and reformer, this book considers peace from various angles, including economics, the environment, disarmament, religion, and culture. Asserting that nothing is more precious than peace, this guide affirms that through self-mastery, dialogue, and belief in the sovereignty of the people, the world may come to know a peaceful existence.

    Describing the Indescribable offers a brilliant explanation from a modern Chinese meditation master.

    Recorded live in Berkeley, CA 2001. This is not the same material as Pema Chodron's book of a similar title. These talks follow the 5 slogans of Machig Labdron. This program addresses learning to practice with fear, aversion, and suffering in the context of the great motivation to benefit others. Pema Chodron presents the practice of tonglen (sending and taking) in several forms. Excellent guided meditations. Talk 1: Reveal Your Hidden Faults. Unobstructed love, and knowing the nature of fear. Introduction to the 5 slogans of Machig Labdron. Working with shame and guilt. Practice: "forgiveness tonglen". Talk 2: Approach What You Find Repulsive. Training in being present. Three levels of awareness. Bearing witness to suffering. Practice: "aversion tonglen". Talk 3: Help Those You Think You Cannot Help. Nurturing bodhicitta. Fear is the "fear of fear." Trungpa Rinpoche on "Working with Negativity." Practice: tonglen with our resistance to helping, and with those whom we do not want to help. Talk 4: That Which You Are Attached To: Give That. Trungpa Rinpoche: "The Lions Roar." "Seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, transmuting" experience. Offering practice. Talk 5: Go To The Places That Scare You. Summary of instructions, contemplations, and practices. 6 questions from the discussion groups. Machig Labdron and the Chod practice. Anecdote of Ezra Bada. About being a student: Ani Pema Chodron's teachers, lineage, sangha, Shambhala centers.

    Containing more than 80,000 lexical items used in political, social, economic, literary, and scientific discourse, this invaluable sourcebook includes the tens of thousands of new words that have been coined or that have come into use since Tibet was incorporated into the People's Republic of China in 1951. The dictionary lists lexical items characteristic of the special written genre that was used by Tibetan government officials up to 1959 as well as new terminology used in the Tibetan exile communities in South Asia. It contains both the core lexical terminology used in everyday life and standard modern writing and many proverbs and sayings that appear frequently in contemporary literary materials. The entries provide spoken pronunciation and thousands of illustrative sentences.

    This book captures the essence of this Zen teacher through the eyes of his students and provides a unique introduction to his teachings. "To Shine One Corner of the World" reflects Suzuki's spirit, and passes it on to all seekers. Photos.

    

    It is about making the practice effective for your mind, making it the quickest, most powerful way to transform your mind.

    Dangerous Friend offers an in-depth exploration of this mysterious and complex bond, a relationship of paramount importance in Tibetan Buddhist practice. According to Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the student must have complete trust in the teacher (the "dangerous friend") if he or she is to achieve any understanding. It is the teacher's responsibility to uphold the integrity of the tradition, the basis of which is compassion for all beings, by transmitting it properly to an appropriate student. Likewise, it is the student's responsibility to meet the challenge of carrying on the lineage of teachings. By entering such a relationship, both teacher and student accept the burden of protecting those teachings by understanding them completely and correctly, by practicing them fully and faultlessly, and by transmitting them without omission. Dangerous Friend includes discussions of the following topics:    •  Meeting and recognizing an appropriate teacher.    •  Understanding the gravity of entering the teacher-student relationship.    •  Shifting one's approach from spiritual materialism to genuine Buddhist practice.    •  Accepting the challenge of being truly kind, honest, and courageous.

    The sutra itself is short but Hsing Yun's wonderful stories help readers understand the deeper meaning of these teachings and how to incorporate them into their lives.

    Included are works by John Cage, Diane di Prima, Allen Ginsberg, Jane Hirshfield, Andrew Schelling, Gary Snyder, Anne Waldman, and others.

    

    This book helps readers understand how this Buddhist saint of travellers, children and the dead can help people confront suffering. Accompanied with beautiful black and white photographs and illustrations, Bays writes for those who are grieving, those who have lost loved ones, or anyone with an interest in Buddhism or Zen.

    

    The ordination vows act as guidelines to promote harmony both within the individual and within the community by regulating and thereby simplifying one's relationships to other sangha members and laypeople, as well as to the needs of daily life. Observing these precepts and practicing the Buddhadharma brings incredible benefit to oneself and others. Since the nuns' precepts include those for monks and have additional rules for nuns, this book is useful for anyone interested in monastic life. As a record of women's struggle not only to achieve a life of self-discipline, but also to create harmonious independent religious communities of women, Choosing Simplicity is a pioneering work.

    The Kalacakra, or "wheel of time," tantra likely entered Indian Mahayana Buddhism around the tenth century. In expounding the root tantra, the Indian master Pundarika, one of the legendary Kalki kings of the land of Shambhala, wrote his influential Stainless Light. Ornament of Stainless Light is an authoritative Tibetan exposition of this important text, composed in the fifteenth century by Khedrup Norsang Gyatso, tutor to the Second Dalai Lama. One of the central projects of Kalacakra literature is a detailed correlation between the human body and the external universe. In working out this complex correspondence, the Kalacakra texts present an amazingly detailed theory of cosmology and astronomy, especially about the movements of the various celestial bodies. The Kalacakra tantra is also a highly complex system of Buddhist theory and practice that employs vital bodily energies, deep meditative mental states, and a penetrative focus on subtle points within the body's key energy conduits known as channels. Ornament of Stainless Light addresses all these topics, elaborating on the external universe, the inner world of the individual, the Kalacakra initiation rites, and the tantric stages of generation and completion, all in a highly readable English translation.

    Drawing on a wide range of scholarship, Reason's Traces reflects current work in philosophical analysis and hermeneutics, inviting readers to explore in a Buddhist context the relationship between philosophy and traditions of spiritual exercise.

    Ayya Khema is a mountain of strength, encouragement, and tough love as she pours out down-to-earth practical instruction on the journey to enlightenment, following the framework set forth in the Samannaphala-sutta, the Buddha's discourse on the rewards of spiritual life. The sutta—included here in the translation by Bhikkhu Bodhi—contains the Buddha's teachings in response to questions posed by King Ajatasattu. Why, the king asked, should we give up the satisfactions of worldly life and devote ourselves to meditation? What are the tangible benefits to be gained from following the Buddha's way? In answering this question, the Buddha provides a compact synopsis of the entirety of the spiritual path, and Ayya Khema expands on this with her characteristic approach—simple, direct, experiential, and loving. An important aspect of the sutta is an account of the eight meditative absorptions, or jhanas—states of mind that bring joy, serenity, and peace and that open the way to clarity and liberation. Ayya Khema, who was herself adept at the eight absorptions, confidently leads the reader to, through, and beyond the jhanas, following the Buddha's plan. Her words have the effect of inspiring us to roll up our sleeves and get to work so that we may grasp the insights, accomplish the meditative goals, and become enlightened to the highest extent of our talents and efforts.

    And so begins another life journey along the spiritual path of one of our favorite authors. Larkin's account is by turns hilarious, heartbreaking, exasperating, and exhilarating, and is told with her usual charm and grace. Part travelogue, part spiritual journey, First You Shave Your Head is a lighthearted collection of Buddhist practices and principles that won't fail to inspire and amuse.Author Biography: Geri Larkin lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she is an ordained dharma teacher and runs the Right Livelihood Seed Capital Fund, which helps fund Buddhist-based ventures.