Chosen for impact, clarity, and humor, these one-per-day quotations come from a wide variety of sources: Zen masters; Christian and Sufi mystics; Eastern and Western philosophers; poets ancient and modern; and living artists, writers, and comedians. Each entry also contains a question to prompt self-examination, making the calendar a year-long course in fending off destructive thoughts and finding inner certainty.

    One person fights a line-up of thirty fighters, one after another, full contact, moving up the grades to face the strongest, most dangerous fighters last. Waking Dragons is a true account of Goran Powell's 30 Man Kumite and the lifetime of martial arts that led up to it. He covers the fitness training and mental preparations required for such a brutal test, talking openly of the conquest of fear and the spiritual growth that is at the heart of the traditional martial arts. REVIEWS: "It inspired me, and I know it will inspire you" Geoff Thompson. "The author's journey is one in which we can find great wisdom, information that all martial artists should know" Lawrence Kane. "Quite simply, this book is impossible to put down" Matthew Sylvester, Traditional Karate and Combat Magazine. "One of those rare books you want to keep reading because it's so good, but fear reaching the end because then it will be over" Richard Revell, Waterstones, "An exciting and tense read with lots of action" Martial Arts Magazine, August 2007. "I only wish I'd written the damned thing myself" Nick Hughes, Fight Survival Training.

    We often regard it as an enemy, when we feel it slipping away before we’re ready for time to be up. The Zen view of time is radically different than that: time is not something separate from our life; rather, our life is time. Understand this, says Dainin Katagiri Roshi, and you can live fully and freely right where you are in each moment.  Katagiri bases his teaching on Being Time, a text by the most famous of all Zen masters, Eihei Dogen (1200–1253), to show that time is a creative, dynamic process that continuously produces the universe and everything in it—and that to understand this is to discover a gateway to freedom from the dissatisfactions of everyday life. He guides us in contemplating impermanence, the present moment, and the ungraspable nature of past and future. He discusses time as part of our inner being, made manifest through constant change in ourselves and our surroundings. And these ideas are by no means metaphysical abstractions: they can be directly perceived by any of us through meditation.

    Vajragupta gives clear explanations of Buddhist teachings and the necessary guidance on how to apply these to enrich our busy and complex lives. The personal stories, examples, exercises, and questions in this book help transform Buddhist practice into more than just a fine set of ideals. They make the path of ethics, meditation, and wisdom a tangible part of our lives.Vajragupta, born Richard Staunton in London, is experienced in teaching Buddhism to students of all ages.

    In this disarmingly accessible study of the art of acting he shares his unique experience and range of expertise. An Actor's Tricks offers a meticulous scrutiny of the actor's preparation for performance and comes with a foreword by Peter Brook.Drawing on an unrivalled wealth and range of expertise in the fields of acting, directing and training, Yoshi Oida and Lorna Marshall provide an authoritative and fascinating study of the art of the actor.In scrutinising the process of performance from the twin perspectives of the actor and director, An Actor's Tricks is filled with hints, insights and stories from productions with Peter Brook and from around the world.Beginning with the daily preparation to train the body, it moves to the process of rehearsal for a performance right up to the moment when the actor steps onstage. An appendix of practical exercises is included for the actor to follow.The books combines principles and techniques from both Western and Eastern disciplines of acting to provide a masterful study essential for every actor and director.

    Likewise, it is said that Buddhist teachings are the raft that takes us there.In this sparkling collection from one of the most vital teachers of modern Korean Buddhism, Zen Master Daehaeng shows us that there is no raft to find and, truly, no river to cross. She extends her hand to the Western reader, beckoning each of us into the unfailing wisdom accessible right now, the enlightenment that is always, already, right here.A Zen (or seon, as Korean Zen is called) master with impeccable credentials, Daehaeng has developed a refreshing approach; No River to Cross is surprisingly personal. It's disarmingly simple, yet remarkably profound, pointing us again and again to our foundation, our "True Nature" - the perfection of things just as they are.

    Over the years he has developed his own utterly unique style made of straight talk and sparkling, inspiring insights. The title of this, his long-awaited new book, comes from the teachings Rigdzin Shikpo received from Trungpa Rinpoche, who said that we should always turn toward those things that scare us, open to them completely, and never turn away from them. This path of openness, clarity, and sensitivity is a hallmark of the Dzogchen tradition of Buddhist practice. Rigdzin Shikpo has lived its truth so deeply that his words shine with authenticity and freshness.

    With his unique perspective and far-reaching vision, Berry poses complex questions about humankind and our relationship to the land and offers simple but profound solutions. Berry's essays, novels, and poems give voice to a provocative but consistent philosophy, one that extends far beyond its agrarian core to include elements of sociology, the natural sciences, politics, religion, philosophy, linguistics, agriculture, and other seemingly incompatible fields of study. Wendell Berry: Life and Work examines this wise and original thinker, appraising his written work and exploring his influence as an activist and artist. Jason Peters has assembled a broad variety of writers including Hayden Carruth, Sven Birkerts, Barbara Kingsolver, Stanley Hauerwas, Donald Hall, Ed McClanahan, Bill McKibben, Scott Russell Sanders, Norman Wirzba, Wes Jackson, and Eric T. Freyfogle. Each contributor examines an aspect of Berry's varied yet cohesive body of work. Also included are highly personal glimpses of Wendell Berry: his career, academic influence, and unconventional lifestyle. These deft sketches of Berry show the purity of his agrarian lifestyle and demonstrate that there is nothing simple about the life to which he has devoted himself. He embraces a life that sustains him not by easy purchase and haste but by physical labor and patience, not by mindless acquiescence to a centralized economy but by careful attention to local ways and wisdom. Wendell Berry: Life and Work combines biographical sketches, personal accounts, literary criticism, and social commentary. Together, the contributors illuminate Berry as he is: a complex man of place and community with an astonishing depth of domestic, intellectual, filial, and fraternal attributes. The result is a rich portrait of one of America's most profound and honest thinkers.