Book picks similar to
Vivid Awareness: The Mind Instructions of Khenpo Gangshar by Khenchen Thrangu
buddhism
dharma
non-fiction
spiritual
Appreciate Your Life: The Essence of Zen Practice
Taizan Maezumi - 2001
These short, inspiring readings illuminate Zen practice in simple, eloquent language. Topics include zazen and Zen koans, how to appreciate your life as the life of the Buddha, and the essential matter of life and death. Appreciate Your Life conveys Maezumi Roshi's unique spirit and teaching style, as well as his timeless insights into the practice of Zen. Never satisfied with merely conveying ideas, his teisho, the Zen talks he gave weekly and during retreats, evoked personal questions from his students. Maezumi Roshi insisted that his students address these questions in their own lives. As he often said, "Be intimate with your life." The readings are not teachings or instructions in the traditional sense. They are transcriptions of the master's teisho, living presentations of his direct experience of Zen realization. These teisho are crystalline offerings of Zen insight intended to reach beyond the student's intellect to her or his deepest essence.
Buddhism Day by Day: Wisdom for Modern Life
Daisaku Ikeda - 2006
Covering a wide span of topics—from life and death to courage and winning—the practical information and encouragement are ideal for those seeking to find a deeper understanding of this ancient philosophy.
Introduction to Emptiness: As Taught in Tsong-Kha-Pa's Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path
Guy Newland - 2008
In clear language, Introduction to Emptiness explains that emptiness is not a mystical sort of nothingness, but a specific truth that can and must be understood through calm and careful reflection. Newland's contemporary examples and vivid anecdotes will be helpful to students trying to understand one of the great classic texts of the Tibetan tradition, Tsong-kha-pa's Great Treatise.
What are You Doing with Your Life: Teen Books on Living Volume 1
Jiddu Krishnamurti - 2001
KRISHNAMURTII TEACHINGS FOR TEENS, edited by Dale Carlson. Teens learn to understand the self, the purpose of life, work, education, relationships. Through paying attention rather than accepting the authority of their conditioning, they can find out for themselves about love, sex, marriage, work, education, the meaning of life and how to change themselves and the world. The Dalai Lama calls Krishnamurti "One of the greatest thinkers of the age."
Turning the Mind Into an Ally
Sakyong Mipham - 2003
Growing up American with a Tibetan twist, Sakyong Mipham talks to Westerners as no one can: in idiomatic English with stories and wisdom from American culture and the great Buddhist teachers. Turning the Mind Into an Ally makes it possible for anyone to achieve peace and clarity in their lives.
Unlimiting Mind: The Radically Experiential Psychology of Buddhism
Andrew Olendzki - 2010
Sophisticated without being daunting, brilliantly clear without becoming simplistic, Andrew Olendzki's writing is filled with rich phrases, remarkable images, and the fruits of decades of careful thought. Grounded in profound scholarship, psychological sophistication, and many years of teaching and personal practice, this much-anticipated collection of essays will appeal to anyone looking to gain a richer understanding of Buddhism's experiential tools for exploring the inner world. In Unlimiting Mind, Olendzki provokes fresh and familiar reflections on core Buddhist teachings.
A Fistful of Wisdom
Om Swami - 2017
A Fistful of Wisdom reminds us that life is playful and it is demanding, but it is also a gift, a precious and priceless blessing. The more we learn to appreciate the beauty in simple things, the easier our survival. This book reminds us to observe and appreciate each passing moment and experience the pure joy of just being here and now. Bestselling author and mystic Om Swami doles out simple yet profound wisdom about the true meaning of happiness in his characteristic lighthearted way. Inside these pages, you will find a spiritual guru’s lucid solutions to problems and challenges related to modernday living.Om Swami is a mystic living in the Himalayan foothills. He has a Bachelor’s degree in business and an MBA from Sydney, Australia. Prior to his renunciation of this world, he founded and successfully ran a multimilliondollar software company. He is the bestselling author of The Ancient Science of Mantras, A Million Thoughts, Kundalini: An Untold Story, A Fistful of Love and If Truth Be Told: A Monk’s Memoir.
Journey to Mindfulness: The Autobiography of Bhante G.
Henepola Gunaratana - 1998
Ordained at twelve, he would eventually become the first Buddhist chaplain at an American university, the founder of a retreat center and monastery, and a bestselling author. Here, Bhante G. lays bare the often-surprising ups and downs of his seventy-five years, from his boyhood in Sri Lanka to his decades of sharing the insights of the Buddha, telling his story with the "plain-English" approach for which he is so renowned.
The Feeling Buddha: A Buddhist Psychology of Character, Adversity and Passion
David Brazier - 1997
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.
Radical Compassion: Shambhala Publications Authors on the Path of Boundless Love
Shambhala PublicationsGaylon Ferguson - 2014
It’s about opening up to the vulnerable space inside every one of us and letting our barriers down. And it’s about daring to be present to ourselves and others with genuine love and kindness. Empowering personal awakening and social change, it might be the most radical and transformative thing we can do. The cultivation of compassion has long been at the core of Naropa University’s mission, since its origins in 1974—and its students and faculty have been leaders in contemplative education with heart. In celebration of Naropa’s fortieth anniversary, Shambhala Publications is pleased to offer these teachings on the path of compassion from a collection of authors who have helped shape the school’s unique and innovative identity, including: Chogyam Trungpa on opening ourselves more and more to love the whole of humanity Dzogchen Ponlop on how to cultivate altruism with the help of a spiritual mentor Judith L. Lief on the common obstacles to compassion and how to overcome them Gaylon Ferguson on awakening human-heartedness in oneself and society amidst everyday life Diane Musho Hamilton on connecting to natural empathy and taking a compassionate approach to conflict resolution Reginald A. Ray on spiritual practices for developing the enlightened mind and heart in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition Ringu Tulku on the practices of bodhisattvas, those who devote themselves to the path of enlightenment for the sake of all beings Pema Chodron on building up loving-kindness for oneself and others with help from traditional Buddhist slogans Ken Wilber on what it really means to be a support person, with reflections from his own life Karen Kissel Wegela on avoiding caregiver’s burnout and staying centered amidst our efforts to help those in need and reflections on Naropa University and the meaning of radical compassion from longstanding faculty member Judith Simmer-Brown
Be Nobody
Lama Marut - 2014
No one wants to be a loser, a small fry, a big zero.But maybe we've got it all wrong.With his edgy tone and radical perspective, Lama Marut follows up A Spiritual Renegade's Guide to the Good Life by calling for the biggest revolution of all: the overthrow of our obsessive quest to be somebody. It is this quest to distinguish ourselves that is the true cause of our dissatisfaction, leaving us feeling isolated and alone.Drawing from the spiritual truism that only by losing the self can we discover our real potential, Be Nobody provides action steps and simple meditations that lay down the heavy burden of trying to be somebody. Without the need to seclude oneself in a monastery or retire to a cave in the Himalayas, Marut gives readers the freedom to find true fulfillmentSo stop narrating your life and start living it. Be nobody.
The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa
Milarepa - 1962
Milarepa was an eleventh-century Buddhist poet and saint, a cotton-clad yogi who avoided the scholarly institutions of his time and wandered from village to village, teaching enlightenment and the path to Buddhahood through his spontaneously composed songs. Wherever he went, crowds of people gathered to hear his sweet sounding voice "singing the Dharma." The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, says the book's translator, "has been read as the biography of a saint, a guide book for devotions, a manual of Buddhist yoga, a volume of songs and poems, and even a collection of Tibetan folklore, and fairy tales." With titles like "The Salvation of the Dead," "A Woman's Role in the Dharma," and "Challenge from a Wise Demoness," Milrepa's poems are filled with fascinating tales of miraculous encounters and colorful imagery, and present a valuable insight into the living quality of Tibetan Buddhism. Central as this book is to Tibetan culture, the arcane dialect and obscurity of many original passages daunted translators for centuries; this was the first complete version of the classic to appear in the West.
Dream Yoga: Illuminating Your Life Through Lucid Dreaming and the Tibetan Yogas of Sleep
Andrew Holecek - 2016
Yet for many, "getting lucid" for the first time can be elusive. And for those who have, there are few resources that show us how to use this extraordinary state for the greater goal of awakening to all of reality, day or night. With Dream Yoga, Andrew Holecek brings us a practical guide for meditators, seasoned dream travelers wanting to go deeper, and total beginners eager to experience lucidity for the first time. Here, you’ll join this expert teacher of dream work and meditation to learn: How to awaken in your dreams naturally by using modern scientific principles with the insights and practices of Tibetan dream and sleep yoga• Proven guidance to overcome common obstacles, enhance dream recall, focus and amplify awareness while dreaming, work with nightmares safely, resolve emotional blockages, and glean wisdom from your dreams• A wealth of practices and tips that have helped thousands enjoy successful dream-time exploration• Essential Buddhist teachings and tools for navigating the many realms of sleep (dreaming is just one of them)• Direct insights into the continuation of consciousness beyond the physical body and death• How to bring your skills together to engage with the hundreds of thousands of dream opportunities that most of us forget or dismiss Have you ever wondered what happens when you sleep and dream? Desired to wake up in your dreams and have the time of your life? Or wanted to use your sleep hours to fully explore these dimensions, heal, and evolve? Dream Yoga answers these questions—not academically but directly—by showing you how to access this profound universe for yourself.
A Buddhist Bible
Dwight Goddard - 1932
A modern Buddhist Bible is the first anthology to bring together the writings from Buddhists, both Eastern and Western, that have redefined Buddhism for our era.Forging a universal doctrine from the divergent traditions of China, Sri Lanka, Japan, Burma, Thailand, and Tibet, the makers of modern Buddhism saw it as a return to the origin, as renowned scholar Donald Lopez shows. Modern Buddhism is for them a homeward journey to the vision of Buddha himself. Putting far more stress on meditation and spirituality than on ritual and relics, it embraces the ordination of women and values of science, social justice, tolerance, and individual freedom.
The Zen Teaching of Homeless Kodo
Kosho Uchiyama - 1981
Instead, he lived a traveling, "homeless" life, going from temple to temple, student to student, teaching and instructing and never allowing himself to stray from his chosen path. He is responsible for making Soto Zen available to the common people outside of monasteries. His teachings are short, sharp, and powerful. Always clear, often funny, and sometimes uncomfortably close to home, they jolt us into awakening. Kosho Uchiyama expands and explains his teacher's wisdom with his commentary. Trained in Western philosophy, he draws parallels between Zen teachings and the Bible, Descartes, and Pascal. Shohaku Okumura has also added his own commentary, grounding his teachers' power and sagacity for the contemporary, Western practitioner. Experience the timeless, practical wisdom of three generations of Zen masters.