It provides a useful introduction to Zen for people that have never had any previous experience of the subject matter, and it will provide a little something here and there for experienced Zen practitioners too, even if they are already very happy and very tranquil. The author's aim is to help people glide through life with maximum joy, and minimum fuss. Three of the central aspects of the Zen way of life that the author has found most useful for increasing happiness and tranquility are explored in detail. These are mindfulness, lifestyle and meditating. Between each of the three main chapters in this book are 'Zen tips', much shorter chapters of just a few paragraphs, giving information on a particular topic that the author has found especially useful in helping to maintain Zen tranquility and happiness. From the author: "This book isn't intended as a complete guide to all aspects of Zen culture, history or philosophy, but as an honest and insightful Zen based contribution to people's well being. I hope you enjoy it, and, more importantly, I hope you find it useful!"

    Later generations further developed these initial insights, but we have never grown beyond them. Rabbinic Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, for example, were all secondary flowerings of the original Israelite vision. Now, in The Great Transformation, Karen Armstrong reveals how the sages of this pivotal "Axial Age" can speak clearly and helpfully to the violence and desperation that we experience in our own times. Armstrong traces the development of the Axial Age chronologically, examining the contributions of such figures as the Buddha, Socrates, Confucius, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the mystics of the Upanishads, Mencius, and Euripides. All of the Axial Age faiths began in principled and visceral recoil from the unprecedented violence of their time. Despite some differences of emphasis, there was a remarkable consensus in their call for an abandonment of selfishness and a spirituality of compassion. With regard to dealing with fear, despair, hatred, rage, and violence, the Axial sages gave their people and give us, Armstrong says, two important pieces of advice: first there must be personal responsibility and self-criticism, and it must be followed by practical, effective action. In her introduction and concluding chapter, Armstrong urges us to consider how these spiritualities challenge the way we are religious today. In our various institutions, we sometimes seem to be attempting to create exactly the kind of religion that Axial sages and prophets had hoped to eliminate. We often equate faith with doctrinal conformity, but the traditions of the Axial Age were not about dogma. All insisted on the primacy of compassion even in the midst of suffering. In each Axial Age case, a disciplined revulsion from violence and hatred proved to be the major catalyst of spiritual change.

    In just thirty-seven verses, Tokmé Zongpo summarizes the bodhisattva path. While this revered and loved text from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition has been translated many times, Ken McLeod's plain and simple English beautifully reflects the simplicity and directness of the original Tibetan. McLeod's commentary is full of striking images, provocative questions and inspiring descriptions of what it means to be awake and present in your life. Practical instruction, brief and to the point, is found in each of the verse commentaries, providing straightforward responses to the question, "How do I practice this?"McLeod is clearly writing from his own experience. Yet, instead of anecdotes and personal history, he challenges the reader to engage various scenarios, and consider for ourselves how compassion, clarity, presence and balance could take expression in his or her life.This masterful translation and commentary shine the light of wisdom on the challenges of contemporary life and illuminate a path the modern reader can tread to freedom, peace and understanding.Reflections on Silver River has three parts. The first is an informative introduction to the text and to Tokmé Zongpo. The introduction is followed by the translation of Tokmé Zongpo's Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva. The third section is the main part of the book, a traditional verse-by-verse commentary. At less than 200 pages, Reflections on Silver River is a highly accessible introduction to Tibetan Buddhist practice as well as a valuable resource for the experienced practitioner, regardless of his or her tradition of training.McLeod himself is a teacher, translator, author and business consultant. He pioneered one-on-one meditation instruction, has taught numerous retreats and classes, published a highly regarded translation of Mahayana mind-training under the title The Great Path of Awakening, wrote an encyclopedic treatment of meditation practice in Wake Up to Your Life, and composed a poetic and evocative commentary on the Heart Sutra in An Arrow to the Heart.

    It is considered second only to the Tao Te Ching, but the two books coundn't be more different. Where the Tao Te Ching is distant and proverbial in style, the Chuang Tze buzzes with life and with insights, often with considerable humour behind them.

    It offers a contemporary interpretation of the way to enlightenment, written by highly revered spiritual leader. The fundamental tenets of the Buddhist understanding of life, such as The Eightfold Path, The Six Paramitas and the Laws of Causality, are clearly explained in modern and accessible terms, along with the need for self-reflection, the nature of karma and reincarnation, and other teachings of the Buddha. Enlightenment is a potential achievement for every sentient being. The path towards it is an expansion of consciousness, moving from material concerns to an increaed awareness of the unseen spiritual reality. This, and the practice of a love that gives, rather than just expecting to be loved, is the only path to happiness, and a better world.

    The best collection of Zen wisdom and wit since "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones": koans, sayings, poems, and stories by Eastern and American Zen teachers and students capture the delightful, challenging, mystifying, mind-stopping, outrageous, and scandalous heart of Zen.

    Since his death in 1987, countless readers have been challenged to encounter DeMellos message.

    What is the nature of these close connections? And what if our influence on pets, both in life and especially through sickness and death, is far more powerful than we ever conceived? David Michie draws on ancient Buddhist wisdom, supported by contemporary science, to provide fascinating insights into animal consciousness. He proposes that the pets with whom we share our lives are not there by accident. Whether your animal companion has fur, feathers or fins, he offers a treasury of practical tools to enhance your relationship with them in everyday life, as well as during times of challenge. Written with humour and compassion, and including extraordinary true stories from around the world, Buddhism for Pet Lovers reveals how our animal companions may indeed be among our most precious partners. For in helping them, our own lives are incomparably enriched too. 'If you have ever deeply loved an animal, this is, without doubt, the book for you.' Gail Pope, BrightHaven 'Our pets offer us one of our greatest opportunities to add compassion to the world. This book helps direct us to a path toward the blossoming of that opportunity.' Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words, and What Animals Think and Feel

    This invaluable source of wisdom and inspiration for both beginning and experienced meditators sparks enthusiasm for pursuing this practice and its highest goal, self-realization.

    As taught by S. N. Goenka, this path to self-awareness is extraordinary in its simplicity, its lack of dogma and, above all, its results. The Vipassana technique can be successfully applied by anyone.Based on the lectures and writings of S. N. Goenka--and prepared under his direct guidance--The Art of Living shows how this technique can be used to solve problems, develop unused potential, and lead a peaceful, productive life. It includes stories by S. N. Goenka, as well as answers to students' questions, that convey a vivid sense of his teaching.S. N. Goenka's Vipassana courses have attracted thousands of people of every background. Unique among teachers of meditation, Goenka is a retired industrialist and former leader of the Indian Community in Burma. Although a layman, his teaching has won the approval of senior Buddhist monks in Burma, India, and Sri Lanka, a number of whom have taken courses under his guidance. Despite his magnetism, he has no wish to be a "guru" --instead he teaches self-responsibility. This is the first systematic study of his teachings to appear in English.

    The 38 participants in the first-ever intensive, silent 10-day program inside the walls of a corrections facility—many serving life sentences without parole—detail the range of their experiences, the depth of their understanding of the Buddha’s teachings gained by direct experience, and their setbacks and successes. During the Vipassana meditation program, they face the past and their miseries and emerge with a sense of peace and purpose. This compelling story shows the capacity for commitment, self-examination, renewal, and hope within a dismal penal system and a wider culture that demonizes prisoners.

    Includes the Swami's translation of the Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali.

    When most of us study philosophy, we're focusing only on the Western intellectual tradition brought about by people such as Aristotle, Descartes, and Nietzsche. But to understand the Western intellectual tradition is to only get half of the story.Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectual Tradition is an epic, comprehensive survey of the East's most influential philosophers and thinkers. In 36 lectures, award-winning Professor Grant Hardy of the University of North Carolina at Asheville introduces you to the men and women responsible for molding Asian philosophy and for giving birth to a wide variety of spiritual and ideological systems, including Hinduism, Daoism, Confucianism, Sufism, and Buddhism. By focusing on these key thinkers in their historical contexts, you'll witness the development of these rich traditions as they shaped and defined Eastern cultures through the rise and fall of empires, the friendly and hostile encounters with each other and with the Western world, and the rapid advancements of the modern age.

    Compiled in the twelfth century, it is considered one of the great treasures of Zen literature and an essential study manual for students of Zen.

    The translations were first published by the Nichiren Shoshu International Center (NSIC) over a period from 1979 to 1995 in a seven-volume series entitled "The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin." A total of 172 works make up this series, including the Daishonin's five major works ("On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land," "The Opening of the Eyes," "The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind," "The Selection of the Time," and "On Repaying Debts of Gratitude"). Columbia University Press published 85 of those 172 translations, 12 in 1990 in "Selected Writings of Nichiren," and 73 in 1996 in "Letters of Nichiren." Eager to have all the translations under one cover, Soka Gakkai International (SGI) members asked that they be published in one volume. Thus the Soka Gakkai decided to publish the present volume - all 172 works in chronological order. This work is indeed wonderful news, not only for members of the Soka Gakkai International, but for all English-speaking people interested in Buddhism.