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.

    Ambedkar's magnum opus, The Buddha and his Dhamma, was barely completed before his death and was published posthumously in 1957. The book is known for Ambedkar's review and analysis of the vast Buddhist canon and literature. This is the first critical edition of The Buddha and his Dhamma. Along with a new Introduction, it includes footnotes indicating sources and annotations explaining various topics of discussion. The annotations provide useful information on canons like Suttas and Dhammapada indicating their authoritativeness in the Buddhist tradition and discuss the modifications effected in Ambedkar's use of the source material. An analytical index helps locate various passages and themes in the original text.

    The respected Trappist monk Thomas Merton spent several years reading and reflecting upon four different translations of the Chinese classic that bears Chuang Tzu's name. The result is this collection of poetic renderings of the great sage's work that conveys its spirit in a way no other translation has and that was Merton's personal favorite among his more than fifty books. Both prose and verse are included here, as well as a short section from Merton discussing the most salient themes of Chuang Tzu's teachings.

    In the moments before a great battle, the dialogue sets out the important lessons Arjuna must learn to change the outcome of the war he is to fight, and culminates in Krishna revealing to the warrior his true cosmic form, counselling him to search for the universal perfection of life. Ranging from instructions on yoga postures to dense moral discussion, the Gita is one of the most important Hindu texts, as well as serving as a practical guide to living well.

    They can stir up horrible emotions and make you want to do crazy things. But when comedian Meshel Laurie faced the end of her nineteen-year marriage, Buddhist philosophy helped her turn her biggest challenge into an opportunity for personal growth and greater happiness.Now Meshel shows readers how Buddhism can be a roadmap for navigating the fear, loneliness and grief of a broken heart. Sharing her own story with humour and honesty, she explains:* how the Buddhist concepts of Emptiness and Impermanence can free us to see things clearly (and calm the heck down!)* how to love without attachment* the difference between loneliness and aloneness* how to work through all those disturbing emotions* how to embrace change* how to harness wisdom and compassion in order to heal.Way cheaper than hours of therapy, Buddhism for Break-ups is your go-to guide for zen!

    Because with spiritual awakening, you find that the strongly held beliefs and perceptions you've taken to be 'you' and 'your world' vanish into the unmanifest nature of all that is. The End of Your World presents a landmark six-CD course on the reality of enlightenment and the total re-wiring of your being that accompanies it what Adyashanti calls our journey into the infinite, our true nature as pure consciousness itself.

    It demonstrates how throughout the twentieth century, Thailand has been drawn into the international system, the American camp in the Cold War, the economic gambit of rising Japan, and more recently, the forces of globalization. The authors also survey the country's transformation accompanying massive social evolution over recent decades. (Control of the nation state is still contested between forces with a patriarchal belief in change from above, and advocates of democracy and liberal values.)

    At the end of the Ice Age, Southeast Asia formed a continent twice the size of India, which included Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Borneo. In Eden in the East, Stephen Oppenheimer puts forward the astonishing argument that here in southeast Asia—rather than in Mesopotamia where it is usually placed—was the lost civilization that fertilized the Great cultures of the Middle East 6,000 years ago. He produces evidence from ethnography, archaeology, oceanography, creation stories, myths, linguistics, and DNA analysis to argue that this founding civilization was destroyed by a catastrophic flood, caused by a rapid rise in the sea level at the end of the last ice age.

    Brings together interviews with more than eighty survivors to recount one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War, the 1967 campaign in the mountains of Dak To, during which members of the 173rd Airborne Brigade found themselves caught up in a deadly struggle against overwhelming odds, often cut off from supplies, communications, and reinforcements.

    Accused of being an agent of 'American imperialism', he is chained and imprisoned. His captor, Douch - later responsible for tens of thousands of deaths - interrogates him at length; after three months of torturous deliberation, during which his every word was weighed and his life hung in the balance, he was released. Four years later, the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh. Fran-ois Bizot became the official intermediary between the ruthless conqueror and the terrified refugees behind the gate of the French embassy: a ringside seat to one of history's most appalling genocides. Written thirty years later, Fran-ois Bizot's memoir of his horrific experiences in the 'killing fields' of Cambodia is, in the words of John le Carr-, a 'contemporary classic'.

    Here is a treasury of 108 short teachings by Chogyam Trungpa, one of the most influential Buddhist teachers of our time. Pithy and immediate, these teachings address a range of topics, including fear and fearlessness, accepting our imperfections, developing confidence, helping others, appreciating our basic goodness, and everyday life as a spiritual path. This book is part of the Shambhala Pocket Library series. The Shambhala Pocket Library is a collection of short, portable teachings from notable figures across religious traditions and classic texts. The covers in this series are rendered by Colorado artist Robert Spellman. The books in this collection distill the wisdom and heart of the work Shambhala Publications has published over 50 years into a compact format that is collectible, reader-friendly, and applicable to everyday life.

    Yet there's something missing in his life, a purpose, an anchor. His life is completely set to change when he meets a 13-year-old monk in the mountains. From him, he learns the way of Wabi-Sabi, a Japanese way of living.

    By turns humorous and moving, this beautifully written memoir demystifies Zen training, casting its profound insights in simple, lucid language, and takes the reader on a journey of their own, into the hidden treasures of life that contemplative practice can reveal to any of us.

    This is a country where Buddhist beliefs spare even the rats, where the Director of Prisons quotes Chaucer and where three-day theatrical shows are staged to celebrate a monk taking orders. Hitching lifts with the army and with travelling merchants, Lewis is treated to hospitality wherever he stops in this war-torn land, and reveals a country where 'the condition of the soul replaces that of the stock markets as a topic for polite conversation'.

    Through classical art, traditional proverbs, and superb research, this exquisitely designed volume takes a look back into the origins and history of these notorious “shadow warriors.” Explore their traditions and guiding philosophy, their weapons and martial-arts skills, their mystique as stealthy black-clad assassins, and their enduring appeal as icons of popular culture. A timeline goes back beyond even the very first ninjalike figure, and follows the movement right through the 1800s, when the final ninja mission ever was recorded: the attempt to infiltrate Commodore Perry’s “black ships” off Japan.