Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness


Chögyam Trungpa - 1993
    They are revolutionary in that practicing them fosters abandonment of personal territory in relating to others and in understanding the world as it is. The fifty-nine provocative slogans presented here—each with a commentary by the Tibetan meditation master Chögyam Trungpa—have been used by Tibetan Buddhists for eight centuries to help meditation students remember and focus on important principles and practices of mind training. They emphasize meeting the ordinary situations of life with intelligence and compassion under all circumstances. Slogans include, "Don't be swayed by external circumstances," "Be grateful to everyone," and "Always maintain only a joyful mind." This edition contains a new foreword by Pema Chödrön.

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth


Reza Aslan - 2013
    Two thousand years ago, an itinerant Jewish preacher and miracle worker walked across the Galilee, gathering followers to establish what he called the “Kingdom of God.” The revolutionary movement he launched was so threatening to the established order that he was captured, tortured, and executed as a state criminal. Within decades after his shameful death, his followers would call him God. Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of history’s most influential and enigmatic characters by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived: first-century Palestine, an age awash in apocalyptic fervor. Scores of Jewish prophets, preachers, and would-be messiahs wandered through the Holy Land, bearing messages from God. This was the age of zealotry—a fervent nationalism that made resistance to the Roman occupation a sacred duty incumbent on all Jews. And few figures better exemplified this principle than the charismatic Galilean who defied both the imperial authorities and their allies in the Jewish religious hierarchy. Balancing the Jesus of the Gospels against the historical sources, Aslan describes a man full of conviction and passion, yet rife with contradiction; a man of peace who exhorted his followers to arm themselves with swords; an exorcist and faith healer who urged his disciples to keep his identity a secret; and ultimately the seditious “King of the Jews” whose promise of liberation from Rome went unfulfilled in his brief lifetime. Aslan explores the reasons why the early Christian church preferred to promulgate an image of Jesus as a peaceful spiritual teacher rather than a politically conscious revolutionary. And he grapples with the riddle of how Jesus understood himself, the mystery that is at the heart of all subsequent claims about his divinity. Zealot yields a fresh perspective on one of the greatest stories ever told even as it affirms the radical and transformative nature of Jesus of Nazareth’s life and mission. The result is a thought-provoking, elegantly written biography with the pulse of a fast-paced novel: a singularly brilliant portrait of a man, a time, and the birth of a religion.

John's Story: The Last Eyewitness


Tim LaHaye - 2006
    John's Story tell His glorious, dramatic story. John's Story: The Last Eyewitness is told by the one whom Jesus called beloved. John, a once-broken man, was forever changed the moment he met the mysterious stranger from Nazareth, his heart opened by the One whom he discovered to be the Son of God.At ninety years old, John is the last of the original twelve apostles still alive, the only one who was not martyred. Committed to spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ, he is called by God to write a gospel in order to set the record straight-as others were teaching that Jesus wasn't the Son of God. Recalling his time with Jesus, John brings to life the miracles and messages of the Man who would change the course of history.The first in a series, John's Story: The Last Eyewitness is a remarkable and thrilling account of the life of the Man who came to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament and to save all of mankind. To bring deeper understanding to the story, each of the four books nclude the text of the corresponding gospel as an appendix.John's Story illuminates the times of Jesus, His life, and His messages like never before. Using cutting-edge historical and academic research, as well as biblically based themes, they are first and foremost page-turning novels that could come only from the pens of Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.

Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message


Ravi Zacharias - 2000
    With a simple yet penetrating style, Zacharias uses rich illustrations to celebrate the power of Jesus Christ to transform lives. Jesus Among Other Gods contrasts the truth of Jesus with founders of Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, strengthening believers and compelling them to share their faith with our post-modern world.

Do Nothing and Do Everything: An Illustrated New Taoism


Qiguang Zhao - 2010
    In Do Nothing and Do Everything he applies the ideas of Wu Wei (do nothing) and Wu Bu Wei (do everything) to modern life. Do Nothing and Do Everything is supplemented by observations of American and Chinese life. Rich and humorous illustrations convey the subtle ideas that go beyond language and are re-created in the same style as the ones the author draws impromptu on the blackboard in his classes. This introduction to ancient Taoism is conveyed in a lighthearted and humorous manner. This illustrated new Taoism will answer the widespread thirst for an alternative approach to life, and a longing for health, tranquility, and spiritual liberation.

Jesus Behaving Badly: The Puzzling Paradoxes of the Man from Galilee


Mark L. Strauss - 2015
    Don't they? We overlook that Jesus wasJudgmental?preaching hellfire far more than the apostle PaulUncompromising?telling people to hate their familiesChauvinistic?excluding women from leadershipRacist?insulting people from other ethnic groupsAnti-environmental?cursing a fig tree and affirming animal sacrificeAngry?overturning tables and chasing moneychangers in the templeHe demanded moral perfection, told people to cut off body parts, made prophecies that haven't come true, and defied religious and political authorities. While we tend to ignore this troubling behavior, the people around Jesus didn't. Some believed him so dangerous that they found a way to have him killed. The Jesus everybody likes, says Mark Strauss, is not the Jesus found in the Gospels. He's a figure we've created in our own minds. Strauss believes that when we unpack the puzzling paradoxes of the man from Galilee, we find greater insight into his countercultural message and mission than we could ever have imagined.

The Story Luke Tells


Justo L. González - 2015
    Not only are Luke’s Gospel and Acts more extensive than all of Paul’s epistles put together; Luke’s particular slant on the story he tells also sets him apart. In this book Justo Gonzalez examines Luke’s characteristic perspective and its relevance for the church today.Gonzalez highlights eight themes in Luke’s writing, including his concern for gender inclusivity, his emphasis on Jesus as Savior, his interest in eating and its connection to worship, and his stress on the great upheaval that God is bringing about. Focusing especially on the unique perspective that Luke brings to his writing as a historian, Gonzalez shows how Luke’s narrative invites us into his story and connects us with the entire history of humanity.

Die Now to Live Forever


Sanjay Singh - 2019
    It depicts a typical middle-class Indian family mindset. Throughout his life, Vinay has been taught to dream big and work hard. After years of tireless effort, he becomes a doctor but things turn sour as he starts to perceive unusual psychiatric symptoms. He falls victim to major psychiatric disorders, OCD and Depression. With each passing day life increasingly becomes a burden on him. He looses his loved ones. He takes few futile attempts to balance work and life, but nothing works out. It is when he turns absolutely distraught that he decides to end his life. But one dream has changed it all. He discovers a new realm of life. He is a different man now. The story describes how one can find much-longed happiness, how one can break the cycle of desires and sorrows and how one can become Buddha in their own lives. The author gives a lucid description of novel concepts like “Self witnessing”, “Self-conditioning”, “Self-love” and “Buddhahood”. He describes ways to attain the supreme form of happiness. This book is unique in the sense that it touches the much-neglected topic of mental health. India is a country with the highest burden of people suffering from major psychiatric disorders. Additionally, it ranks number one in suicide rates all over the world. This book has been written by a medical professional- Dr. Sanjay Singh. It is second in line to books written by him after “Oh dear happiness! The lost story of contentment”. He has written a blog named “The story behind the Dark Disease - Depression" which has been read more than two lacs times. He hopes that this book will pave the way to a new way of life to those who are extremely depressed and suffering from various psychiatric illnesses.

The I Ching or Book of Changes


Richard Wilhelm
    It has exerted a living influence in China for 3000 years and interest in it has spread in the West. Set down in the dawn of history as a book of oracles, the Book of Changes deepened in meaning when ethical values were attached to the oracular pronouncements; it became a book of wisdom, eventually one of the Five Classics of Confucianism, and provided the common source for both Confucianist and Taoist philosophy. Wilhelm's rendering of the I Ching into German, published in 1924, presented it for the 1st time in a form intelligible to the general reader. Wilhelm, who translated many other ancient Chinese works and who wrote several books on Chinese philosophy and civilization, long resided in China. His close association with its cultural leaders gave him a unique understanding of the text of the I Ching. In the English translation, every effort has been made to preserve Wilhelm's pioneering insight into the spirit of the original.This 3rd edition, completely reset, contains a new forward by Hellmut Wilhelm, one of the most eminent American scholars of Chinese culture. He discusses his father's textual methods and summarizes recent studies of the I Ching both in the West and in present-day China. The new edition contains minor textual corrections, bibliographical revisions and an index.

The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus's Essential Teachings on Discipleship


Dallas Willard - 2006
    "Christian is found three times and was first introduced to refer precisely to disciples of Jesus. . . . The New Testament is a book about disciples, by disciples, and for disciples of Jesus Christ. But the point is not merely verbal. What is more important is that the kind of life we see in the earliest church is that of a special type of person. All of the assurances and benefits offered to humankind in the gospel evidently presuppose such a life and do not make realistic sense apart from it. The disciple of Jesus is not the deluxe or heavy-duty model of the Christian -- especially padded, textured, streamlined, and empowered for the fast lane on the straight and narrow way. He or she stands on the pages of the New Testament as the first level of basic transportation in the Kingdom of God."Willard boldly challenges the thought that we can be Christians without being disciples, or call ourselves Christians without applying this understanding of life in the Kingdom of God to every aspect of life on earth. He calls on believers to restore what should be the heart of Christianity -- being active disciples of Jesus Christ. Willard shows us that in the school of life, we are apprentices of the Teacher whose brilliance encourages us to rise above traditional church understanding and embrace the true meaning of discipleship -- an active, concrete, 24/7 life with Jesus.

The Pocket Dalai Lama


m. craig - 2002
    It includes short gems from many of his teachings made popular in such books as The Art of Happiness and Ethics for the New Millennium, as well as on subjects such as religion, politics, peacework, and human rights.

This Precious Life: Tibetan Buddhist Teachings on the Path to Enlightenment


Khandro Rinpoche - 2003
    She says, "Think of all the time you've wasted hesitating or feeling distracted, or expending useless energy feeling jealous or angry, or being selfish. At the time of death, you'll look back and it will all seem like a dream." The book includes contemplative exercises that encourage us to appreciate the tremendous potential of the human body and mind. They focus on how we can learn to see this life as a gift—and how, by achieving peace in our own lives, we can bring a seed of happiness to other people. Although raised in Asia, Khandro Rinpoche is well-versed in Western culture, which allows her to translate Tibetan Buddhist wisdom to Westerners with remarkable authenticity and immediacy. She is also one the most highly trained living Tibetan masters and has been teaching in the United States and Europe for over fifteen years, during which time she has attracted thousands of students. She brings a unique feminine perspective to the wisdom tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Community of the Beloved Disciple


Raymond E. Brown - 1978
    Considers the life and writings of St. John. +

The Essene Gospel of Peace, Book 1


Edmond Bordeaux Szekely - 1971
    It was discovered in the Vatican library and appears to be a genuine manuscript written at the time of Christ or shortly thereafter. It was translated into English by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely. The theme of this book. This book is about the healing miracles and general healing work of Jesus of Nazareth and other Essenes, who were a holy order of which Jesus was a part, at least for a while in his lifetime. He studied their methods and learned how to heal people using food, water, air, sunshine and other simple means that were available to the people of the day.I wish this book had been included in the major books of the bible, but it was not. It was found in Palestine and copies elsewhere and is part of what are called the Dead Sea Scrolls. Scientists and theologians disagree on whether it is really just about Jesus, or was about the techniques used by others as well, but the book is a delightful read and the reader will definitely recognize similarities with nutritional balancing science.

Awakening to the Dream: The Gift of Lucid Living


Leo Hartong - 2003
    Essentially, this is a book about you. It points to and from the source of your true identity. The clear seeing that it refers to is neither complex nor simple. It is not something exclusive for intellectual or spiritual elite, nor is it remote or hiding in the future. It is all inclusive, pure presence, closer than your breath. It is the heart of hearts, your birthright and innermost self. This is your invitation to remember what was never really forgotten.