Book picks similar to
The Letters of Chan Master Dahui Pujue by Jeffrey Broughton


zen
buddhism
eastren-philosophies
philosophy-and-religion

The Teaching of Buddha


Society for the Promotion of Buddhism - 1966
    First published in 1925, the book was originally edited by Japanese scholars of Buddhism before WWII and distributed widely throughout Japan. The first English edition was published in 1934. The Reverend Dr. Yehan Numata brought out another English edition in 1962, and in 1966, after the establishment of the Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) (Society for the Promotion of Buddhism), Dr. Numata assembled a committee of Buddhist scholars to substantially revise and edit a new English-Japanese edition. The Teaching of Buddha has undergone minor revisions and numerous reprintings since. It is now available in more than forty-two languages and over 8 million copies have been distributed and placed in hotel rooms in over fifty countries throughout the world.The Teaching of Buddha is a collection of writings on the essence of Buddhism, selected and edited from the vast Buddhist canon, presented in a concise, easy-to-read, and nonsectarian format. It also includes a brief history of Buddhism, a listing of the source texts, a glossary of Sanskrit terms, and an index.

Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis


Erich Fromm - 1959
    T. Suzuki, and De Martino. Approximately one third of this book is a long discussion by Suzuki that gives a Buddhist analysis of the mind, its levels, and the methodology of extending awareness beyond the merely discursive level of thought. In producing this analysis, Suzuki gives a theoretical explanation for many of the swordsmanship teaching stories in Zen and Japanese Culture that otherwise would seem to involve mental telepathy, extrasensory perception, etc.

Wild Ivy: The Spiritual Autobiography of Zen Master Hakuin


Hakuin Ekaku - 1999
    A fiery and dynamic teacher and renowned artist, he reformed the Zen Rinzai tradition, which had fallen into stagnation and decline in his time, revitalizing it and ensuring its survival even to our own day. Hakuin emphasized the importance of zazen, or sitting meditation, and is also known for his skillful use of koans as a means to insight: the most famous of all koans, "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" is attributed to Hakuin. This is the first English translation of Hakuin's intimate self-portrait. It includes reminiscences from his childhood, accounts of his Zen practice and enlightenment experiences, practical advice for students on the problems that arise in intensive meditation practice, and the only description of a technique he calls "introspective meditation."

Afterzen: Experiences of a Zen Student Out on His Ear


Janwillem van de Wetering - 1999
    Van de Wetering gives them his own distinctive touch of humor, down to earth reality, and tough spirituality in the context of meeting and adventures with personalities "collaged from bits and pieces of teachers and fellow students who kindly came my way."In this third book of the trilogy, van de Wetering is at his accessible, honest, funny, and genuinely spiritual best.

Buddhism: A Way of Life & Thought


Nancy Wilson Ross - 1980
    Explains the origins, development and basic principles of the religion followed by nearly one-quarter of the people on earth.

The Star Spangled Buddhist: Zen, Tibetan, and Soka Gakkai Buddhism and the Quest for Enlightenment in America


Jeff Ourvan - 2013
    Approximately four million Americans claim to be Buddhist. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of Americans of various faiths read about Buddhism, are interested in its philosophical tenets, or fashionably view themselves as Buddhists. They’re part of what’s been described as the fastest-growing religious movement in America: a large group of people dissatisfied with traditional religious offerings and thirsty for an approach to spirituality grounded in logic and consistent with scientific knowledge. The Star Spangled Buddhist is a provocative look at these American Buddhists through their three largest movements in the United States: the Soka Gakkai International, Tibetan/Vajrayana Buddhism, and Zen Buddhism. The practice of each of these American schools, unlike most traditional Asian Buddhist sects, is grounded in the notion that all people are capable of attaining enlightenment in “this lifetime.” But the differences are also profound: the spectrum of philosophical expression among these American Buddhist schools is as varied as that observed between Reformed, Orthodox, and Hasidic Judaism. The Star Spangled Buddhist isn’t written from the perspective of a monk or academic but rather from the view of author Jeff Ourvan, a lifelong-practicing lay Buddhist. As Ourvan explores the American Buddhist movement through its most popular schools, he arrives at a clearer understanding for himself and the reader about what it means to be—and how one might choose to be—a Buddhist in America. 9 b/w photographs

Graceful Exits: How Great Beings Die: Death Stories of Hindu, Tibetan Buddhist, and Zen Masters


Sushila Blackman - 1997
    When we do think of dying, we are more often concerned with how to avoid the pain and suffering that may accompany our death than we are with really confronting the meaning of death and how to approach it. Sushila Blackman places death--and life--in a truer perspective, by telling us of others who have left this world with dignity.Graceful Exits offers valuable guidance in the form of 108 stories recounting the ways in which Hindu, Tibetan Buddhist, and Zen masters, both ancient and modern, have confronted their own deaths. By directly presenting the grace, clarity, and even humor with which great spiritual teachers have met the end of their days, Blackman provides inspiration and nourishment to anyone truly concerned with the fundamental issues of life and death.

What Now?: Meditation for Your Twenties and Beyond


Yael Shy - 2018
    So much of what marks early adulthood is intense emotions and insecurity. What if you never fall in love? What if you can't find a job you like? You miss home. You have no home. Are you having enough sex? Are you having too much sex? You're lonely all the time. Your relationships with your friends are complicated. What Now? shares mindfulness practices to help twentysomethings learn to identify and accept these feelings and respond--not react--to painful and powerful stimuli without pushing them away or getting lost in them. This is not about fixing oneself or being -better.- Readers are encouraged to embrace themselves exactly as they are. You are already completely whole, completely loveable, completely worthy. What Now? shares practices that help us to wake up to this fact. This uniquely tumultuous developmental period is a time when many first live away from home and engage in all kinds of experimentation--with ideas, substances, relationships, and who we think we are and want to be in the world. Yael Shy shares her own story, and offers basic meditation guides to beginning a practice. She explores the Buddhist framework for what causes suffering, and explores ideas about interconnection and social justice as natural outgrowths of meditation practice.

The Zen of Eating


Ronna Kabatznick - 1998
    This is the first book to apply the 2,500-year-old principles of Zen Buddhism to the modern struggle with the vicious cycle of dieting, losing, and regaining weight. From a Buddhist perspective, overeating is a disorder of desire. This book will teach readers how to find freedom from eating problems and the tyranny of desire that triggers them. Filled with concrete, practical exercises and the wisdom of the ages, The Zen of Eating provides, at last, an alternative to ineffective diet programs, products, and pills.

On Having No Head: Zen and the Rediscovery of the Obvious


Douglas E. Harding - 1961
    Douglas Harding, the highly respected mystic-philosopher, describes his first experience of headlessness in "On Having No Head," the classic work first published in 1961. In this book, he conveys the immediacy, simplicity, and practicality of the "headless way," placing it within a Zen context, while also drawing parallels to practices in other spiritual traditions.If you wish to experience the freedom and clarity that results from firsthand experience of true Being, then this book will serve as a practical guide to the rediscovery of what has always been present.

The Buddha from Brooklyn


Martha Sherrill - 2000
    Out of the blue, a monastery in India for which she had raised some money contacted Burroughs and asked her to host His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, one of the highest-ranking lamas of Tibetan Buddhism, on his first visit to America. After meeting Burroughs, and observing her and her followers for a period of five days, he told her that she was a "great, great bodhisattva," and already, unbeknownst to her, practicing Buddhism. Later, in India, he officially recognized this Jewish-Italian woman from Brooklyn as the reincarnation of a sixteenth-century Tibetan saint, making her the first American woman to be named a tulku, or reborn lama.The Buddha from Brooklyn tells the complex and fascinating story of how Catharine Burroughs, now known as Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo, embarked on a journey to build the largest Tibetan Buddhist center in America. With boundless enthusiasm but precious little formal training in Buddhist practices and traditions, Jetsunma and her students bought an estate in Poolesville, Maryland, on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., and founded Kunzang Palyul Choling (Fully Awakened Dharma Continent of Absolute Clear Light). Under Jetsunma's tutelage, the group memorized sacred texts and held all-night prayer vigils. They asked venerable Tibetan lamas to visit and give them "empowerments." Many took Buddhist vows and became monks and nuns. And as word of this remarkable place spread, others came to see the new lama for themselves and joined her community.Martha Sherrill, a writer at The Washington Post, heard about Jetsunma in 1993. She visited the center and was charmed by both its charismatic lama, the only Western woman in the male-dominated hierarchy of Tibetan Buddhism, and by the monks and nuns (all Americans) living there. They seemed, for the most part, like a remarkably happy group of people whose lives had been transformed by this exotic, imported faith—and by Jetsunma. At the beginning of The Buddha from Brooklyn, as the group is breaking ground for a sacred monument called a stupa, Sherrill commences her own journey to discover for herself what makes this unlikely lama—who enjoys clothes shopping and manicures, Motown music and Star Trek reruns—such a magnetic spiritual leader. And as the story unfolds, so do the secrets of this seemingly idyllic sanctuary.Compassionate and clear-eyed, Sherrill takes her readers on a breathtaking exploration inside the monastery at Poolesville, a place where idealistic but flawed human beings struggle with their devotion every day. She demystifies monastic life and Tibetan Buddhism, and amends the simplified view that most Americans have of this 2,500-year-old faith. Weaving together the stories of the believers into a narrative structure that is as moving and beautiful as the stupa they are building, Sherrill has created a brilliant work of investigative journalism that raises profound, provocative questions about religious faith and its price. The Buddha from Brooklyn is a monument to the miracles and failures that stem from the deepest human longings.

3 Bowls: Vegetarian Recipes from an American Zen Buddhist Monastery


Edward Farrey - 2000
    From Sesame Crepes with Portobello Mushrooms in Port Cream Sauce and Spaghetti with Chipotle and Garlic to Coconut-Pecan Carrot Cake with Orange Cream-Cheese Frosting, these recipes are deftly creative, yet all are simple to prepare.

A Heart Full of Peace


Joseph Goldstein - 2007
    Like the songlines that bring sacred aboriginal paths to life, Goldstein’s evocative words bring the concept of metta, or loving kindness, to life for Western readers. Grounded in the basic trainings of body, speech, and mind, this mini-retreat is illuminated by the kind of humor and personal insights that inspire even seasoned travelers, while pithy practice guidelines keep the journey on track.

Bodhisattva Blues


Edward Canfor-Dumas - 2014
    Funny, moving and inspirational, it is just as delightful as Canfor-Dumas’ first novel, ‘The Buddha, Geoff and Me’. When we catch up with our hero Ed, he’s abandoned his Buddhist practice and is stuck in a rut – no career, no love life and no cash.Plunged unwittingly into a world of street crime and dodgy property deals, Ed finds himself dusting down his beads and reluctantly picking up his Nichiren Buddhist practice to guide him through a series of dramas, dilemmas and big decisions. Spiritual insights then emerge from the grit, grime and SNAFUs of Ed’s everyday life. By turns unsettling and uplifting, this is a book that will also get you thinking about complex issues of our time such as depression, racism, bereavement, suicide and youth crime.And it gives possibly the best ever explanation of the wisdom that comes from chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo: “Like sending a truffle hound to root around in the leaf-litter of my subconscious and dig up what’s bothering me.” The description by the publisher is spot on – this absolutely is a book “for everyone who's ever wondered whether enlightenment really is compatible with the daily commute.” Welcome back Ed, lovin' yer truffles…

Buddha on the Bus


Nate Damm - 2014
    When various complications arise during the journey, Nate finds himself focusing closely on the characters around him for a bit of entertainment, but ends up getting more than he bargained for. The focal point of the story is Nate's seat-mate, a young man named Bud, whose extremely odd behavior catches the attention of everyone on the bus.