The Storms Can't Hurt the Sky: The Buddhist Path through Divorce


Gabriel Cohen - 2008
    In Storms Can't Hurt the Sky, Gabriel Cohen bravely delves into his personal experience-along with insights from Buddhist masters, parables, humor, social science studies, and interviews with other divorces-to provide a practical and very helpful guide to surviving the pain of any break-up. Focusing on the emotions most common in the dissolution of a relationship-anger, resentment, loss, and grief -- Storms Can't Hurt the Sky shows how thinking about these feelings in surprisingly different ways can lead to a radically better experience. This compulsively readable book offers sound advice and much-needed empathy for anyone dealing with a break-up.

The Life of the Buddha: According to the Pali Canon


Bhikkhu Ñaṇamoli - 1972
    Though born a prince surrounded by luxuries, Gotama the Buddha was transformed by realizing that no one escapes unhappiness. He spent the remainder of his life discovering, then imparting, the answer to the great question: "Is there a way out of the cycle of suffering?" Drawn from the oldest written record, the vivid recollections of his attendant Ananda and other disciples bring us into the presence of "the awakened one." The Life of the Buddha not only demonstrates how to walk on the path to freedom; it offers profound inspiration and guidance for doing so.

A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma


Bhikkhu Bodhi - 1993
    Originally written in the 11th or 12th century, the Sangaha has served as the key to wisdom held in the Abhidhamma. Concisely surveyed are Abhidhamma's central themes, including states of consciousness and mental factors, the functions and processes of the mind, the material world, dependent arising, and the methods and stages of meditation. This presents an exact translation of the Sangaha alongside the original Pali text. A detailed, explanatory guide with more than 40 charts and tables lead readers through the complexities of Adhidhamma. This replaces 9552401038.

The Snow Lion's Turquoise Mane: Wisdom Tales from Tibet


Surya Das - 1992
    These captivating stories, legends and yarns — passed orally from teacher to student — capture the vibrant wisdom of an ancient and still-living oral tradition. Magical, whimsical, witty and ribald, The Snow Lion's Turquoise Mane unfolds a luminous vision of a universe where basic goodness, harmony, and hope prevails.

A Step Away From Paradise


Thomas K. Shor - 2011
    Shor tracks down the surviving members of this visionary expedition and entwines their remarkable stories of faith and adventure with his own quest to discover the reality of this land known as Beyul. What emerges is a breathtaking story alive with possibility, bringing the reader as close to the Hidden Land as a book possibly can. As the astounding account unfolds, the reader is sure to repeat the question constantly raised by the author in his interviews: And then what happened?A Step Away From Paradise tells the story of Lama Tulshuk Lingpa’s life and his unlikely expedition to a land beyond cares while reflecting on what this means for the rest of us. It draws on both research and extensive interviews with the surviving members of this extraordinary expedition. The book is richly illustrated with portraits of those who went with Tulshuk Lingpa and the places he traveled to. The book also delves into the tradition within Tibetan Buddhism of Shambhala and the hidden valleys, which mirror legends around the world of utopias and lands of milk and honey, thus showing that the quest for the hidden land is a universal urge of humanity.WRITER AND PHOTOGRAPHER Thomas K. Shor was born in Boston, USA, and studied comparative religion and literature in Vermont. With an ear for unusual stories, the fortune to attract them and an eye for detail, he has travelled the planet’s mountainous realms—from the Mayan Highlands of southern Mexico in the midst of insurrection to the mountains of Greece and, more recently to the Indian Himalayas—to collect, illustrate and write stories, with a uniquely personal character often having the flavor of fable.Shor has lectured widely on his writings and has had solo exhibits of his photographs in Europe and in India. He is the author of Windblown Clouds and can often be found in the most obscure locales, immersed in a compelling story touching upon fundamental human themes.The author’s website is www.ThomasShor.com

Women Of Wisdom


Tsultrim Allione - 1984
    These stories of great women who have achieved full illumination, overcoming cultural prejudices and a host of other problems which male practitioners do not encounter, offer a wealth of inspiration to everyone on the spiritual path. In this revised and expanded edition, Tsultrim Allione's extensive autobiographical preface and introduction speak directly to the difficulties and triumphs of women in the West who pursue a spiritual life, as she shares her own stories and experiences. Women of Wisdom offers valuable insights to all those interested in women's spirituality, regardless of background or tradition. This new edition includes Tsultrim's expanded autobiography, covering the last fifteen years since the first edition appeared.

The Diamond Sutra


Anonymous
    But Buddhism has also inspired some of the greatest philosophical writings of any religion, and two such works lie at the center of Zen: The Heart Sutra, which monks recite all over the world, and The Diamond Sutra, said to contain answers to all questions of delusion and dualism. This is the Buddhist teaching on the perfection of wisdom and cuts through all obstacles on the path of practice. As Red Pine explains: The Diamond Sutra may look like a book, but it's really the body of the Buddha. It's also your body, my body, all possible bodies. But it's a body with nothing inside and nothing outside. It doesn't exist in space or time. Nor is it a construct of the mind. It's no mind. And yet because it's no mind, it has room for compassion. This book is the offering of no mind, born of compassion for all suffering beings. Of all the sutras that teach this teaching, this is the diamond.

Enlightenment to Go: Shantideva and the Power of Compassion to Transform Your Life


David Michie - 2010
    With warmth, humor, and stories of his own experiences, author David Michie shows how modern psychological science confirms Shantideva's insights, and he explores powerful antidotes to contemporary problems, including stress, anxiety, and depression. Whether you are a newcomer to Buddhism or a seasoned practitioner, Enlightenment to Go offers a glimpse of a radiantly different reality right here in your busy life.

Dhamapada: The Essential Teachings of the Buddha


F. Max Müller - 2016
    This foundation scripture teaches the supreme doctrine of nirvana and the way to the highest possible happiness for mankind. Oxford professor Dr. Max Muller, a great scholar and Orientalist, did the translation.

Living by Vow: A Practical Introduction to Eight Essential Zen Chants and Texts


Shohaku Okumura - 2012
    Exploring eight of Zen's most essential and universal liturgical texts, Living by Vow is a handbook to walking the Zen path, and Shohaku Okumura guides us like an old friend, speaking clearly and directly of the personal meaning and implications of these chants, generously using his experiences to illustrate their practical significance. A scholar of Buddhist literature, he masterfully uncovers the subtle, intricate web of culture and history that permeate these great texts. Esoteric or challenging terms take on vivid, personal meaning, and old familiar phrases gain new poetic resonance.

Zen Essence


Thomas Cleary - 1989
    In contrast to the popular image of Zen as an authoritarian, monastic tradition deeply rooted in Asian culture, these passages portray Zen as remarkably flexible, adaptive to contemporary and individual needs, and transcending cultural boundaries. The readings contained in Zen Essence emphasize that the practice of Zen requires consciousness alone and does not depend on a background in Zen Buddhism and Asian culture. The true essence of Zen resides in the relationship between mind and culture, whatever that culture might be. This unique collection of writings creates a picture of Zen not as a religion or philosophy, but as a practical science of freedom.

Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living


Pema Chödrön - 1994
    With insight and humor, Pema Chödrön presents down-to-earth guidance on how we can "start where we are"—embracing rather than denying the painful aspects of our lives. Pema Chödrön frames her teachings on compassion around fifty-nine traditional Tibetan Buddhist maxims, or slogans, such as: "Always apply only a joyful state of mind," "Don't seek others' pain as the limbs of your own happiness," and "Always meditate on whatever provokes resentment." Working with these slogans and through the practice of meditation, Start Where You Are shows how we can all develop the courage to work with our inner pain and discover joy, well-being, and confidence.

The Tibetan Book of Meditation


Christie McNally - 2009
    In The Tibetan Book of Meditation, Lama Christie McNally demonstrates that meditation also provides a much greater gift. It awakens our innate potential to shape our reality, to make moments of joy last forever, and to bring us the peace and contentment that we all ultimately seek. Written in an instructional yet intimate style, the author guides readers through a progression of meditations, from the simple concept of compassion to the transformative concept of emptiness. Teaching technique and content at the same time, this book is unique in its comprehensive approach and will find a special place in the hearts of novice and experienced meditators alike. Christie McNally, a renowned master teacher and lecturer who has studied with some of the greatest Indian, Tibetan, and western Buddhist masters, explains the central tenets of Buddhism and reveals how they apply to everyday life. Combining ancient wisdom and contemporary teachings, she leads readers along the path to a richer, fuller life through resonant examples and eye-opening insights.Her engaging tone and fresh approach to the art of meditation will appeal to followers of Pema Chödrön and to readers of Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, and Jon Kabat-Zinn. This down-to-earth guide to meditation brings the wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism to a new generation.

A New Buddhist Path: Enlightenment, Evolution, and Ethics in the Modern World


David R. Loy - 2015
    Loy addresses head-on the most pressing issues of Buddhist philosophy in our time. What is the meaning of enlightenment--is it an escape from the world, or is it a form of psychological healing? How can one reconcile modern scientific theory with ancient religious teachings? What is our role in the universe? Loy shows us that neither Buddhism nor secular society by itself is sufficient to answer these questions. Instead, he investigates the unexpected intersections of the two. Through this exchange, he uncovers a new Buddhist way, one that is faithful to the important traditions of Buddhism but compatible with modernity. This way, we can see the world as it is truly is, realize our indivisibility from it, and learn that the world's problems are our problems. This is a new path for a new world.

Instructions to the Cook: A Zen Master's Lessons in Living a Life That Matters


Bernie Glassman - 2002
    That's the premise of this book: how to cook what Zen Buddhists call "the supreme meal"—life. It has to be nourishing, and it has to be shared. And we can use only the ingredients at hand. Inspired by the thirteenth-century manual of the same name by Dogen, the founder of the Japanese Soto Zen tradition, this book teaches us how we can "enlarge the family we're feeding" if we just use some imagination. Bernie Glassman founded Greyston Bakery in Yonkers, New York, in 1982 to employ those whom other companies deem unemployable—the homeless, ex-cons, recovering addicts, low-skill individuals—with the belief that investing in people, and not just products, does pay. He was right. Greyston has evolved into an $8 million-a-year business with clients all over New York City. It is the sole supplier of brownies to Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, and has even sold cakes to the White House. But financial profit is only one of two bottom lines that Greyston is committed to. The other one is social impact, and this goal is certainly being met. The bakery enterprise has led to the creation of the Greyston Foundation, an integrated network of organizations that provide affordable housing, child care, counseling services, and health care to families in the community. Using entrepreneurship to solve the problems of the inner city, Greyston has become a national model for comprehensive community development. Its giving back is more than just sloughing off a percentage of its profits and donating it to charity; it's about working with the community's needs right from the beginning—bringing them from the margins to the core. As its company motto goes, "We don't hire people to bake brownies. We bake brownies to hire people." This book is as much a self-manual as a business manual, addressing such concepts as    • Beginner's mind    • The Middle Way of Sustainability    • The "hungry ghosts" of Buddhism as a picture of all humanity    • Working with our faults    • Indra's Net and the interconnectedness of life    • Leaving no trace