But it doesn't have to be this way. In City Dharma, Arthur Jeon suggests that it’s not what happens to us, but how we react to events and thoughts that causes most of our suffering.City Dharma is the essential guide for everyone living in the accelerated world most of us call home. Offering smart, practical ways to overcome daily stresses and the crazy-making reactivity of our own minds, Jeon explores the most challenging aspects of modern urban and suburban life, including:Another Day, Another DollarAvoid Working StiffnessWalking Down a Dark AlleyAwareness and Violence Sex and the City DharmaSeeking Love vs. Expressing LoveScaring Ourselves to DeathTranscending Media NegativityRoad RageDealing with Mad Max Within and WithoutDrawing wisdom from the ancient Eastern teachings of Advaita Vedanta and filled with engaging stories, City Dharma offers a new way of seeing the world--one that is based on connection rather than separation, direct experience rather than belief, and love instead of fear.From the Hardcover edition.

    400 AD) contains the fundamental principles of Mahayana and is famous for its exposition of the Mind-only doctrine of Vijnana-vada. Accompanied by elaborate notes and critical apparatus, Suzuki´s translation is the definitive English version of this intricate Sanskrit text.

    Lama Angarika Govinda spent over 20 years of his life as a member of the Kargyutpa Order. Studying at the feet of masters in Tibetan hermitages and monasteries, his direct experience has given him a clear insight into much that has remained totally obscure to the world. This work, regarded as a classic of Tibetan mysticism, explains the esoteric principles of Mantra and clarifies the differences between Hindu and Tibetan yoga, and is our direct link to the spiritual achievements of the past and their relationship to a future higher civilization of humanity.

    The truths diagnose the human existential crisis--suffering and its origin--and prescribe a solution--cessation and the path. To understand the four noble truths is to understand Buddhism as a whole.In The Four Noble Truths, Geshe Tashi draws on his decades of training in Tibetan Buddhism to illuminate these truths for a modern audience. His respectful engagement with Buddhists outside his own tradition and his insights into Western culture make this book refreshing. It will reward even those already acquainted with the fundamentals of Buddhism.The Four Noble Truths is the first of six stand-alone volumes in the Foundation of Buddhist Thought series.

    The Tantric tradition is a unique collection of lesser-known texts, concepts, and meditation practices that are usually made available only to experienced and specially initiated practitioners. The "Vajra World" ( vajradhatu in Sanskrit) is a realm of indestructibility, the level of reality beyond all thought and imagination, all impermanence and change, which a fully realized person knows and inhabits. Used metaphorically, "Vajra World" refers to the traditional culture of Tibet and the unique spirituality that is its secret strength. Topics include:    •  The tantric view of human nature and the external world    •  The special role of the guru, or tantric mentor    •  The preliminary practices that prepare the student for full initiation    •  The major dimensions of Vajrayana practice, including visualizations, liturgies, and inner yogas    •  The tradition of the tulku, or incarnate lama    •  The lore surrounding the death of ordinary people and of saints    •  The practice of solitary retreat, the epitome of traditional Tibetan Buddhism Secret of the Vajra World is the companion volume to the author's earlier book, Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism. While that book focuses on the history, cosmology, philosophy, and practice of the more public, exoteric side of Tibetan Buddhism, this work treats its more hidden and esoteric aspects as they take shape in Vajrayana. Together, the two volumes provide a broad introduction to the major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.

    How do I prepare my mind for meditation?There is nothing special. I just keep it where it always is.They ask, 'Then are you an arahant?'Do I know?I am like a tree in a forest, full of leaves, blossoms and fruit.Birds come to eat and nest, and animals seek rest in its shade.Yet the tree does not know itself.It follows its own nature.It is as it is.""All the teachings" Ajahn Chah taught, "are merely similes and comparisons, means to help the mind see the truth. If we establish the Buddha within our mind, then we see everything, we contemplate everything, as no different from ourselves.Many of the similes that Ajahn Chah himself used to teach came out of his vast experience of living in the forest. His practice was simply to watch, all the while being totally open and aware of everything that was happening both inside and outside himself. He would say that his practice was nothing special. He was, in his own words, like a tree in a forest, "A tree is as it is," he's say. And Ajahn Chah was as he was. But out of such "nothing specialness" came a profound understanding of himself and the world.Ajahn Chah used to say, "The Dhamma is revealing itself in every moment, but only when the mind is quiet can we understand what it is saying, for the Dhamma teaches without words." Ajahn Chah had this uncanny ability to take that wordless Dhamma and convey its truth to his listeners in the form of a simile that was fresh, easy to follow, sometimes humorous, sometimes poetic, but always striking a place in the heart where it would jar or inspire the most: "We are like maggots; life is like a falling leaf; our mind is like rain water."The teachings of Ajahn Chah teem with similes and comparisons like these. We thought it would be a good idea to collect them all in the form of a book as a source of inspiration for those who may want some respite from the "heat" of the world and seek some rest in the cool and abundant shade of "a tree in the forest".

    In Let Go, Martine Batchelor leads the way there.Negative patterns of mind may manifest as fear, avoidance, depression, addiction, judgment of self or other, and any of a host of other physical, mental, or psychological forms. Let Go aims at understanding what really lies at the root of these behaviors so we can reclaim control. Each chapter concludes with an exercise or guided meditation as a tool for the reader to work with negative habits in new and creative ways. You don't have to be a Buddhist for them to work. You just need to want to move on.Helpful exercises and guided meditations - designed to build understanding of our negative habits, as well as the confidence and skill needed to instead embrace our greatest qualities - appear throughout the book.Batchelor also looks at Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for depression, Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz's use of meditation to deal with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), successful combinations of meditation and Twelve-Step programs, and offers her own innovations.

    We are given a detailed map of Tantra: inner man, inner woman; the meeting of man and woman; the transformation of energy through sex, love and meditation. Based on the Royal Song of Saraha, we are not just introduced to an Asian sex tradition but with Osho we enter the higher levels of transformation.Here we find Tantra as a door to freedom: freedom from all mind-constructs, mind games; freedom from all structures and freedom from the other.Love and meditation merge and provide a path to liberation.'Tantric Transformation' is a very alive, concrete book for exploration of our own energy, of our own inner space. You don't just read Osho, you undefine yourself.

    In fact, yoga is a sophisticated system of self-empowerment that is capable of harnessing and activating inner energies in such a way that your body and mind function at their optimal capacity. It is a means to create inner situations exactly the way you want them, turning you into the architect of your own joy.             A yogi lives life in this expansive state, and in this transformative book Sadhguru tells the story of his own awakening, from a boy with an unusual affinity for the natural world to a young daredevil who crossed the Indian continent on his motorcycle. He relates the moment of his enlightenment on a mountaintop in southern India, where time stood still and he emerged radically changed. Today, as the founder of Isha, an organization devoted to humanitarian causes, he lights the path for millions. The term guru, he notes, means “dispeller of darkness, someone who opens the door for you. . . . As a guru, I have no doctrine to teach, no philosophy to impart, no belief to propagate. And that is because the only solution for all the ills that plague humanity is self-transformation. Self-transformation means that nothing of the old remains. It is a dimensional shift in the way you perceive and experience life.” The wisdom distilled in this accessible, profound, and engaging book offers readers time-tested tools that are fresh, alive, and radiantly new. Inner Engineering presents a revolutionary way of thinking about our agency and our humanity and the opportunity to achieve nothing less than a life of joy. Praise for Sadhguru and Inner Engineering “Contrarian and consistent, ancient and contemporary, Inner Engineering is a loving invitation to live our best lives and a profound reassurance of why and how we can.”—Sir Ken Robinson, author of The Element, Finding Your Element, and Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative “I am inspired by Sadhguru’s capacity for joy, his exuberance for life, and the depth and breadth of his curiosity and knowledge. His book is filled with moments of wonder, awe, and intellectual challenge. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in self-transformation.”—Mark Hyman, M.D., director, Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, and New York Times bestselling author “Inner Engineering is a fascinating read of Sadhguru’s insights and his teachings. If you are ready, it is a tool to help awaken your own inner intelligence, the ultimate and supreme genius that mirrors the wisdom of the cosmos.”—Deepak ChopraFrom the Hardcover edition.

    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…

    Unlike other translations of the Bar do thos grol, the so-called Tibetan Book of the Dead , Robert Thurman's takes literally the entire gamut of metaphysical assumptions. The Bar do thos grol, or as Thurman translates, The Great Book of Natural Liberation through Understanding in the Between, is but one of many mortuary texts of Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism and is commonly recited to or by a person facing imminent death. Thurman reproduces it for this purpose, explaining in some depth the Tibetan conception of post-mortem existence. Over as many as 12 days, the deceased person is given explanations of what he or she sees and experiences and is guided through innumerable visions of the realms beyond to reach eventual liberation, or, failing that, a safe rebirth. Like a backpacker's guide to a foreign land, Thurman's version is clear, detailed, and sympathetic to the inexperienced voyager, including background and supplementary information, even illustrations (sorry, no maps). Don't wait until the journey has begun, every page should be read and memorised well ahead of time. --Brian Bruya

    In Awakening from the Daydream, discover how these ancient symbols are still relevant to our modern life.In Awakening from the Daydream, meditation teacher David Nichtern reimagines the ancient Buddhist allegory of the Wheel of Life. Famously painted at the entryway to Buddhist monasteries, the Wheel of Life encapsulates the entirety of the human situation. In the image of the Wheel we find a teaching about how to make sense of life and how to find peace within an uncertain world. Nichtern writes with clarity and humor, speaking to our contemporary society and its concerns and providing simple practical steps for building a mindful, compassionate, and liberating approach to living.

    The original version of the Dhammapada is in the Khuddaka Nikaya, a division of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism.The Buddhist scholar and commentator Buddhaghosa explains that each saying recorded in the collection was made on a different occasion in response to a unique situation that had arisen in the life of the Buddha and his monastic community. His commentary, the Dhammapada Atthakatha, presents the details of these events and is a rich source of legend for the life and times of the Buddha.

    Alternately comic and reverential, Ambivalent Zen chronicles the rewards and dangers of spiritual ambition and presents a poignant reflection of the experiences faced by many Americans involved in the Zen movement.

    That book, which is in its 10th printing and has sold more than 80,000 copies, was such a resounding success that Hochswender has written an insightful new work -- at once a follow-up to the previous volume and a freestanding work of its own. A new breath of inspiration, "The Buddha in Your Rearview Mirror" speaks to the spiritual yearnings so many of us have amid the hustle and flux of contemporary life. The book is a sophisticated but accessible introduction to Buddhism as well as an in-depth study of Buddhism in the Samurai period. Hochswender again focuses on the philosophy of Nichiren and applies its principles to everyday issues ranging from health to careers to family problems. "The Buddha in Your Rearview Mirror" is both cogent and compelling -- informative history and inspiring self-help. Ideal for the novice or veteran Buddhist, the book will resonate with anyone interested in concrete methods for tapping into their own highest potential or enlightened self.