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.

    In Awakening the Buddha Within, Surya Das shows how we can awaken to who we really are in order to lead a more compassionate, enlightened, and balanced life. It illuminates the guidelines and key principles embodied in the noble Eight-Fold Path and the traditional Three Enlightenment Trainings common to all schools of Buddhism:Wisdom Training: Developing clear vision, insight, and inner understanding--seeing reality and ourselves as we really are.Ethics Training: Cultivating virtue, self-discipline, and compassion in what we say and do.Meditation Training: Practicing mindfulness, concentration, and awareness of the present moment.With lively stories, meditations, and spiritual practices, Awakening the Buddha Within is an invaluable text for the novice and experienced student of Buddhism alike.

    Although the tradition that traces its ancestry back to him did not flourish until nearly two hundred years after his death, today millions of Zen Buddhists and students of kung fu claim him as their spiritual father.While others viewed Zen practice as a purification of the mind or a stage on the way to perfect enlightenment, Bodhidharma equated Zen with buddhahood and believed that it had a place in everyday life. Instead of telling his disciples to purify their minds, he pointed them to rock walls, to the movements of tigers and cranes, to a hollow reed floating across the Yangtze.This bilingual edition, the only volume of the great teacher's work currently available in English, presents four teachings in their entirety. "Outline of Practice" describes the four all-inclusive habits that lead to enlightenment, the "Bloodstream Sermon" exhorts students to seek the Buddha by seeing their own nature, the "Wake-up Sermon" defends his premise that the most essential method for reaching enlightenment is beholding the mind. The original Chinese text, presented on facing pages, is taken from a Ch'ing dynasty woodblock edition.

    Loy.In little time, Loy has become one of the most powerful advocates of the Buddhist worldview, explaining like no one else its ability to transform the sociopolitical landscape of the modern world.In this, his most accessible work to date, he offers sharp and even shockingly clear presentations of oft-misunderstood Buddhist staples-the working of karma, the nature of self, the causes of trouble on both the individual and societal levels-and the real reasons behind our collective sense of "never enough," whether it's time, money, sex, security... even war.Loy's "Buddhist Revolution" is nothing less than a radical change in the ways we can approach our lives, our planet, the collective delusions that pervade our language, culture, and even our spirituality.

    It is about being awake and in touch with what is going on here and now. When the Buddha was asked to sum up his teaching in a single word, he said, "Awareness." The Buddha taught how to see directly into the nature of experience. His observations and insights are plain, practical, and down-to-earth, and they deal exclusively with the present. In Buddhism Plain and Simple, Steve Hagen presents these uncluttered, original teachings in everyday, accessible language unencumbered by religious ritual, tradition, or belief.

    But that's easier said than done. Here Pema Chodron introduces a powerful, transformative method to nurture these qualities using a practice called lojong, which has been a primary focus of her teachings and personal practice for many years. And for centuries, Tibetan Buddhists have relied on these teachings to awaken the deep goodness that lies within us. The lojong teachings include fifty-nine pithy slogans for daily contemplation, such as -Always maintain only a joyful mind, - -Don't be swayed by external circumstances, - -Don't try to be the fastest, - and -Be grateful to everyone.- This book presents each of these slogans and includes Pema's clear, succinct guidance on how to understand them--and how they can enrich our lives. It also features a forty-five minute downloadable audio program entitled -Opening the Heart, - in which Pema offers in-depth instruction on tonglen meditation, a powerful practice that anyone can undertake to awaken compassion for oneself and others.

    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.

    Designed to provide just such a framework, In the Buddha's Words is an anthology of the Buddha's works that has been specifically compiled by a celebrated scholar and translator. For easy reference, the book is arrayed in ten thematic sections ranging from "The Human Condition" to "Mastering the Mind" to "The Planes of Realization." Each section comes with introductions, notes, and essays to help beginners and experts alike draw greater meaning from the Buddha's words. The book also features a general introduction by the author that fully lays out how and why he has arranged the Buddha's teachings in this volume. This thoughtful compilation is a valuable resource for both teachers and those who want to read the Buddha on their own.

    This fascinating analysis will provide readers with an understanding of the connection between humans and violence and will demonstrate how to achieve mental liberation and tranquility. Realizando que el mundo esta lleno de violencia, tanto en el nivel global como individual, el autor sostiene que el cambio de la sociedad surgirn de la mente y la tranquilidad total.

    In his illuminating story, Hyam reveals to you how the daily application of Zen principles not only developed his physical expertise but gave him the mental discipline to control his personal problems-self-image, work pressure, competition. Indeed, mastering the spiritual goals in martial arts can dramatically alter the quality of your life-enriching your relationships with people, as well as helping you make use of all your abilities."If one of your goals is to live with maximum zest and minimum stress, read "Zen In The Martial Arts." The great beauty of the book is that as Hyams' mind receives enlightenment, so does our."-- "Playboy.

    And he makes everyone else around him feel like smiling. He's the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet, a Nobel Prize winner, and an increasingly popular speaker and statesman. What's more, he'll tell you that happiness is the purpose of life, and that "the very motion of our life is towards happiness." How to get there has always been the question. He's tried to answer it before, but he's never had the help of a psychiatrist to get the message across in a context we can easily understand. Through conversations, stories, and meditations, the Dalai Lama shows us how to defeat day-to-day anxiety, insecurity, anger, and discouragement. Together with Dr. Cutler, he explores many facets of everyday life, including relationships, loss, and the pursuit of wealth, to illustrate how to ride through life's obstacles on a deep and abiding source of inner peace.

    However, when you attend to your home, you begin to feel less hurried and more in tune with the world around you. There is delight and calm to be found in the midst of washing dishes or changing the water in a vase of flowers; there is pleasure to be experienced in the repetitions of daily life.In Sweeping Changes, Gary Thorp shows how the principles of Zen can bring harmony and peace to your life at home. You don’t need special surroundings or to sit quietly in a formal posture to achieve the tranquillity of Zen; you can find it anywhere–in the action of dusting a shelf, organizing your closet, or feeding your cat. As Thorp conveys in sparkling prose, many everyday activities provide an opportunity for Zen practice, satisfaction, and spiritual growth. Whether you live in a small room, an apartment, or a palace, this delightful, insightful book will not only change your feelings toward housekeeping, it will help you see your home, and your place in it, in a new and nurturing light.

    

    This concise handful of words is in fact the foundation from which all subsequent Buddhist teachings grow, and upon which all of them rely. Their wisdom is as pertinent to the scholar of Buddhist philosophy as it is to the ordinary practitioner, as it is indeed to anyone, anywhere, who aspires to liberation. Chögyam Trungpa's in-depth exploration of the Four Noble Truths reveals the subtlety and sophistication that lie beneath these deceptively simple teachings. He emphasizes their profound relevance not just as an inspiration when we set out on the path but at every other moment of our lives as well, showing how we can join view (intellectual understanding) of the teaching with practical application in order to interrupt suffering before it arises. His teaching is, as always, refreshingly direct and profoundly inspiring. The Truth of Suffering is an ideal introduction to the Four Noble Truths for the beginner as well as for the experienced practitioner in search of deeper understanding.

    The Feeling Buddha is a lucid account of how the Buddha's path of wisdom and loving kindness grew out of the challenges he encountered in life. Brazier explains the concepts of enlightenment, nirvana and the four Noble Truths, free from mystification. Buddha emerges as a very human figure whose success lay not in his perfection, but in how he positively utilized the energy which was generated through his suffering. This rare guide illustrates how Buddha's philosophy of the "middle way" can lead to a balanced, harmonious, and serene existence in the 21st century.