The Tibetan Yoga of Breath: Breathing Practices for Healing the Body and Cultivating Wisdom


Anyen Rinpoche - 2013
    Modern science and classic spiritual traditions agree: regulating the breath leads to radiance and wellness in the body, mind, and spirit.The Tibetan Yoga of Breath pairs the teachings of Tibetan Yantra Yoga (breathing yoga) with select contemplative ideas and practices and examines how well they complement each other through the lens of Western medical science. The benefits of proper breathing are offered from the point of view of classical Indian/Tibetan practice, and contemporary medical research supports how breath cultivates physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Basic Yantra Yoga techniques—also called wind energy training—are the key practices for achieving this vitality, down to the cellular level.

The Tibetan Yogas Of Dream And Sleep


Tenzin Wangyal - 1998
    "If we lose ourselves every night, what chance do we have to be aware when death comes? Look to your experience in dreams to know how you will fare in death. Look to your experience of sleep to discover whether or not you are truly awake."This book gives detailed instructions for dream yoga, including foundational practices done during the day. In the Tibetan tradition, the ability to dream lucidly is not an end in itself, rather it provides and additional context in which one can engage in advanced and effective practices to achieve liberation.Dream yoga is followed by sleep yoga, also known as the yoga of clear light. It is a more advanced practice, similar to the most secret Tibetan practices. The goal is to remain aware during deep sleep when the gross conceptual mind and the operation of the senses cease. Most Westerners do not even consider this depth of awareness a possibility, yet it is well known in Tibetan Buddhist and Bon spiritual traditions.The result of these practices is greater happiness and freedom in both our waking and dreaming states. The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep imparts powerful methods for progressing along the path to liberation.

Awakening from the Daydream: Reimagining the Buddha's Wheel of Life


David Nichtern - 2016
    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.

Mind Beyond Death


Dzogchen Ponlop - 2007
    Using humorous analogies and his profound understanding of the Western mind, Dzogchen Ponlop makes the mysterious Tibetan teachings on the bardos--the intervals between waking and sleep, between life and death, and beyond--completely available to the modern reader. Drawing on a breathtaking range of material, this young, popular teacher shows us how the bardos can be used to conquer death. Working with the bardos means taking hold of life and learning how to live with fearless abandon, and Mind Beyond Death demonstrates that the secret to a good journey through death and beyond lies in how we live. Walking skillfully through the bardos of dream, meditation, and daily life, we then travel deep into the mysterious death intervals and become familiar with their dazzling mindscape. This tour de force gives us the knowledge to transform the greatest obstacle of death into the most powerful opportunity for enlightenment.

Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism


John Powers - 1995
    Introduces the basic beliefs of Buddhism, discusses how it was brought to Tibet, and explores Tibetan Mahayana philosophy and tantic methods for personal transformation.

Light Comes Through: Buddhist Teachings on Awakening to Our Natural Intelligence


Dzigar Kongtrül III - 2008
    In an instant they can bring us down or lift us up. If we don't attend to the mind, the source of all our thoughts and emotions, it can seem like a runaway train. Yet when guided by wisdom, our mind can lead us to awakening. How do we utilize this resource? The Buddha asked big questions concerning the causes and conditions of happiness and suffering and how we can shape our mind and attitude to support our well-being. According to the Buddhist teachings, when our natural intelligence is sparked by contemplation and meditation, we discover insights into what true happiness means—and how to achieve it. The distilled wisdom of the Buddhist tradition leads us to clarity of mind, and step by step, the light of our natural intelligence comes through. With the humor and insight he is known for, Dzigar Kongtrül engages us in a playful, and challenging, investigation of disturbing emotions, our relationships with others, the trap of self-centeredness, and the practicalities of working with a Buddhist teacher. Most important, he shows us the subtlest use of our own natural intelligence—its ability to recognize the nature of reality itself.

Introduction to Emptiness: As Taught in Tsong-Kha-Pa's Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path


Guy Newland - 2008
    In clear language, Introduction to Emptiness explains that emptiness is not a mystical sort of nothingness, but a specific truth that can and must be understood through calm and careful reflection. Newland's contemporary examples and vivid anecdotes will be helpful to students trying to understand one of the great classic texts of the Tibetan tradition, Tsong-kha-pa's Great Treatise.

No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva


Pema Chödrön - 2005
    In this new book, she invites readers to venture further along the path of the "bodhisattva warrior," explaining in depth how we can awaken the softness of our hearts and develop true confidence amid the challenges of daily living. In No Time to Lose Chödrön reveals the traditional Buddhist teachings that guide her own life: those of The Way of the Bodhisattva ( Bodhicharyavatara), a text written by the eighth-century sage Shantideva. This treasured Buddhist work is remarkably relevant for our times, describing the steps we can take to cultivate courage, caring, and joy—the key to healing ourselves and our troubled world. Chödrön offers us a highly practical and engaging commentary on this essential text, explaining how its profound teachings can be applied to our daily lives. Full of illuminating stories and practical exercises, this fresh and accessible guide shows us that the path of the bodhisattva is open to each and every one of us. Pema Chödrön urges us to embark on this transformative path today, writing, "There is no time to lose—but not to worry, we can do it."

Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand: A Concise Discourse on the Path to Enlightenment


Pabongkha Rinpoche - 1988
    In this famous twenty-four-day teaching on the lamrim, or stages of the path, Pabongka Rinpoche weaves together lively stories and quotations with frank observations and practical advice to move readers step by step along the journey to buddhahood. When his student Trijang Rinpoche first edited and published these teachings in Tibetan, an instant classic was born. The flavor and immediacy of the original Tibetan are preserved in Michael Richards' fluid and lively translation, which is now substantially revised in this new edition.

Glimpse After Glimpse: Daily Reflections on Living and Dying


Sogyal Rinpoche - 1995
    New from the bestselling author of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying--365 thought-provoking meditations on life, death, doubt, mindfulness, compassion, wisdom, work, and more!

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.

The Buddha and His Teachings


Sherab Chödzin Kohn - 2002
    This anthology draws on traditional Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan sources as well as teachings by contemporary Buddhist masters. Among the contributors, both classical and modern, are: Ajahn Chah, Pema Chödrön, The Second Dalai Lama, Dogen, S.N. Goenka, Dainin Katagiri, Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi, Milerepa, Padmasambhava, Reginald Ray, Shunryu Suzuki, Nyanaponika Thera, Thich Nhat Hanh, Chögyam Trungpa, and Burton Watson.

Buddhism without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening


Stephen Batchelor - 1997
    The concepts and practices of Buddhism, says Batchelor, are not something to believe in but something to do—and as he explains clearly and compellingly, it is a practice that we can engage in, regardless of our background or beliefs, as we live every day on the path to spiritual enlightenment.

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.

The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation


Thich Nhat Hanh - 1998
    With poetry and clarity, Nhat Hanh imparts comforting wisdom about the nature of suffering and its role in creating compassion, love, and joy – all qualities of enlightenment. Covering such significant teachings as the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Three Doors of Liberation, the Three Dharma Seals, and the Seven Factors of Awakening, The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching is a radiant beacon on Buddhist thought for the initiated and uninitiated alike. “Thich Nhat Hanh shows us the connection between personal, inner peace, and peace on earth.”                                     – His Holiness the Dalai Lama “Thich Nhat Hanh is a real poet.”                                    – Robert Lowell