The Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path of Buddhism: Discover the Essence of Buddhism and the Path to Nibbana


Briggs Cardenas - 2014
     Buddhism is an agnostic religion. It neither acknowledges the existence of a god nor denies it. It simply teaches that we must live by a moral code because it is our nature to do so, regardless of whether a god exists or not. To choose good in the hopes of reward, while avoiding evil out of fear of punishment, is not true goodness. It is sheer hypocrisy — a selfish desire to do something in return for our own benefit. To understand the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, we first have to understand the word “dukkha.” This is often mistranslated into English as “suffering,” giving people the idea that Buddhism is a pessimistic religion. Nothing can possibly be further from the truth. While dukkha can certainly be understood to mean “suffering,” it would be more accurate to translate this word as “anxiety,” “stress,” or “dissatisfaction.” This book endeavors to explain the Buddha’s perspective on dukkha, and how one can live in spite of it, even striving to move beyond it. If you’re ready to learn more about dukkha and the path to liberation, let’s get started! Here Is A Preview Of What You'll Learn... About Buddhist Diversity Understanding Dukkha The Four Noble Truths The Eightfold Path Panna – Wisdom Śila – Ethical Conduct Samādhi – Concentration Nibbāna – Blown Out Much, much more! Download your copy today! Tags: eight-fold path, nirvana, the four noble truths and the eightfold path, four noble truths and eightfold path, buddhism, buddhist, theraveda buddhism, Eightfold Path, four noble truths, nibbana, eightfold path of buddhism, the eightfold path, noble eightfold path, eight fold path

Satipatthana Meditation: A Practice Guide


Bhikkhu Anālayo - 2018
    With mindfulness being so widely taught, there is a need for a clear-sighted and experience-based guide. Analayo provides it.

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

The Heart of Being: Moral and Ethical Teachings of Zen Buddhism


John Daido Loori - 1996
    Presents Buddhist teachings on a wide range of social and moral issues in the modern world.

On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime (Lectures on, #1)


Daisaku Ikeda - 2006
    This booklet contains the lecture by SGI President Ikeda on Nichiren Daishonin's letter "On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime." This lecture was serialized in Living BuddhismSept–Oct 2006 to Mar–Apr 2007.

The Gateless Barrier: The Wu-Men Kuan (Mumonkan)


Robert Aitken - 1990
    Gathered together by Wu-men (Mumon), a thirteenth-century master of the Lin-chi (Rinzai) school, it is composed of forty-eight koans, or cases, each accompanied by a brief comment and poem by Wu-men.Robert Aitken, one of the premier American Zen masters, has translated Wu-men's text, supplementing the original with his own commentary -- the first such commentary by a Western master -- making the profound truths of Zen Buddhism accessible to serious contemporary students and relevant to current social concerns.

The Truth of Suffering and the Path of Liberation


Chögyam Trungpa - 2009
    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.

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.

Questions to a Zen Master: Political and Spiritual Answers from the Great Japanese Master


Taisen Deshimaru - 1985
    True religion is the highest Way, the absolute Way: zazen."Here, Deshimaru, the author of True Zen, offers practical suggestions for developing unitary mind-body consciousness through the principles of zazen (translated literally as "seated meditation"). Advice is given on posture, breathing, and concentration, and concepts such as karma and satori are clearly explained.

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.

A Prayer That Never Fails: 7 Spiritual Practices to Catapult You to Happiness


Sadhvi Vrinda Om - 2019
    When I was initiated into sannyasa, I thought I had become a different person forever. The reality was far from it. The only solace: I was not the only one. Having met numerous seekers who visit our ashram to meet My Guru, Om Swami, I realized that most of them had similar woes. My failures were everyday failures for others just as much. They too were dancing to the fickle tunes of their unanchored and untamed minds. But there was hope. Simple instructions from the ingenious mind of My master rescued me. It is his infallible wisdom that I have tried to capture in this book. I hope the lessons in these pages bring you as much peace and clarity as they brought me.

Who Is My Self?: A Guide to Buddhist Meditation


Ayya Khema - 1997
    Ayya Khema, author of the best-selling Being Nobody, Going Nowhere, uses one of the earliest Buddhist suttas to guide us along the path of the oldest Buddhist meditative practice for understanding the nature of "self." By following the Buddha's explanation with clear, insightful examples from her years of teaching meditation, she guides us back and forth between the relative understanding and higher realizations of the Buddhist concept of "self." Her thoughtful contemplation of the Buddha's radical understanding of "self" and her practical advice for achieving insight offer the reader a profound understanding of the "self." Both beginning and advanced practitioners will greatly benefit from Ayya Khema's warm and down-to-earth exposition of the Buddha's meditation on "self."

A Fistful of Wisdom


Om Swami - 2017
    A Fistful of Wisdom reminds us that life is playful and it is demanding, but it is also a gift, a precious and priceless blessing. The more we learn to appreciate the beauty in simple things, the easier our survival. This book reminds us to observe and appreciate each passing moment and experience the pure joy of just being here and now. Bestselling author and mystic Om Swami doles out simple yet profound wisdom about the true meaning of happiness in his characteristic lighthearted way. Inside these pages, you will find a spiritual guru’s lucid solutions to problems and challenges related to modernday living.Om Swami is a mystic living in the Himalayan foothills. He has a Bachelor’s degree in business and an MBA from Sydney, Australia. Prior to his renunciation of this world, he founded and successfully ran a multimilliondollar software company. He is the bestselling author of The Ancient Science of Mantras, A Million Thoughts, Kundalini: An Untold Story, A Fistful of Love and If Truth Be Told: A Monk’s Memoir.

Letters to a Dead Friend about Zen


Brad Warner - 2019
    It's the last thing he feels like doing. What he wants to do instead is tell his friend everything he never said, to explain Zen and what he does for a living and why he spends his time "Sitting. Sitting. Sitting. Meditating my life away as it all passes by. Lighting candles and incense. Bowing to nothing." So, as he continues his teaching tour through Europe, he writes to his friend all the things he wishes he had said. Simply and humorously, he reflects on why Zen provided him a lifeline in a difficult world. He explores grief, attachment, and the afterlife. He writes to Marky, "I'm not all that interested in Buddhism. I'm much more interested in what is true," and then proceeds to poke and prod at that truth. The result for readers is a singular and winning meditation on Zen -- and a unique tribute to both a life lost and the one Warner has found.

The Book of Faith: True Inspirational Stories


Navjot Gautam - 2018
    As the river of life dries up, with each passing moment, our dreams of childhood give way to the reality of life, which is not always pleasant or fair. There is so much we don’t control and can’t change. In these difficult and lonely moments, we wonder if there is anyone in this world or any other whom we can count on. If faith moves mountains, then how do we build such faith and how do we know it will work for us? What is faith, anyway? From a physicist to a physician, an injured bird to an erudite Brahmin, people from different walks of life and religions share their incredible stories of rapid transformation, all united by the common thread of faith in one person – Om Swami. Every story makes you think and dares you to see the world differently. The Book of Faith is unlike anything ever written in the modern times.NAVJOT GAUTAM is a postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication from Punjabi University, Patiala. She has worked with top organizations in the fields of health, education, IT and hospitality.SADHVI VRINDA OM is an award-winning poet and author. She graduated from Sophia College, Ajmer, and went on to pursue an MBA. The turning point of her life though was to pen a mesmerizing non-fiction, Om Swami: As We Know Him. It has been hailed transformational by readers.