Over the years it has inspired leading American Zen teachers, students, and practitioners. Its popularity is as high today as ever.Zen Flesh, Zen Bones is a book that offers a collection of accessible, primary Zen sources so that readers can struggle over the meaning of Zen for themselves. It includes 101 Zen Stories, a collection of tales that recount actual experiences of Chinese and Japanese Zen teachers over a period of more than five centuries; The Gateless Gate, the famous thirteenth-century collection of Zen koans; Ten Bulls, a twelfth century commentary on the stages of awareness leading to enlightenment; and Centering, a 4,000 year-old teaching from India that some consider to be the roots of Zen.

    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.

    The description of a Zen path of one Westerner who began by seeking for the sense of it all, and who came to realize at least a part of it.

    This revolutionary book brings together many teaching stories that were hidden for centuries, unknown until this volume. These stories are extraordinary expressions of freedom and fearlessness, relevant for men and women of any time or place. In these pages we meet nuns, laywomen practicing with their families, famous teachers honored by emperors, and old women selling tea on the side of the road.Each story is accompanied by a reflection by a contemporary woman teacher—personal responses that help bring the old stories alive for readers today—and concluded by a final meditation for the reader, a question from the editors meant to spark further rumination and inquiry. These are the voices of the women ancestors of every contemporary Buddhist.

    Sylvia Boorstein, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, and Tsoknyi Rinpoche draw on their own experiences with suffering, as well as their many years of practice, to illustrate how we can find serenity and compassion in even the most stressful situations. Solid Ground offers humor, insight, and practical advice as well as five guided meditations for soothing our thoughts and increasing our capacity for equanimity and joy.

    For fifteen hundred years, Zen koans have been passed down through generations of masters, usually in private encounters between teacher and student. This book deftly retells fourteen traditional koans, which are partly paradoxical questions dangerous to your beliefs and partly treasure boxes of ancient wisdom. Koans show that you don't have to impress people or change into an improved, more polished version of yourself. Instead you can find happiness by unbuilding, unmaking, throwing overboard, and generally subverting unhappiness. John Tarrant brings the heart of the koan tradition out into the open, reminding us that the old wisdom remains as vital as ever, a deep resource available to anyone in any place or time. "Here's a book to crack the happiness code if ever there was one. Forget about self-improvement, five-point plans, and inspirational seminars that you can't remember a word of a week later. Tarrant's is the fix that fixes nothing because there is nothing to fix. Your life is a koan, a deep question whose answer you are already living--this is the true inspiration, and Tarrant delivers."--Roger Housden, author of the "Ten Poems" series "Every life is full of koans, and yet you can't learn from a book how to understand them. You need someone to put you in the right frame of mind to see the puzzles and paradoxes of your experience. With intelligence, humor, and steady, deep reflection, John Tarrant does this as no one has done it before. This book could take you to a different and important level of experience."--Thomas Moore, author of "Care of the Soul" and "Dark Nights ofthe Soul" ""Bring Me the Rhinoceros" is one of the best books ever written about Zen. But it is more than that: it is a book of Zen, pointing us to reality by its own fluent and witty example. John Tarrant has the rare ability to enter the minds of the ancient Zen masters as they do their amazing pirouettes upon the void and, with a few vivid touches, to illuminate our lives with their sayings."--Stephen Mitchell, author of "Gilgamesh: A New English Version" "This book's straightforward honesty, clear writing, and destabilizing insight have a profound effect. John Tarrant does indeed bring on the rhinoceros and a host of other powerful but invisible creatures, ready to run us down when we refuse to acknowledge the fierce, awkward, and beautiful world we inhabit"--David Whyte, author of "Crossing the Unknown Sea" "John Tarrant's talent for telling these classic Zen tales transforms them magically into a song in which, as you read, the words disappear as the music continues to echo in your mind and make you happy. Mysteriously, like koans." --Sylvia Boorstein, author of "Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake

    But still there is the question of how we can experience that truth in our lives. In this book, Dainin Katagiri points to the manifestation of enlightenment right here, right now, in our everyday routine. Genuineness of practice lies in "just living" our lives wholeheartedly. The Zen practice of sitting meditation (zazen) is this not a means to an end but is the activity of enlightenment itself. That is why Katagiri Roshi says, "Don't expect enlightenment—just sit down!" Based on the author's talks to his American students, Returning to Silence contains the basic teachings of the Buddha, with special emphasis on the meaning of faith and on meditation. It also offers a commentary on "The Bodhisattva's Four Methods of Guidance" from Dogen Zenji's Shobogenzo, which speaks in depth about the appropriate actions of those who guide others in the practice of the Buddha Way. Throughout these pages, Katagiri Roshi energetically brings to life the message that "Buddha is your daily life."

    Through the uprooting of limiting beliefs and transcendence of themes of consciousness which perpetuate suffering, true freedom and lasting happiness will finally be revealed. By process of radical self-analysis and a practical three-step method, The Inner Work invites you to let go of your struggle with life. If you are a human, and you want to be happy, this book is for you.

    This translation of HongzhiÆs poetry, the only such volume available in English, treats readers to his profound wisdom and beautiful literary gift. In addition to dozens of HongshiÆs religious poems, translator Daniel Leighton offers an extended introduction, placing the masterÆs work in its historical context , as well as lineage charts and other information about the Chinese influence on Japanese Soto Zen.

    A very practical guidebook for meditators for navigating their way through these states of bliss and concentration.One of the elements of the Eightfold Path the Buddha taught is Right Concentration: the one-pointedness of mind that, together with ethics, livelihood, meditation, and so forth, leads to the ultimate freedom from suffering. The Jhanas are the method the Buddha himself taught for achieving Right Concentration. They are a series of eight successive states, beginning with bliss and moving on toward radically nonconceptual states. The fact that they can usually be achieved only during prolonged meditation retreat tends to keep them shrouded in mystery. Leigh Brasington is here to unshroud them. He takes away the mystique and gives instructions for them in plain, accessible language, noting the various pitfalls to avoid along the way, and then providing a wealth of material on the theory of jhana practice--all geared toward the practitioner rather than the scholar.

    Thirteen years later, Matthiessen was ordained a Buddhist monk. Written in the same format as his best-selling The Snow Leopard, Nine-Headed Dragon River reveals Matthiessen's most daring adventure of all: the quest for his spiritual roots.

    Trungpa Rinpoche provides a direct and experiential picture of the tantric world, explaining the importance of self-existing energy, the mandala principle, the difference between Buddhist and Hindu tantra—stressing the nontheistic foundation of Buddhism. The role of the teacher and the meaning of tantric transmission are also presented. Written for the student of Buddhism rather than the scholar, Journey without Goal demystifies the vajrayana and at the same time affirms the power and sacredness of its ancient teaching.

    Part inspiration, part information narrative for our story is based on walking meditation, also known as mindful walking; an active practice thatrequires you to be consciously aware and moving in the environment rather than sitting with your eyes closed.Just as The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo's mega-selling book (over 4 million copies soldworldwide) provides readers with a life/spiritual philosophy embedded in the how-to of minimalism (with practical tips for de-cluttering of one's home), A Walk in the Wood provides a narrative grounded in the simple act of slowing down, observing what is around us, and being present.Appealing to adults who are actively searching ways to join the JOMO movement (Joy of Missing Out and beingcontent just "being"), A Walk in the Wood also makes for a perfect gift for stressed-out family membersand friends.

    Bill Moyers has called this search for spirituality "the biggest story -- not only of the decade but of the century."  Now, Sam Keen, the New York Times bestselling author of Fire in the Belly, addresses this crisis and provides a blueprint for bringing spirituality into everyday life in Hymns to an Unknown God:  Awakening the Spirit in Everyday Life.Using practical examples from his and other people's lives, Keen tells readers how to cut through what he calls the "spiritual bullshit," and recover the sacred in their love affairs, families, jobs, and politics -- in short, how to recover the "Unknown God." Down-to-earth and articulate, Sam Keen is a popular social commentator, philosopher, and teacher. He describes himself as "overeducated at the Ivies," with degrees from Harvard and Princeton. His work has been featured in a special Bill Moyers PBS interview, and for over twenty years he was a consulting editor at Psychology Today.How to Use Your Spiritual Bullshit Detector: In a world of one-minute solutions, false spiritual leaders, and instant spirituality, how can you tell which beliefs are valid and separate the bogus from the genuine.Sex and the Spirit: Why is it that sex and spirituality are so interconnected and confusing? Keen explains the conflict between "I want" and "I should," and tells readers how to integrate sensuality, sexuality and spirituality to experience truly deep and loving relationships.Consecrating Our Days: Rituals for Living: Keen gives more than a dozen suggestions for personal rituals to remind readers of the sacredness in their everyday lives, including creating a private place as a personal sanctuary, learning to make time to think deeply, setting aside personal days as times of celebration, and more.

    What are the right ingredients for a life filled with delectable treats?3 cups of living an adventurous lifeInclude a large portion of true friendshipAdd a dash of genuine generosity, extreme tolerance, and clear-headednessLeave dish open to all kinds of knowledgeStir with great energyBake ethically and serve with exceptional amounts of wisdomChock full of moving and enlightening stories, The Chocolate Cake Sutra will help you let go of perfectionism and celebrate the sacred nature of the life you already have.