Understanding the Mind: An Explanation of the Nature and Functions of the Mind


Kelsang Gyatso - 1992
    The first part explains how Buddhist psychology is based on an understanding of the mind as a formless continuum that is related to, yet separate from, the physical body. Through understanding the nature of the mind and the process of cognition, we can attain a lasting state of inner peace and happiness that is independent of external circumstances. Part Two explains the many types of mind and shows how we can abandon those that harm us, while increasing those that lead to joy and fulfilment.

Waking the Buddha: How the Most Dynamic and Empowering Buddhist Movement in History Is Changing Our Concept of Religion


Clark Strand - 2014
    Drawing on his long personal experience as a Buddhist teacher, journalist, and editor, Clark Strand offers broad insight into how and why the Soka Gakkai, with its commitment to social justice and its egalitarian approach, has become a role model, not only for other schools of Buddhism, but for other religions as well. Readers will be inspired by the struggles and triumphs of the Soka Gakkai’s three founding presidents—individuals who staked their lives on the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and the extraordinary power of those teachings to help people become happy.

Sayings of the Buddha


Rupert Gethin - 2008
    One of the main sources for knowledge of the Buddhadharma is the four Pali Nikayas or "collections" of his sayings. Written in Pali, an ancient Indian language closely related to Sanskrit, the Nikayas are among the oldest Buddhist texts and consist of more than one and a half million words. This new translation offers a selection of the Buddha's most important sayings, reflecting the full variety of material contained in the Nikayas: the central themes of the Buddha's teaching (his biography, philosophical discourse, instruction on morality, meditation, and the spiritual life) and the range of literary style (myth, dialogue, narrative, short sayings, verse). This edition is the most critically up-to-date and For anyone seeking a more direct encounter with the Buddha's words and teaching, this new translation will prove to be essential reading, rewarding scholars and practitioners alike. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism


Reginald A. Ray - 2000
    Indestructible Truth presents Tibetan Buddhism in its traditional form but also shows how the Tibetan traditions are applicable to the problems and challenges of modern life in the West.In Indestructible Truth, Tibetan Buddhism is introduced not as an exotic religion, but rather as an expression of human spirituality that is having a profound impact on the modern world. In addition, it presents the point of view of meditation and the practice of the spiritual life, paying special attention to contemplative practice and meditation as taught in the Kagyu and Nyingma schools.

Zen Baggage: A Pilgrimage to China


Red Pine - 2005
    Zen Baggage is an account of that journey. He weaves together historical background, interviews with Zen masters, and translations of the earliest known records of Zen, along with personal vignettes. Porter’s account captures the transformations taking place at religious centers in China but also the abiding legacy they have somehow managed to preserve. Porter brings wisdom and humor to every situation, whether visiting ancient caves containing the most complete collection of Buddhist texts ever uncovered, enduring a six-hour Buddhist ceremony, searching in vain for the ghost in his room, waking up the monk in charge of martial arts at Shaolin Temple, or meeting the abbess of China’s first Zen nunnery. Porter’s previously published Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits has become recommended reading at Zen centers and universities throughout America and even in China (in its Chinese translation), and Zen Baggage is sure to follow suit.

Kundalini Tantra


Satyananda Saraswati - 2002
    This Book presents a systematic and pragmatic approach to the awakening of kudalini, which arouses greater intelligence from it's sleep and you can give birth to a new range of creativity.

Zen Prayers For Repairing Your Life


Tai Sheridan - 2012
    Zen prayer includes intimacy with the ground of Being, making yourself whole through honest self-reflection, clarifying your deepest spiritual intentions, wishing for the welfare of the world, and affirming the essential goodness of people and life.Prayer can release you from your habitual self-centered tendencies and can open the gates to your miraculous and wondrous existence. Prayer invites you to the timeless and infinite border of the material and invisible world, the place where phenomena and emptiness dynamically interact in the dance of existence. Through sound and silence, prayer invokes goodness, healing, mystery, blessings, and can ignite the flame of your heart.

The Essence of Jung's Psychology and Tibetan Buddhism: Western and Eastern Paths to the Heart


Radmila Moacanin - 1986
    The author touches on many of their major ideas: the collective unconscious and karma, archetypes and deities, the analyst and the spiritual friend, and mandalas. Within Tibetan Buddhism she focuses on tantra and relates its emphasis on spiritual transformation, also a major concern of Jung. This expanded edition includes new material on the integration of the two traditions, and the importance of these paths of the heart in today's unsteady world.

The Chocolate Cake Sutra: Ingredients for a Sweet Life


Geri Larkin - 2007
    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.

The Wisdom of Wilderness: Experiencing the Healing Power of Nature


Gerald G. May - 2006
    It also has much to teach us about the wilderness within and the divine presence that is manifest in nature. In this, his last work, beloved author Gerald May offers a memoir and spiritual guide that reveals the great lessons available to us when we retreat from our busy lives to the serenity of the natural wilderness.The Wisdom of Wilderness expresses the healing and wholeness May received through spending time in the wild -- whether hiking, camping, canoeing, fishing, or, often, just sitting. Also, May saw that wilderness can be found anywhere -- a garden, a park, perhaps in one's own room, or even in other people. Wherever we find it, it calls to what is natural in each of our hearts, reassuring us that we are part of a bigger creation and teaching us how to make peace with the outer world and with our inner selves.For May, nature was not something to rise above. The belief that we must dominate and tame all that is wild around and within us is the most fundamental estrangement of Western civilization, long inflicting wounds upon the planet and upon ourselves. But before we can effectively heal the earth, we must somehow recover our own natural wholeness, our own wildness and kinship with nature. We cannot do this healing for ourselves, but only through "the grace of Something or Someone beyond" -- and in May's case, he found this grace in Nature itself.This moving, beautifully written book is Gerald May at his best. It includes a foreword by author Parker J. Palmer, which illuminates the importance of May's life and writing and explains how this last book fits into the body of his work.

Turning Confusion into Clarity: A Guide to the Foundation Practices of Tibetan Buddhism


Yongey Mingyur - 2014
    By offering guidance on how to approach the process and giving instruction for specific meditation and contemplation techniques, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche provides gentle yet thorough commentary, companionship, and inspiration for committing to the Buddhist path.

Loving-Kindness in Plain English: The Practice of Metta


Henepola Gunaratana - 2017
    Through personal anecdotes, step-by-step meditations, conversational renderings of the Buddha’s words in the suttas, and transformative insights into how we live in and relate to the world, we learn that peace here and now is possible—within ourselves and in all our relationships. Bhante G speaks directly to how we can cultivate loving-kindness to find emotional clarity, overcome anger, and become more peaceful—both on and off the meditation cushion.   Loving-Kindness in Plain English was chosen for the Spirituality & Practice Book Award as one of the 50 Best Spiritual Books of 2017 by the website Spirituality & Practice.

Two Zen Classics: The Gateless Gate and the Blue Cliff Records


Katsuki Sekida - 1977
    The two works translated in this book, Mumonkan (The Gateless Gate ) and Hekiganroku (The Blue Cliff Record), both compiled during the Song dynasty in China, are the best known and most frequently studied koan collections, and are classics of Zen literature. They are still used today in a variety of practice lineages, from traditional zendos to modern Zen centers. In a completely new translation, together with original commentaries, the well-known Zen teacher Katsuki Sekida brings to these works the same fresh and pragmatic approach that made his Zen Training so successful. The insights of a lifetime of Zen practice and his familiarity with both Eastern and Western ways of thinking make him an ideal interpreter of these texts.

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.

Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind: the Zen journal & letters of Maura "Soshin" O'Halloran


Maura O'Halloran - 1994
    Today she is revered as a Buddhist saint, and a statue in her honor stands at the monastery where she lived. This is the story of her journey.