Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World


Robert A.F. Thurman - 2008
    Perched on the top of the world. changes in Tibet’s ecosystem affect the entire global climate. And, most importantly, Tibet is the spiritual and physical home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, to which he can never return.But why does Tibet matter to you? Tibet is more than its mountains, its monks, and its martyrs. Robert Thurman, renowned Tibetan scholar, teacher, and activist, presents his provocative, five-point plan that will enable China to win the respect of the entire world by allowing Tibet to regain its cultural, economic, and political autonomy. Thurman shows how the Dalai Lama's tireless work is the harbinger of peace for the world yet to come and essential for human survival. The book outlines several key factors that will educate and empower readers to take action:- What is the history of Tibet, and how do the political, religious, ecological, and social factors affect each other?- Who is the Dalai Lama, and why does his work matter to the world?- What does the China-Tibet relationship represent for the global community?- What can individuals do to bring attention to this issue, and make a change where they are?- How can the five-point plan be used as a model of peaceful change in the world?

21st Century Yoga: Culture, Politics, and Practice


Carol HortonBe Scofield - 2012
    Yoga is taught everywhere from spas to prisons, and foreverything from weight loss to spiritual transcendence. With its chameleon-like ability to adapt equally well to advertising, athletics, and ashrams, contemporary yoga is a fascinating phenomenon that invites investigation.Written by experienced practitioners who are also teachers, therapists, activists, scholars, studio owners, and interfaith ministers, 21st Century Yoga is one of the first books to provide a multi-faceted examination of yoga as it actually exists in contemporary North America. Key themes addressed in the essays include:- The significance of the body in yoga culture- Yoga’s capacities and limitations as a healing modality- Mind/body splits in the yoga and Zen communities- Healing anorexia through yoga- Holistic recovery through yoga and the 12 Steps- Social engagement and interdependence- Imagination, rationality, and consciousness- Contemporary spirituality- Yoga and the practice of writing

Yoga Therapy: A Guide to the Therapeutic Use of Yoga and Ayurveda for Health and Fitness


A.G. Mohan - 2004
    While that is generally true, yoga poses and breathing practices can also be prescribed for specific health problems—often in combination with dietary advice taken from Ayurveda, traditional Indian medicine. Yoga Therapy is an essential guide for yoga teachers, advanced practitioners, and anyone who wants to make therapeutic use of yoga. A. G. and Indra Mohan prescribe postures, breathing techniques, and basic Ayurvedic principles for a variety of common health problems, including asthma, back pain, constipation, hip pain, knee pain, menstrual problems, and scoliosis. Yoga Therapy is one of the few books that shows yoga teachers how to put together appropriate yoga sequences and breathing techniques for their students. Mohan details how to correctly move into, hold, and move out of poses, how to breathe during practice to achieve specific results, and how to customize a yoga practice by creating sequences of yoga poses for a particular person.

12 Steps on Buddha's Path: Bill, Buddha, and We


Laura S. - 2006
    This book is a powerful and enriching synthesis of the 12-Step recovery programs and the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism. It is sure to appeal to anyone touched by addiction, including those looking for new ways to understand and work with the tried-and-true 12-Step system. Tens of millions of Americans suffer from alcoholism and other forms of dependence, and 12 Steps on Buddha's Path offers hope and help for any one of them.Though writing anonymously out of deep respect for 12-Step policies, the author is in fact a well-known professional author, deeply involved in the recovery and meditation communities.

Hatha Yoga: Or the Yogi Philosophy of Physical Well-Being


Ramacharaka - 1904
    appetite; Prana absorption from food; About food; Irrigation of the body; Ashes of the system; Yogi breathing; Effect of correct breathing; Breathing exercises; Nostril breathing vs. mouth breathing; Little lives of the body; Control of the involuntary system; Pranic energy; Science of relaxation; Use of physical exercise; Yogi bath; Solar energy; Fresh air; Nature's sweet restorer, sleep; Regeneration; Mental attitude; Led by Spirit. This book has practical and excellent suggestions for promoting health in the body.

Sivananda Companion to Yoga


Lucy Lidell - 1983
    Easy-to-follow instructions and authoritative teaching cover all aspects of this timeless discipline -- an inspiration for the beginner and expert alike. * Develop a fit and beautiful body * Keep youthful in every stage of life * Eat wisely and well * Breathe for life and vitality * Improve your health * Enjoy a troublefree pregnancy * Banish stress and tension * Increase your powers of concentration * Experience peace of mind

The Beginner's Guide to Walking the Buddha's Eightfold Path


Jean Smith - 2002
    The eight steps on the path are: right understanding, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. Smith explains exactly what the Buddha had in mind, using translations of his own words and then elucidating them for us. Throughout the book are wonderful quotes from a broad range of Buddhist teachers, giving a taste of the very best each of them has to offer. The Beginner’s Guide to Walking the Buddha’s Eightfold Path is a prescription for happiness, not just for overcoming suffering, which is how many people think of Buddhism. Here is a book for Buddhists of every tradition.

The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism


Daniel C. Matt - 1995
    A translation of the Kabbalah for the layperson includes a compact presentation of each primary text and features a practical analysis and vital historical information that offer insight into the various aspects of Jewish mysticism.

Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World


Stephen Batchelor - 2017
    However, many of these people have little interest in the religious aspects of Buddhism, and the practice occurs within secular contexts such as hospitals, schools, and the workplace. Is it possible to recover from the Buddhist teachings a vision of human flourishing that is secular rather than religious without compromising the integrity of the tradition? Is there an ethical framework that can underpin and contextualize these practices in a rapidly changing world?   In this collected volume of Stephen Batchelor’s writings on these themes, the author explores the complex implications of Buddhism’s secularization. Ranging widely—from reincarnation, religious belief, and agnosticism to the role of the arts in Buddhist practice—he offers a detailed picture of contemporary Buddhism and its attempt to find a voice in the modern world.

Yoga for Depression: A Compassionate Guide to Relieve Suffering Through Yoga


Amy Weintraub - 2003
    But the side effects of popular prescription drugs may seem nearly as depressing as the symptoms they’re meant to treat. Veteran yoga instructor Amy Weintraub offers a better solution—one that taps the scientifically proven link between yoga and emotional well-being as well as the beauty of ancient approaches to inner peace.Addressing a range of diagnoses, including dysthymia, anxiety-based depression, and bipolar disorder, Yoga for Depression reveals why specific postures, breathing practices, and meditation techniques can ease suffering and release life’s traumas and losses. Weintraub also reflects on her own experience with severe depression, from which she recovered through immersing herself in a daily yoga routine. Yoga for Depression is the first yoga book devoted exclusively to the treatment of these debilitating conditions. Amy Weintraub will help readers see their suffering and themselves in a vibrant new light.

Zen and the Art of Happiness


Chris Prentiss - 2006
    In "Zen and the Art of Happiness", you will learn how to think and feel so that what you think and feel creates happiness and vibrancy in your life rather than gloominess or depression.

The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana


Mallanaga Vātsyāyana
    Burton’s translation of The Kama Sutra remains one of the best English interpretations of this early Indian treatise on politics, social customs, love, and intimacy. Its crisp style set a new standard for Sanskrit translation.The Kama Sutra stands uniquely as a work of psychology, sociology, Hindu dogma, and sexology. It has been a celebrated classic of Indian literature for 1,700 years and a window for the West into the culture and mysticism of the East.This Modern Library Paperback Classic reprints the authoritative text of Sir Richard F. Burton’s 1883 translation.

Everyday Zen: Love and Work


Charlotte Joko Beck - 1989
    Combining earthly wisdom with spiritual enlightenment, it describes how to live each moment to the full and shows the relevance of Zen to every aspect of life.

The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation: As Taught by S. N. Goenka


William Hart - 1987
    As taught by S. N. Goenka, this path to self-awareness is extraordinary in its simplicity, its lack of dogma and, above all, its results. The Vipassana technique can be successfully applied by anyone.Based on the lectures and writings of S. N. Goenka--and prepared under his direct guidance--The Art of Living shows how this technique can be used to solve problems, develop unused potential, and lead a peaceful, productive life. It includes stories by S. N. Goenka, as well as answers to students' questions, that convey a vivid sense of his teaching.S. N. Goenka's Vipassana courses have attracted thousands of people of every background. Unique among teachers of meditation, Goenka is a retired industrialist and former leader of the Indian Community in Burma. Although a layman, his teaching has won the approval of senior Buddhist monks in Burma, India, and Sri Lanka, a number of whom have taken courses under his guidance. Despite his magnetism, he has no wish to be a "guru" --instead he teaches self-responsibility. This is the first systematic study of his teachings to appear in English.

The Satanic Rituals


Anton Szandor LaVey - 1972
    It is a collection of essays, observations and basic Satanic rituals, and outlines LaVey's Satanic ideology. It contains the core principles of LaVeyan Satanism and is considered the foundation of the philosophy and dogma that constitute Satanism.