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.

    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.

    Finding awareness in any kind of ordinary daily activity--the first trade book from a Southeast Asia....

    The book explores reunions with departed souls, the discovery of soul mates, as well as our purpose in the universe.

    Presents Buddhist teachings on a wide range of social and moral issues in the modern world.

    In its power to touch the heart, to awaken consciousness, [The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying] is an inestimable gift.”—San Francisco Chronicle A newly revised and updated edition of the internationally bestselling spiritual classic, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, written by Sogyal Rinpoche, is the ultimate introduction to Tibetan Buddhist wisdom. An enlightening, inspiring, and comforting manual for life and death that the New York Times calls, “The Tibetan equivalent of [Dante’s] The Divine Comedy,” this is the essential work that moved Huston Smith, author of The World’s Religions, to proclaim, “I have encountered no book on the interplay of life and death that is more comprehensive, practical, and wise.”

    A series of contemplations lead us gently but directly to see that our essential nature is neither a body nor a mind. It is the conscious Presence that is aware of this current experience. As such it is nothing that can be experienced as an object and yet it is undeniably present. However, these contemplations go much further than this. As we take our stand knowingly as this conscious Presence that we always already are, and reconsider the objects of the body, mind and world, we find that they do not simply appear to this Presence, they appear within it. And further exploration reveals that they do not simply appear within this Presence but as this Presence. Finally we are led to see that it is in fact this very Presence itself that takes the shape of our experience from moment to moment whilst always remaining only itself. We see that our experience is and has only ever been one seamless totality with no separate entities or objects anywhere to be found.

    Amit Ray, presents a holistic, integrated, lifestyle oriented approach of meditation. With penetrating insights and wisdom, Ray reveals an integrated framework of meditation for living a happy and meaningful life. The book explains the bigger pictures of meditation as well as step-by-step techniques of meditation. By presenting the key meditation concepts clearly Dr. Ray enables readers to walk into the higher levels of meditation. Written in clear and concise language, and beautifully illustrated, the book is enjoyable to read and easy to practice. As you practice these meditations, a long lasting sense of well-being, manifests in your life. You may notice a sense of joyfulness entering your life along with an ability to appreciate the many gifts that surround you. This book will help both the beginners as well as the advanced practitioners of meditation.

    The Heart Sutra, one of the best known and most popular of Mahayana Buddhist scriptures, contains the essence of Buddha's teachings on emptiness and the methods to develop the wisdom that understands this ultimate reality. In this explanation of the Sutra, Geshe Kelsang reveals its explicit and implicit meanings, and relates them to the five Mahayana paths that lead to full enlightenment. He also explains how an initial understanding of emptiness can be used in conjunction with the Sutra to overcome both internal and external obstacles to our happiness.

    This is the revised edition of Kosho Uchiyama's singularly incisive classic. This new edition contains even more useful material: new prefaces, an index, and extended endnotes, in addition to a revised glossary. As Jisho Warner writes in her preface, Opening the Hand of Thought "goes directly to the heart of Zen practice... showing how Zen Buddhism can be a deep and life-sustaining activity." She goes on to say, "Uchiyama looks at what a person is, what a self is, how to develop a true self not separate from all things, one that can settle in peace in the midst of life." By turns humorous, philosophical, and personal, Opening the Hand of Thought is above all a great book for the Buddhist practitioner. It's a perfect follow-up for the reader who has read Zen Meditation in Plain English and is especially useful for those who have not yet encountered a Zen teacher.

    Meditation practice is one way to do it, but not the only way. In fact, there are easy ways to fit it into your everyday life. Jan Chozen Bays provides here 25 practices that can be used on the go to cultivate mindfulness. The three-breath practice, the mindfulness of entering rooms, offering compliments, tasting your food one careful bite at a time--these deceptively simple practices can have a cumulative effect for the better. The book is an abridgment of Bays's longer collection How to Train a Wild Elephant: And Other Adventures in Mindfulness.

    This recent collection of conversations between him and the many seekers who came to his ashram for guidance contains the essence of his teaching. His concern throughout his long life of imparting his experience to others was to convince his listeners that self-realisation – or enlightenment – is not an alien or mysterious state, but the natural condition of man. This state can be easily discovered by undertaking the self-investigation clearly described in these talks. The lucid instructions to each section provide further illumination of this greater seer’s message.

    Originally published in India in 1971, The Way to God reveals the essence of Gandhi's ideas on faith, love, meditation, service, self-control, and prayer. A simple guide to daily religious practice, it is relevant to readers of every faith.

    The concepts of "subpersonalities" (the many aspects of the personality) and "projection" (the notion that the entire world is a mirror of who we are) are introduced. Readers are encouraged to consider that they see the world the way they do not because the world is inherently that way, but because of who's looking. Seeing ourselves as having many different parts helps us make sense the the whirling mass of contradictions we sometimes experience within ourselves.

    It was reduced to dust. Soon I had to admit that there were things far beyond the scope of my rational mind.' What is it that draws one to a mystic? What is it like to know at close quarters a man whose powers are beyond the conscious mind? What does it feel like to be fulfilled spiritually, to feel understood, to stand revealed? As Ismita Tandon and Swami Vidyananda Om explore their feelings for Om Swami, their baffling experiences with him, a secret world of mystical phenomena lights up. They talk about the intimacy of their daily lives with Swami, observing his sheer power, his simplicity, his empathy for every living creature he encounters and the care with which he chooses every word he speaks, no matter how big or small the matter. They speak of his beauty, his divinity. What emerges is a moving portrait of devotion and trust, and the startling image of a saint who was able to inspire such depth of feeling.