Eastern Philosophy

Confucius knew all about life and told us how to behave, but we can't find out precisely what he was up to. His well-meaning platitudes, quaint maxims, and quasi-enigmatic anecdotes combined to produce an ideal philosophy for civil servants. It would appear that his aim was to turn his pupils into good government officials, but his teachings succeeded beyond his wildest expectations, providing rules of conduct and spiritual fodder for more than two thousand years.

Born over 2,400 years ago, warrior, thinker, and leader Sun Tzu lived during a time of great internecine conflict in China. A classic of Chinese literature, Art of War reveals the strategies, tactics, and insights that lead to success. Mastery of warfare and the maintenance of power are the most important values in Sun's philosophy, without which there can be no peace or life.

Awakening Power in the Yoga Sutra is the first practitioner-oriented commentary on Vibhuti Pada written for the modern seeker. Fully grounded in scholarly understanding, this commentary is brought to life through the direct experience of a modern-day master.

The Japanese believe everyone has an ikigai—a reason for being that fills each day with meaning. And in a small village in Japan known as Okinawa, where people live longer than anywhere else in the world, finding your ikigai is the key to a happier, healthier life. But what is ikigai, exactly? It's where your passions, your talents, your values, and your livelihood all align. It's the sweet spot that fuels your days with purpose and joy, the reason you leap out of bed each morning eager to embrace the world.

Consisting of fewer than 200 verses written in an obscure if not impenetrable language and style, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra is today extolled by the yoga establishment as a perennial classic and guide to yoga practice. As David Gordon White demonstrates in this groundbreaking study, both of these assumptions are incorrect. Virtually forgotten in India for hundreds of years and maligned when it was first discovered in the West, the Yoga Sutra has been elevated to its present iconic status.

The question-and-answer format makes this introduction to Zen especially easy to understand - and also to use as a reference, as you can easily look up just the question you had in mind. The esteemed Zen teacher Norman Fischer and his old friend and teaching colleague Susan Moon (both of them in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki, author of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind) give this collaborative effort a playful tone: Susan asks a question on our behalf, Norman answers it, and then Sue challenges him.

Many have heard the term “Balkans” tossed about but likely don’t know a whole lot about the region. The saga of the Balkans is profound yet incredibly complicated. Bordered by both the Balkan Mountains of southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, this region holds a strong place in the history of Western civilization and is also a major crossroads of Eastern civilization as well.

Reduced stress, improved concentration, lower blood pressure, and increased sexual pleasure are among the many benefits of meditating. So what's holding you back? Perhaps you don't see yourself signing up with a guru. Or twisting yourself into a lotus position while repeating a mantra. But what if meditating were as easy and pleasurable as eating a dish of ice cream? In this guide, Lorin Roche proves that mediation is that easy - and even more enjoyable. Roche explains everything you need to get started, including some mini-meditations that can be integrated into spare moment throughout the day and tips for developing a customized practice that will become as natural and vital to you as breathing.

Beginning students in Japanese martial arts, such as karate, judo, aikido, iaido, kyudo, and kendo, learn that when they are in the dojo (the practice space), they must don their practice garb with ritual precision, address their teacher and senior students in a specific way, and follow certain unwritten but deeply held codes of behavior. But very soon they begin to wonder about the meaning behind the traditions, gear, and relationships in the dojo.

Thinkers of the East is a collection of anecdotes and "parables in action" illustrating the eminently practical and lucid approach of Eastern Dervish teachers. Distilled from the teachings of more than 100 sages in three continents, this material stresses the experimental rather than the theoretical - and it is that characteristic of Sufi study which provides its impact and vitality.

Your immutable path to victory! All 10 precepts in this concise audiobook cut to the heart of ending physical confrontations as quickly as possible with empty-hand techniques. Our definition of "ending" is to make the attack stop. There is no running after the now-fleeing assailant to catch and strike him down. There is no lesson, no teaching, no therapy, no epiphany. There is only making that bad guy stop what he is doing instantly so that you and those you care about will be safe. These 10 principles are style-agnostic and all about ending fights immediately.

In this clarifying new commentary, esteemed Zen teacher Shinshu Roberts takes listeners on a journey to understand Japan’s great Buddhist philosopher. Roberts applies her deep familiarity with Dōgen’s work to illuminate the text as a unified story in which Dōgen reveals the nondual nature of reality.

Many of us speak to ourselves in demeaning and hurtful ways, using language we would never use with anyone else. To make matters worse, we often don't even realize when we are doing this, as these old mental tapes play in repeating loops without our awareness. In Talk to Yourself Like a Buddhist, certified mindfulness and meditation instructor Cynthia Kane introduces the Middle Path of Self-Communication, which consists of five mindful tools - Listen, Explore, Question, Release, and Balance - all of which are grounded in Buddhist principles.

The Tao Te Ching is a compilation of meditations, comprised of 81 short chapters. Each chapter reflects on the beauty and mystical nature of the Tao (the Way). Tao Te Ching (Book of the Way) is one of the oldest written works that provides advice and guidance on perspective, inner strength, divine power, and moral excellence, among other principles of the universe. This 21st-century edition has been translated so that ancient text (originally written in classical Chinese in the fourth century BC) can be understood and enjoyed by the average listener.

That nagging sense of incompleteness you can’t quite put into words, not even to yourself or your loved ones. Do you feel like you’re endlessly running, chasing after a personal, family, and professional life that, despite all your efforts, always seems on the verge of slipping through your fingers? If you nodded (even slightly), welcome to the club…and more importantly, know there is a way out.

তোমাদের মধ্যে কার মহানতা অর্জনের অভিলাষ? কে চাও অকৃতিম আনন্দের বিভোৰতাৰ পরিবর্তে সমস্ত সুযোগ হারিয়ে দিতে? প্রতিপত্তি কি এর বিকল্প হতে পারে? আমি রাবণ ! আমি সমস্তটা চাই! আমি যশ চাই, আমি ক্ষমতা চাই, আমি অর্থ চাই! আমি সর্বমোট বিজয়ী হতে চাই! যদিও আমার আলোকের পাশে পাশে হেঁটে চলে আমার সৃষ্ট অন্ধকার!

Sun Tzu's The Art of War is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest tools for understanding and resolving conflict ever. But how do you translate its military insights into practical tactics you can use in the corporate boardroom, the PTA meeting, or the family reunion? James Gimian and Barry Boyce take the principles born on ancient Chinese battlefields and show you how to relate them to the situations of your everyday life. By learning to identify the underlying dynamic of a situation, you can transform conflict into victory.

Some of us were lucky enough to have one passionate, funny, inspiring English teacher who helped us fall in love with books. Add a lifetime of teaching Dharma - authentic, traditional approaches to meditation and awakening - and you get award-winning author Dean Sluyter. With droll humor and irreverent wisdom, he unpacks the Dharma of more than twenty major writers, from William Blake to Dr. Seuss, inspiring listeners to deepen their own spiritual life and see literature in a fresh new way: as a path of awakening.

يأخذ الشيخ الدكتور الطنطاوي القارئ على حيث يجد ذاته أحياناً أو يجد آخرين شكلوا أحياناً شخصيات بعض قصصه أو بعض خواطره. تنوعت كتابات الطنطاوي في مجموعته هذه لتشكل عملاً أدبياً جرى في نفسه حكمة الكاتب فلسفته وشفافيته وإبداعه الأدبي بالإضافة إلى ناحية لا يجب إغفالها وهي أن الطنطاوي قدّم مادة عكس من خلالها صورة مجتمعة بكافة جوانبه الإنسانية والحياتية.

Many countries claim Nasrudin as a native, although few have gone so far as Turkey in exhibiting a "grave" of the wisest fool who ever lived, and holding an annual Nasrudin Festival. He is the greatest, most intriguing, character of folklore found in any Eastern land.