Eastern Spirituality

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.

In examining one of the defining events of the twentieth century, Doris L. Bergen situates the Holocaust in its historical, political, social, cultural, and military contexts. Unlike many other treatments of the Holocaust, this revised, third edition discusses not only the persecution of the Jews, but also other segments of society victimized by the Nazis: Roma, homosexuals, Poles, Soviet POWs, the disabled, and other groups deemed undesirable.

For the first time in any modern language, a female scholar and translator reimagines The Art of War. Sun Tzu’s ancient book of strategy and psychology has as much to tell us today as when it was first written 2,500 years ago. In a world forever at odds, his rules for anticipating the motivations and strategies of our competitors never cease to inspire leaders of all kinds.

What if you could approach every part of your life - from the smallest decisions to life's biggest setbacks - with total confidence, clarity, and control? According to Sakyong Mipham, we all have that power. The secret is simple: If you just stop thinking about yourself all the time, happiness and confidence will come naturally. It sounds absurd and, what's more, impossible. But in Ruling Your World, Sakyong Mipham shares ancient secrets on how to take control of our lives and be successful while cultivating compassion for others and confidence in our own intelligence and goodness.

Mount Athos: The History of the Greek Mountain and the Center of Eastern Orthodox Monasticism looks at the unique region and what life has been like there since medieval times. You will learn about Mount Athos like never before.

Sanskrit for "Song of the Lord", the Bhagavad Gita is a 700-verse Hindu epic that constitutes part of the faith's vast cornerstone work, the "Mahabharata." The book provides timeless truths and indispensable advice for believers trying to overcome internal tensions, doubt and indecision. The teachings are conveyed in the form of a dialogue between the Pandava general Arjuna and the deity Krishna, who helps Arjuna understand his position in the Kurukshetra War, and guides him towards the right course of action.

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.

Wisdom in Exile provides a new insight into Buddhism's encounter with Western culture and the Western mind in the early 21st century. Jampa Thaye has trained for over 40 years with some of the foremost lamas of Tibetan Buddhism, yet is a Westerner, living in Britain, teaching Buddhism to students throughout Europe and North America. He draws on that knowledge and experience to explain the space that now exists for Buddhism in the West, and identifies critical conflicts and tensions that must be resolved for modern Westerners to grasp the essence of the Buddhist teachings.

Buddhism is one of the world’s oldest spiritual traditions - having existed for more than 2,500 years. It’s currently practiced by more than 480 million people all across the globe. While countless religions have been abandoned through the centuries, the insights and practices of Buddhism are still carried on today in every corner of the world. In this beginner’s guide, we will provide the basic outlines of the understanding of the world that informs Buddhist practice. Key concepts and terms will be introduced one by one.

Find yourself and tune in: such is the message of Zen. Instant Zen presents the teachings of Foyan, a twelfth-century Chinese Zen master recognized as one of the greatest masters of the Song dynasty Zen renaissance in China. These simple exercises by Foyan lead you to the awakening of insight into the real nature of self and emphasize independence and autonomy, two qualities vital to seeing and acting clearly. Newcomers will find this a useful and sophisticated introduction to authentic inner Zen practices without cultural exoticism or religious cultism.

This book shows how we can move beyond secular mindfulness and compassion techniques to the cultivation of insight - seeing into and thereby becoming free of the repetitive thinking that keeps us trapped in cycles of suffering. Most books in the secular mindfulness tradition stop with mindfulness and self-compassion but do little to uncover the root causes of our suffering. Drawing on both Buddhist analyses of mind and current findings in psychology and neuroscience, the book explains how our thinking becomes fixed through our engaging with unconscious preferences and reactions.

Morrison offers an illuminating study of two linked traditions that have figured prominently in 20th-century thought: Buddhism and the philosophy of Nietzsche. Nietzsche admired Buddhism, but saw it as a dangerously nihilistic religion; he forged his own affirmative philosophy in reaction against the nihilism that he feared would overwhelm Europe. Morrison shows that Nietzsche's influential view of Buddhism was mistaken, and that far from being nihilistic, it has notable and perhaps surprising affinities with Nietzsche's own project of the transvaluation of all values.

Written by Wayne Liquorman with characteristic humor, irreverence, and profound insight, this audiobook provides a bold new look at the nature of existence. If one wants to remain in the moment, what does one do about the mind? Never mind! The mind does what the mind does. It is working and functioning perfectly, doing exactly what it has been designed and programmed to do. The audiobook hammers away at the basic misconceptions that bring about human suffering - I could have and should have done it differently, I am flawed, I am the author of my thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Have you ever heard about transcendental meditation? You know that many stars, like the Beatles or Stevie Wonder, performed it, but you have no idea what is about? Do you know that meditation is much more than just Yoga and staying silent? This audiobook is the perfect way for beginners to approach this practice, because it allows them to discover meditation both theoretically and practically.

The Chemistry of Joy presents Dr. Emmons' natural approach to depression, combining the best of Western medicine and Eastern teaching to create your body's own biochemistry of joy. Dr. Emmons creates a practical program for each of the three types of depression: anxious depression, agitated depression, and sluggish depression.

Marking a significant departure from Noah Cicero's fictional and poetic works, Blood-Soaked Buddha/Hard Earth Pascal is a lucid philosophical treatise. Rather than entertain dogma, Cicero approaches a discussion of Buddhism from the refreshing perspective of the everyman, providing a profound spiritual analysis as well as a sharp critique of capitalism. There are even some pretty good ghost stories.

With his one-of-a kind blend of autobiography, pop culture, and plainspoken Buddhism, Brad Warner explores an A-to-Z of sexual topics; from masturbation to dating, gender identity to pornography. In addition to approaching sexuality from a Buddhist perspective, he looks at Buddhism - emptiness, compassion, karma - from a sexual vantage. Throughout, he stares down the tough questions: Can prostitution be "right livelihood"? Can a good spiritual master also be really, really bad?

Hinduism is one of the world’s great religions, dominating the Indian subcontinent for most of the last millennium, and its largest temple is an unbelievably magnificent structure located in Angkor, Cambodia. Known in English as Angkor Wat ("City Temple"), the gigantic complex continues to fascinate the world, both due to its sheer grandeur and size, as well as its ornamental decorations both inside and out.

What is the connection between physics and consciousness? In this groundbreaking new audiobook, Samuel Avery presents the quantum screen, a paradigm-shifting model of perceptual consciousness and of the world. This model looks to the enigmas of modern physics to demonstrate the primacy of consciousness - the essential oneness of spirit and matter.

Siddhartha is a novel by Hermann Hesse that deals with the spiritual journey of self-discovery of a man named Siddhartha during the time of the Gautama Buddha.