English Buddha

It is common in both Buddhism and Freudian psychoanalysis to treat desire as if it is the root of all suffering and problems, but psychiatrist Mark Epstein believes this to be a grave misunderstanding. In his controversial defense of desire, he makes clear that it is the key to deepening intimacy with ourselves, each other, and our world. Proposing that spiritual attainment does not have to be detached from intimacy or eroticism, Open to Desire begins with an exploration of the state of dissatisfaction that causes us to cling to irrational habits.

When world renowned Buddhist writer Stephen Batchelor turned 60, he took a sabbatical from his teaching and turned his attention to solitude, a practice integral to the meditative traditions he has long studied and taught. He aimed to venture more deeply into solitude, discovering its full extent and depth. This beautiful literary collage documents his multifaceted explorations. In a hyperconnected world that is at the same time plagued by social isolation, this book shows how to enjoy the inescapable solitude that is at the heart of human life.

With an entire genre of self-help books available in the market, this series of talks by the enlightened mystic Osho stands apart. Through his commentary on the tiny but exquisite Song of Meditation by Hakuin, “one of the greatest of Zen masters”, Osho speaks on how contemporary man goes through life with the idea that he must be different from how he is and so trying to change. Whether the search is for self-improvement or self-realization, Osho simply states that “trying” is what is in the way.

Lifelong meditation teacher Eric Harrison intimately understands the benefits of mindfulness, from improved focus and better judgment to relaxation and inner peace. He’s helped 10s of thousands of students to achieve these goals by rooting his practice in the Buddha’s original text on how to meditate and live mindfully: The Satipatthana Sutta. Brain Training with the Buddha offers a secular perspective on this ancient wisdom that requires no familiarity with Buddhism itself - only openness to the Buddha’s original teachings.

Fed up with teenage life in the suburbs, Jaimal Yogis ran off to Hawaii with little more than a copy of Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha and enough cash for a surfboard. His journey is a coming-of-age saga that takes him from communes to monasteries, from the warm Pacific to the icy New York shore. Equal parts spiritual memoir and surfer's tale, this is a chronicle of finding meditative focus in the barrel of a wave and eternal truth in the great, salty blue.

Few of the sacred texts of the world's great religions present their wisdom with the clear simplicity of the verses of the Buddhist Dhammapada or Path to Virtue. Its direct style, clarity, and beauty place it at the forefront of Buddhist sacred literature, and its noble intent raises it to the highest level of humanity's spiritual guides.

The jhānas are eight progressive altered states of consciousness that can be identified with the aspect of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path called Right Concentration. Training in concentration leads to these states, each of which yields a deeper and subtler state of awareness than the previous one. The jhānas are not in themselves awakening, but they are a skillful means for stilling the mind in a way that leads in that direction, and they are attainable by anyone who devotes the time and sincerity of practice necessary to realize them.

The excitement you feel after hearing good news or achieving a goal is fleeting, but true happiness - that is, the warm feeling of deep contentment and joy - is lasting, and it can be yours in every moment. The Buddha's Way of Happiness is a guide to putting aside your anxieties about the future, regrets about the past, and constant longing to change your life for the better, and awakening to the joy of living.

The Heart Sutra, originally a very short set of verses, was given in privacy as a message to one of Buddha's close disciples, Sariputra, specifically addressed to him. Over time the Heart Sutra became one of Buddhism's core teachings. In these 10 talks, Osho presents the powerful message of these ancient words and brings them to a modern audience - one with different minds and needs than the original audiences of Buddha more than 2,500 years ago.

With his shaved head and begging bowl the new kid is an automatic target for the bully boys of Edward Rucher High, an easy mark for their casual cruelty.

Lori Deschene, creator of TinyBuddha.com and the self-help journals Tiny Buddha’s Worry Journal and Tiny Buddha’s Gratitude Journal, shares 40 unique perspectives and insights to help you stop judging yourself so harshly. Featuring stories selected from hundreds of TinyBuddha.com contributors, Tiny Buddha’s Guide to Loving Yourself provides an honest look at what it means to overcome critical, self-judging thoughts to create a peaceful, empowered life.

While many accounts of the Buddha’s life mix legend and history, this compelling new biography discriminates between fact and fiction to reveal Gautama, the remarkable human being behind the myth, and sheds new light on his teachings. Plunging us into the noises, smells and jostling streets of Gautama’s world, Vishvapani Blomfield brings the Buddha to life as a passionate and determined individual - a strikingly modern figure who rejected contemporary beliefs.

The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the most important teachings in Buddhism. In this series of eight lectures, given originally in 1965, Urgyen Sangharakshita introduces each stage, from right understanding to right meditation, explaining the deeper implications involved. Sangharakshita, the London-born Buddhist teacher, is one of the most influential figures in the development of Buddhism in the West.

The swimmers are unknown to one another except through their private routines (slow lane, medium lane, fast lane) and the solace each takes in their morning or afternoon laps. But when a crack appears at the bottom of the pool, they are cast out into an unforgiving world without comfort or relief.

Buddha and Einstein Walk into a Bar explores the revolutionary idea that sensing how long we can live is a latent capacity in us, currently unknown - just like the introduction of fire, the invention of flying, and the discovery of radio waves were before we “discovered” them. Understand how the knowledge of transcendence, consciousness, and self-healing are integral to your well-being.You could drive a car without a fuel gauge, but knowing how much gas you have clearly gives you more control of your vehicle.

The Teaching of Buddha is a collection of writings on the essence of Buddhism, selected and edited from the vast Buddhist canon, presented in a concise, easy-to-understand, and nonsectarian format. To date, more than nine million copies of this book in various language editions have been distributed throughout the world.

The Book of Buddha traces the various stages of the spiritual journey undertaken by a man who started out as Siddhartha the Seeker, achieved understanding as Shakyamuni the Sage, and attained supremacy as Tathagata the Master - finally reaching transcendence as Jina the Victor when he was transformed into the Buddha and became the Enlightened One. Combining personal insight with a deep understanding of Buddhist philosophy, Arundhathi Subramaniam gives the listener a sensitive and revealing portrait of the Buddha and his role in shaping and transfiguring the course of history.

A gripping portrait of modern Tibet told through the lives of its people, from the best-selling author of Nothing to Envy.

Drawn from the sacred books of Buddhism, this collection reveals the insights and beliefs at the heart of the world’s fourth-largest religion. Siddhartha Guatama, a sixth-century Hindu warrior prince, renounced the world in his search for the meaning of life and became the Buddha, or “Enlightened One,” while meditating at Bodh Gaya. From that moment forward the Buddha sought to share his own enlightenment with all of mankind.

The Sutra of 42 Chapters is a scripture complied in the first century CE. Each saying comes from Buddha, but the whole work was a new anthology created especially for introducing Buddhism in a new country. That’s why it makes such a good, basic introduction to the world view of Gautam Buddha.