Spirituality Buddhism

Jataka Kathayen are said to have been inspired by the previous births of Siddhartha Gautama aka Lord Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. During these births, he was considered to have been born as human or as various animals and was on the path to enlightment. Lord Buddha used these stories to impart important wisdom to his disciples. And we are bringing 51 such most inspiring Jataka Kathayen or Jataka Tales to you to enjoy and learn from them.

Immersed in Buddhist psychology prior to studying Western psychiatry, Dr. Mark Epstein first viewed Western therapeutic approaches through the lens of the East. This posed something of a challenge. Although both systems promise liberation through self-awareness, the central tenet of Buddha's wisdom is the notion of no-self, while the central focus of Western psychotherapy is the self. This book wrestles with the complex relationship between Buddhism and psychotherapy.

Trauma does not just happen to a few unlucky people; it is the bedrock of our psychology. Death and illness touch us all, but even the everyday sufferings of loneliness and fear are traumatic. In The Trauma of Everyday Life renowned psychiatrist and author of Thoughts Without a Thinker, Mark Epstein uncovers the transformational potential of trauma, revealing how it can be used for the mind's own development. Western psychology teaches that if we understand the cause of trauma, we might move past it while many drawn to Eastern practices see meditation as a means of rising above, or distancing themselves from, their most difficult emotions.

Many people hear the word "Buddhism", and they think it is a religion. However, a person of any religion can bring Buddhist principles into their life without giving up their religious beliefs. Buddhism is a simple and practical philosophy, practiced by more than 300 million people worldwide, that can make your life better and help you find inner peace and happiness.

Buddhist philosophy tells us that all personal unhappiness and interpersonal conflict lie in the "three poisons": craving, anger, and delusion. With new high-tech devices, scientists can peer inside the brain centers that calm the inner storms of rage and fear. They also can demonstrate that awareness-training strategies such as meditation strengthen emotional stability - and greatly enhance our positive moods.

When Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Thuan met at an academic conference in the summer of 1997, they began discussing the many remarkable connections between the teachings of Buddhism and the findings of recent science. That conversation grew into an astonishing correspondence exploring a series of fascinating questions. Did the universe have a beginning? Might our perception of time in fact be an illusion, a phenomenon created in our brains that has no ultimate reality? What is consciousness and how did it evolve?

Honest and unflinching, Without Buddha I Could Not Be a Christian narrates each spiritual dilemma that Knitter has struggled with and explains how a Buddhist worldview has allowed him to resolve each one. From the "petitioning" nature of Christian prayer to how Christianity views life after death, Knitter argues that a Buddhist standpoint can help inspire a more person-centered conception of Christianity, where individual religious experience comes first, and liturgy and tradition second.

The Four Immeasurables - the cultivation of loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity - is a rich suite of practices that open the heart, counter the distortions in our relationships to ourselves, and deepen our relationships to others. Alan Wallace presents a unique interweaving of teachings on the Four Immeasurables with instruction on meditative quiescence, or shamatha practice, to empower the mind. This book includes both guided meditations and lively discussions on the implications of these teachings for our life.

The Dalai Lama, at his most compassionate and outspoken, here elaborates and deepens his vision for the nonreligious way. Transcending the mere "religion wars", he outlines a system of secular ethics that gives tolerant respect to religion, those that ground ethics in a belief in God and an afterlife, and those that understand good actions as leading to better states of existence in future lives. And yet, with the highest level of spiritual and intellectual authority, the Dalai Lama makes a claim for what he calls a third way.

You’ve heard the expression, “It’s the little things that count.” Research has shown that little daily practices can change the way your brain works, too. This book offers simple brain-training practices you can do every day to protect against stress, lift your mood, and find greater emotional resilience. Just One Thing is a treasure chest of over 50 practices created specifically to deepen your sense of well-being and unconditional happiness.

In this collection of inspirational writings, novice and experienced practitioners are treated to four key works that rank high in the Zen canon: 101 Zen Stories recounts actual experiences with Zen that span five centuries. The Gateless Gate is a 13th-century collection of mind problems used in the practice of Zen. Ten Bulls is a 12th-century commentary on the stages of awareness that lead to enlightenment. Centering is a 4,000-year-old teaching from India that may have been the source of Zen.

In this, the final volume in Dharma Audiobooks’ compilation of the Principal Texts of the Khuddaka Nikāya, the major work, and in some ways the most unusual, is Milinda’s Questions. For while the other two, the Buddhavaṃsa and the Cariyāpitaka, may date from the early years of Buddhism, there is no doubt that Milinda’s Questions comes from a later period.

This rich, timely, and highly original portrait of the Buddha explores both the archetypal religious icon and Buddha the man. In lucid and compelling prose, Armstrong brings to life the Buddha's quest, from his renunciation of his privileged life to the discovery of a truth that he believed would utterly transform human beings and enable them to live at peace in the midst of life's suffering.

Throughout my life, I’ve always struggled in dealing with my anger issues. There were days in the past where my emotions and temper would get the best of me, and it would usually not end up too well. My anger issues got so bad that, all my relationships started falling apart, and my best friend, who was once very close to me, didn’t even want to talk to me anymore.

In frightening times, we wish the world could be otherwise. With a touch of imagination, it can be. Imagination helps us see what’s hidden, and it shape-shifts reality’s roiling twisting waves. In this inspiring reframe of a classic Buddhist teaching, Zen teacher Norman Fischer writes that the paramitas, or “six perfections” - generosity, ethical conduct, patience, joyful effort, meditation, and understanding - can help us reconfigure the world we live in.

As with Volume 1, Volume 2 follows the traditional ordering of the individual works in the Khuddaka Nikāya, which makes for a curious, but invigorating collection. The first two texts, Therīgāthā and Theragāthā, present the traditional histories of the bhikkhunīs (nuns) and bhikkhus (monks) of the Buddha’s time. In each case, their biographies (written centuries later by Dharmapāla who had access to sources now lost) lead to verses ascribed to the real individuals on gaining nibbāna. Here are fascinating glimpses of life at the time of the Buddha.

We all possess one common desire: the need for happiness and a meaningful life. According to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the ability to find true fulfillment lies within each of us. Now, the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet, Nobel Prize winner, and best selling author helps you begin the path to enlightenment in this easy-access reference for daily practice.

The Shadow is the part of us made up of all that we hide from others: our shame, our fears and our wounds, but also our divine spirit, our blinding beauty and our hidden talents. The Shadow is not bad—in fact it is the source of our creativity and power—but until we bring it into the light this power will remain untapped and our full potential unreached. This audiobook will show you how to fearlessly embrace your shadow side in both your dreams and daily life, thereby manifesting the awakened power of your full potential.

Approximately four million Americans claim to be Buddhist. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of Americans of various faiths read about Buddhism, are interested in its philosophical tenets, or fashionably view themselves as Buddhists. They’re part of what’s been described as the fastest growing religious movement in America: a large group of people dissatisfied with traditional religious offerings and thirsty for an approach to spirituality grounded in logic and consistent with scientific knowledge.

For over 30 years, Opening the Hand of Thought has offered an introduction to Zen Buddhism and meditation unmatched in clarity and power. 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.