Spirituality Buddhism

This classic memoir by the remarkable French explorer and Buddhist Alexandra David-Néel is the one of the greatest Buddhist travelogues of the 20th century. She was the first European woman to meet the Dalai Lama (in the 1920s) and in 1924 became the first to enter the forbidden Tibetan capital, Lhasa. She had already spent a decade travelling through China and Sikkim, India; lived and meditated in a cave on the Tibetan border; and everywhere learned about Buddhism from hermits, mystics and bandits.

Awakening Somatic Intelligence offers a guide to Somatic Learning, an innovative body-oriented approach that incorporates mindfulness, visualization, breathing exercises, postures, and stretches. Developed by author, psychotherapist, and award-winning songwriter and poet Risa Kaparo, PhD, Somatic Learning is based on leading-edge research demonstrating the power of the mind to activate physiological, mental, and emotional healing. Kaparo has successfully used her approach with patients suffering from chronic pain, high blood pressure, and mood disorders including depression and anxiety.

Why practice Zen? What sets Zen apart from religion? What are its different practices? These questions, and more, are examined and answered by Zen Master Koun Yamada, whose Dharma heirs include Robert Aitken, Ruben Habito, and David Loy. Through compelling stories and a systematic approach, he guides the listener through creating and sustaining a lifelong practice. Warm and ecumenical in tone, Koun uses the insights of Zen to bring a deeper understanding of faith.

Navigating Grief and Loss is a book for anyone who's experienced the pain of mourning, who's struggled to find a job, who is devastated by a bad breakup—yearning to rest, feel understood, and believe in themselves and the future. It's a guidebook filled with relatable stories and practical meditations to help navigate the profound experience of death and loss, be it an elderly parent succumbing to a lingering illness, the shock following a tragic accident, a divorce after years of conflict, or the euthanasia of a beloved pet.

In this renowned translation of Buddhism’s most widely read scripture, freshly updated for a new generation of listeners, Gil Fronsdal provides extensive explanatory notes and easy-to-understand insight for practice. Whether a practicing Buddhist of any tradition or simply a listener of the world’s literary classics, all will be enriched by this centuries-old wisdom.

Lama Surya Das, author of the best-selling Awakening the Buddha Within, defines the Buddhist heart as our own inner goodness - our most tender, compassionate, and caring self, our innate Buddha-nature. The Buddhist heart, called Bodhicitta by Tibetans, beats within each and every one of us and is awakened through meaningful connections - connections to our families, romantic partners, our colleagues and work, our neighbors, society, and extending out to all living creatures, including ourselves. This book tells us how we can use relationships as a vehicle for a sacred life.

The Urban Monk, a New York Times best seller, reveals the secrets to finding an open heart, sharp mind, and grounded sense of well-being, even in the most demanding circumstances. Shojai's no-nonsense life mastery program brings together clear tools and exercises that can elevate your existence.

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.

How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and their Caregivers is a life-affirming, instructive, and inspiring book about living gracefully and purposefully with the challengesfaced by those with chronic pain or illness. These conditions, while not always life-threatening, are life-disrupting and stressful. The audiobook contains over two dozen tools and practices to help people live skillfully and to find equanimity and joy despite the profound changes in their lives.

Learn Buddhist principles that can help enrich your romantic life, your life in general, and the lives of those around you. Surely a happy marriage for a normally adjusted couple is a simple matter of give and take - some patience, tolerance, and just trying to be cheerful as often as possible. There is no shortage of books providing relationship advice that can help us with these matters. But Buddhist teachings address more than just surface knowledge and guide us to delve deeper into our psyches.

Yoga Nidra is considered to be the state in which the Gods reside. This is because the goal of Yoga Nidra is to attain complete relaxation while maintaining consciousness. The ability to do this allows for our deepest levels of creativity and healing energies to come to the surface. One session of Yoga Nidra is equal to approximately 3 hours of sleep in its ability to rejuvenate.

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.

Zen master Julian Daizan Skinner guides the listener through a sequence of meditation techniques that can safely lead even a complete novice through to advanced levels. Based on his own long experience of the Rinzai Zen tradition, as taught by the great 17th-century masters Hakuin and Bankei, Daizan highlights the key points for success and addresses the pitfalls. Structured around a traditional teaching framework called 'the two wings of a bird', Daizan clearly lays-out how these methods build and combine to create a transformative and sustaining practice.

Lojong is a powerful Tibetan Buddhist practice created especially for training the mind to work with the challenges of everyday living. It teaches our hearts to soften, reframes our attitude toward difficulty, and allows us to discover a wellspring of inner strength. In this recorded retreat, Pema Chödrön introduces the lojong teachings and explains how we can apply them to any situation in our life—because, as Pema says, "every moment is an opportunity for awakening."

The rewards of mindfulness practice are well proven: reduced stress, improved concentration, and an overall sense of well-being. But those benefits are just the beginning. Mindfulness in action - mindfulness applied throughout life - can help us work more effectively with life's challenges, expanding our appreciation and potential for creative engagement.

Padmasambhava, the Lotus-Born Indian mystic and tantric master, is second only to Skakyamuni as the most famous figure in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In the ninth century, he journeyed across the Himalayan Mountains to establish Buddhism for the people of Tibet. This legendary tale interweaves narration with timeless advice to all spiritual practitioners. Here, in English for the first time, is the complete story of how Buddhism was planted in Tibet.

The Abhidharma, one of the three major text collections of the original Buddhist canon, frames the psychological system of Buddhism, explaining the workings of reality and the nature of the human mind. Because of its complexity, the Abhidharma has traditionally been reserved only for academic or monastic study; now, for the first time, clinical psychologist Beth Jacobs brings this dynamic body of work to general listeners, using practical explanation, personal stories, and vivid examples to gently untangle the technical aspects of the Abhidharma.

The most well-known Buddhist teachers on the planet all have something in common: they are excellent communicators. This is not by accident, as the Buddha taught what are called the four elements of right speech over 2,600 years ago. In this one-of-a-kind book, certified meditation and mindfulness instructor Cynthia Kane has taken the four elements of right speech and developed them into a modern practice based on mindful listening, mindful speech, and mindful silence.

Do you see the meditativeness of the trees surrounding you? Such stillness! Just as you are listening to me, they are listening to me, not even a leaf moving. The birds are singing.

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.