Spirituality Buddhism

Power is one of the central issues in our lives. From work to personal relationships, the struggle for power plays a pivotal role and, more often than not, prevents us from attaining freedom and happiness. The bottom-line mentality in our culture seeps unnoticed into every other part of our lives. Thich Nhat Hanh illustrates how our current understanding of power leads us on a never-ending search for external markers like job title or salary.

This is the story of how a meditation practice gave Henry Shukman a context for integrating a sudden spiritual awakening into his life and how his depression and anxiety were gradually healed through this practice. In sharing how he grew into a Zen teacher, Shukman demystifies Zen training, casting its profound insights in simple, lucid language. Along the way, One Blade of Grass guides listeners on a journey of their own, into the hidden treasures that contemplative practice can reveal to any of us.

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.

Shunryu Suzuki’s extraordinary gift for presenting traditional Zen teachings using ordinary language is well known to the countless readers of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. In Zen Is Right Here, his teachings are brought to life through stories told by his students. These living encounters with Zen are poignant, direct, humorous, paradoxical, and enlightening - and their setting in real-life contexts makes them wonderfully accessible.

One of most important but little known concepts of Western occultism is that of the egregore, an autonomous psychic entity created by a collective group mind. An egregore is sustained by belief, ritual, and sacrifice and relies upon the devotion of a group of people, from a small coven to an entire nation, for its existence. An egregore that receives enough sustenance can take on a life of its own, becoming an independent deity with powers its believers can use to further their own spiritual advancement and material desires.

Charlotte Kasl, bestselling author, spiritual practitioner, and therapist, brings a compassionate understanding to the anxiety and uneasiness of new love, and helps listeners discover their potential for vibrant human connection based on awareness, kindness, and honesty. She approaches the dating process as a means for awakening, reminding us that when we live by spiritual rules, we bring curiosity and a light heart to the romantic journey.

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.

When her granddaughter was accepted to Naropa University, the celebrated author Pema Chödrön promised that she'd speak at the commencement ceremony. Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better contains the wisdom shared on that day. "What do we do when life doesn't go the way we hoped?" begins Pema. "We say 'I'm a failure.'" But what if failing wasn't just "okay"... but the most direct way to becoming a more complete, loving, and fulfilled human being?

Just as the archetypal hero possesses the heart to face trials and tribulations for the sake of helping others, the bodhisattva has a remarkable resolve to free others from suffering so that all may achieve true happiness and awakening. Through each challenge, the Buddhist hero of compassion develops rich inner qualities that empower them to be of true benefit to others.

In a chance encounter with India's Top Ten Social Influencers, the Dalai Lama is asked to how to use the 'law of attraction' to manifest abundance. He points out that material wellbeing was never the goal of such practices as he begins to explain their true purpose. It is a purpose that His Holiness's Cat goes on to explore with her usual warm-hearted and wonky-legged aplomb. Is the world much more a projection of our mind than we suspect? Can a few precious insights transform our reality?

The Buddhist approach to death can be of great benefit to people of all backgrounds - as has been demonstrated time and again in Joan Halifax's decades of work with the dying and their caregivers. Inspired by traditional Buddhist teachings, her work is a source of wisdom for all those who are charged with a dying person's care, facing their own death, or wishing to explore and contemplate the transformative power of the dying process.

From longtime Zen teacher and poet John Tarrant comes an original retelling of the foundational myth of Buddhism—the life of the Buddha. Told and retold for centuries, this story holds a special place in the human legacy because it is, ultimately, an investigation of the nature of mind and consciousness. With eight meditations drawn from the Zen tradition, the Buddha’s story becomes your own story, opening an unexpected path to awakening. If you listen to the images that arise in its telling, you can find where you are in life and where you are headed.

This first book in the Mindfulness Essentials series, a back-to-basics collection from world-renowned Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, introduces everyone to the essentials of mindfulness practice. In short, single-paragraph chapters, Nhat Hanh shares detailed instructions, guided breathing exercises, and visualizations, as well as his own personal stories and insights.

Are you confused and overwhelmed with the amount of information on Buddhism? Are you confused about how to start and practice Buddhism as a beginner? Are you seeking path of spirituality that will ease your pain and suffering? Buddhism for Beginners is an easy-to-listen and easy to implement guide. Placing emphasis on meditation and understanding the core concepts of Buddhism allows the listener to apply its teachings to make their lives fuller and healthier. Mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation are secular.

One of Thich Nhat Hanh’s most beloved books, The Sun My Heart contains the journey, on the path of everyday practice, from mindfulness to insight. Using the objects and events of everyday life in his hermitage in Plum Village—the gradual settling of the pulp in a glass of apple juice or the wind blowing into the room and scattering papers about—Thich Nhat Hanh draws from Buddhist psychology, epistemology, and the world of contemporary literature and science to guide the reader along the path of clarity and understanding.

Saints are not unattainable beings of stained glass or carved stone. “Saints are ordinary and human, doing things any person can learn to do,” teaches Lama Rod Owens. “Our era calls for saints who are from this time and place, who speak the language of this moment, and who integrate both social and spiritual liberation. I believe we all can and must become New Saints.” With The New Saints, Lama Rod shares a guidebook for becoming an effective agent of justice, peace, and change.

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.

Twenty-four of the Buddha's most distinguished disciples are brought to life in ten chapters of rich narration. They include monks who were very close to him throughout his life, including Sariputta and Mahamoggallana; his cousin and companion Ananda; his principal women disciples, including the nun Isidasi and his lay disciple, the courtesan Ambapali; and the serial killer Angulimala, whose character was transformed after meeting the Buddha.

By offering detailed instruction and friendly, inspiring advice for those embarking on the Tibetan Buddhist foundation practices, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche provides gentle yet thorough commentary, companionship, and inspiration for committing to the Vajrayana path.

It is almost impossible to understand Zen by studying it as you would other intellectual pursuits. The best way to understand Zen is, simply, to Zen. This is what author Eugen Herrigel allows us to do by sharing his own fascinating journey toward a comprehension of this illuminating philosophy. In Japan, an art such as archery is not practiced solely for utilitarian purposes such as learning to hit targets. Archery is also meant to train the mind and bring it into contact with the ultimate reality.