Showing titles in Buddhism

Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness is a series of meditation practices on Emptiness, a particular aspect of the Buddha's teachings. The idea is that by beginning with one's first rather coarse commonsense understanding, one progresses through increasingly subtle and more refined stages until one arrives at complete and perfect understanding. Each stage in the process prepares the mind for the next in so far as each step is fully integrated into one's understanding through the meditation process.

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?

In this user’s guide to psychedelic Buddhism, Lama Mike Crowley presents techniques for Buddhists who wish to incorporate psychedelics into their practice as well as for psychonauts who are interested in the maps of inner space provided by Buddhism. The author details how psychedelics have led to spontaneous awakening experiences, such as “Indra’s net” and universal voidness, that were once thought to be available only to advanced meditators.

William C. Martin has freshly reinterpreted the Tao Te Ching to speak directly and clearly to the most difficult of modern tasks—parenting. With its combination of free verse and judicious advice, The Parent's Tao Te Ching addresses the great themes that permeate the Tao and that support loving parent-child relationships: responding without judgment, emulating natural processes, and balancing between doing and being.

In this six-session audio course, Griffin shares personal insights from his own struggle with addiction and offers guided meditation practices to support each step of the recovery process. Listeners will discover universally accessible ways to relate to the idea of a higher power, how the wisdom from the Four Noble Truths and the concept of karma can be applied to AA's life review, and much more.

Buddhist master Achaan Chah spent years meditating in a forest monastery of Thailand. This remarkable book reflects his simple and powerful message as well as the quiet, joyful Buddhist practice of dhudanga, or "everyday mindfulness", with profound insights for the West.

Wondering how to reconcile your calling with your need to make a living wage, or what to do once your art starts selling, or how to achieve success in your field, or what it even means to be successful? David Nichtern offers his lived, learned experience as an entrepreneur, musician, and Buddhist teacher to first help you figure out what "success" means to you and then show you how to get there. He offers advice on the creative process and principles of business and ethics, and provides mindfulness exercises to help you integrate inspiration and aspiration, vocation, and avocation.

In this collaboration between Frenchwoman Alexandra David-Neel and her friend, the Tibetan lama Aphur Yongden, The Secret Oral Teachings in Tibetan Buddhist Sects provides an account of the Madhyamika (Middle Way) school of Buddhism, a method of mediation and enlightenment that was developed by the great Indian teacher Nagarjuna.

In The Shamanic Bones of Zen, celebrated author and Buddhist teacher Zenju Earthlyn Manuel undertakes a rich exploration of the connections between contemporary Zen practice and shamanic, or indigenous, spirituality. Drawing on her personal journey with the Black church, with African, Caribbean, and Native American ceremonial practices, and with Nichiren and Zen Buddhism, she builds a compelling case for cultivating the shamanic, or magical, elements in Buddhism - many of which have been marginalized by colonialist and modernist forces in the religion.

The question-and-answer format makes this introduction to Zen especially easy to understand - and also to use as a reference, as you can easily look up just the question you had in mind. The esteemed Zen teacher Norman Fischer and his old friend and teaching colleague Susan Moon (both of them in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki, author of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind) give this collaborative effort a playful tone: Susan asks a question on our behalf, Norman answers it, and then Sue challenges him.

The Web site Tiny Buddha began as a quote-a-day Twitter account, @tinybuddha, in 2008. Lori Deschene's daily wisdom posts about mindfulness, nonattachment, and happiness became so popular that she now has more than 200,000 Twitter followers who share quotes and stories about inspiration in their daily lives.

The Japanese wisdom of chowa (pronounced like power) offers a fresh approach to being, showing us how to create space and symmetry at work, at home, and in our relationships. Chowa is an ancient philosophy and set of practices that enable us to discover what matters most in our individual lives, and help us transform our way of thinking about ourselves and others.

This is the number one secret to living your best life, and it’s the easiest thing you’ll ever do.... Are you fighting for the "good life", trying to break free from the rat race and push yourself into something more? More relaxation, time on the beach, travel the world, and make more money? You’re not alone. Actually, this is a life that nearly every single one of us is after, and yet in some ironic twist of fate, everybody has themselves convinced that to get there, you must work yourself to the bone.

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."

Buddhism has been applied to everything from parenting to golf, but until now no one has offered Buddhist principles as a healing path through divorce. In Storms Can't Hurt the Sky, Gabriel Cohen bravely delves into his personal experience - along with insights from Buddhist masters, parables, humor, social science studies, and interviews with other divorces - to provide a practical and very helpful guide to surviving the pain of any breakup.

Spiritual and community lessons for embracing collective care, co-creating sustainable worlds, and responsibly meeting uncertain futures—a Zen and Indigenous take on building better, more balanced ways of being.

This is a call to a revolution of heart. In Tibetan Buddhism, it is taught that one of the most essential qualities of enlightenment is tsewa, a form of warm energy and openness of heart. It is the warmth we express and receive through empathy with others, especially those closest to us. In this compact gem of an audiobook, Dzigar Kongtrul opens the door to this life-changing energy and shows us how to transform our attitude toward ourselves and those around us through its practice. And through its practice, we can actually heal our fractured world.

This second book in the bestselling Mindfulness Essentials series, a back-to-basics collection from world-renowned Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, introduces everyone to the essentials of mindfulness practice. These short meditations cover everything from eating with others and enjoying our food to connecting with the Earth. How to Eat is a welcome reminder that the benefits of mindful eating are both personal and global.

Hell realms, gods, and hungry ghosts - these are just a few of the images on the Buddhist wheel of life. In Awakening from the Daydream, discover how these ancient symbols are still relevant to our modern life. In Awakening from the Daydream, meditation teacher David Nichtern reimagines the ancient Buddhist allegory of the Wheel of Life. Famously painted at the entryway to Buddhist monasteries, the Wheel of Life encapsulates the entirety of the human situation.

In Opening to Oneness, Zen teacher Nancy Baker offers a detailed path of practice for Zen students planning to take the precepts and for anyone, Buddhist or non-Buddhist, interested in deepening their personal study of ethical living.