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Lovingkindness
Amazon.com: Sharon Salzberg, a meditation teacher and the founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts, focuses on a kind of Buddhist practice that emphasizes feelings of love, happiness, and compassion. Metta, or "lovingkindness," meditation involves four phrases: "May I be free from danger"; "May I have mental happiness"; "May I have physical happiness"; "May I have ease of well-being." (Some readers will find this surprising, since the most commonly known meditation techniques have little "content"--you simply repeat a single word or phrase, observe your breath, or observe your thoughts as they pass through your mind.) Other exercises in this book are intended to increase your connection to and intimacy with others, by directing these positive sentiments outward toward specific people or the world in general. This book will probably be best appreciated by those who have some experience with meditation already, but anyone can appreciate the way it takes a practice often considered mystical and turns it into a means of creating joy. --Ben Kallen
Insight Meditation: A Step-By-Step Course on How to Meditate
Book Description: Join Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein -- two of America's most respected instructors -- for a step-by-step course in Insight Meditation. Learn at home, at your own pace, with this complete curriculum. The course includes:
-A 240-page Insight Meditation workbook: This workbook is designed as a complete self-guided curriculum. Organized into nine lessons, your workbook features more than 75 step-by-step mindfulness exercises, question-and-answer sections, glossaries, and photographs illustrating correct meditation postures.
-Two 70-minute compact discs: Six meditations teach you these cornerstone practices in the Insight tradition.
-Twelve Insight study cards: Reinforce your practice with these daily reminders of the fundamentals of meditation in a convenient, portable form.
Awakening The Buddhist Heart : Integrating Love, Meaning, and Connection into Every Part of Your Life
Amazon.com:Surya Das's breezy delivery makes his teachings come off like colorful conversation. In the third installment of his bestselling "Awakening" series, America's most popular lama shows us how to integrate inner and outer practices. Our inner spirituality, he says, can never be separate from our relationships with others. With his trademark clarity, he integrates his teachings with light- hearted anecdotes and down-to-earth practices. Basic meditation, for instance, can help us create a gap between our knee-jerk judgments and our reactions, allowing for calm, wise relations. Likewise, one can try authentic listening ("opening the third ear") or exploiting the power of speech to build deeper connections. And beyond human relations lies our connection to the natural world, for which Surya Das also includes a few lovely meditations. Taking that extra step in our practice from the self to the world requires more than just individual persistence, it takes compassion and teaches more than you'd expect. --Brian Bruya
Shakti Mantras : Tapping into the Great Goddess Energy Within
Book Description:SHAKTI MANTRAS: Tapping into the Great Goddess Energy Within
Enhance your spiritual gifts
Lighten your karmic burden
Improve your health and increase prosperity
Live in harmony with the universe
Now, with Shakti Mantras, we can all benefit from this ancient practice. Thomas Ashley-Farrand, a Vedic priest, is an American expert in the intricacies of Sanskrit mantra. With nearly thirty years and thousands of hours of experience in chanting, he is supremely well-equipped to write the first book that teaches women (and men as well) to tap into the dynamic feminine energy of love in all its manifestations. By sharing enchanting Hindu myths and astonishing true stories from his own practice, Ashley-Farrand helps us to understand the real power that this age-old art awakens in those who perform it. Through dozens of actual mantras–each one presented with phonetic spelling for easy pronunciation and recommendations for specific applications–he enables us to increase our “shakti” (power) and use it to solve problems, ensure abundance, create health and well-being, summon protection, and invoke personal and universal peace.
Whether you’re new to chanting or an old hand, Shakti Mantras will take you places you’ve never been before . . . and measurably enrich your life.
Rev. Jeff says: Simply awesome! I've been waiting for another book by Mr. Ashley-Farrand. A true pandit in the study of mantras, he brings this ancient power to life like no other. I also recommend his first book, Healing Mantras : Using Sound Affirmations for Personal Power, Creativity, and Healing.
The Kundalini Yoga Experience: Bringing Body, Mind, and Spirit Together
Book Description:UNLEASH YOUR POTENTIAL TO LIVE THE LIFE YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED.
Kundalini yoga engages your unique sources of energy -- those that empower your spirit as well as your body. Drawing from the riches of ancient yogic tradition, The Kundalini Yoga Experience offers a system of physical poses, breathing techniques, and focused meditations that, when practiced together, will bring you
- Increased physical health and strength
- Emotional balance
- Heightened sensory awareness
- Enhanced intuition and creativity
- Greater peace and fulfillment in relationships
- A deeper sense of your own spirituality
Unlike any other yoga guide, The Kundalini Yoga Experience encourages you to develop a practice that suits your needs. At the start, a simple numerological profile based on your birth date reveals your strengths and weaknesses. From there, you'll learn which exercises and meditations will be most effective in helping you balance each energy center (or chakra) in your body. Clear instructions and photographs guide you through each step, and as you move from one to another, you'll see how physical movement and spiritual reflection go hand in hand to heal and strengthen every part of you.
With regular practice, you'll be surprised at how strong, healthy, and fulfilled you feel. Experiencing the power of Kundalini is your birthright -- embrace it!
Buddhism For Dummies®
Book Description: From the outside, Buddhism seems like a bundle of contradictions wrapped inside a paradox. It is a religion without a god, a belief system without rules, and a faith that encourages its adherents to question everything, including its own teachings. You could spend a lifetime studying Buddhist texts and following its observances and still feel like you’ve only just barely scratched the surface. Yet, over the past 2500 years, this lovely religion that preaches compassion, generosity, tolerance, selflessness and self-awareness has commanded the fervent devotion of hundreds of millions of people around the world who believe it to be the true path to enlightenment.
If you’re curious about Buddhism but feel intimidated by all the exotic jargon and strange trappings, this book is for you. Written by two leading American Buddhist teachers and scholars, it offers you a uniquely friendly way to explore the fascinating history of Buddhism and discover:
- Who Buddha was and his significance in world history and spirituality
- How the practice of Buddhism can enrich your everyday life
- How Buddha’s teachings combine to create a path to enlightenment
- Daily observances and meditation practices
- How to fulfill your highest potential through Buddhism
In plain English, experts Jonathan Landaw and Stephan Bodian define the important terms, explain the key concepts and explore, in-depth a wide range of topics, including:
Buddha’s life and teachings and the evolution of the major Buddhist traditions
How Buddhism works as a religion, philosophy of life and a practical approach to dealing with life’s problems, all rolled into one
The idea that the mind is the source of all happiness and suffering
How the practices of wisdom and compassion can connect you with your inner spiritual resources
Meditation and other core Buddhist practices and how they can affect your everyday life
How to apply Buddhist teachings at each stage along the spiritual path
Whether you’re a searcher of truth, a student of religions, or just curious about what’s got Richard Gere and all the rest of those celebrity Buddhists so excited, Buddhism For Dummies is your intro to Buddhism basics.
The Eight Human Talents: Restore the Balance and Serenity Within You With Kundalini Yoga
Book Description: Gurmukh, an internationally renowned yoga teacher, outlines the spiritual and physical practices of Kundalini Yoga, which she has taught for the last thirty years. With illustrated, step-by-step instructions, she teaches the basic principles of the ancient art of yoga, and explains the eight chakras, which are the energy centers of our bodies, and the source of the eight human talents.
Kundalini Yoga is a great way to get your body and mind into shape. In The Eight Human Talents, Gurmukh gives you all the tools you need to increase your creativity, intuition, compassion, health, and prosperity. All you need is a belief in the possibility of change and a commitment of as little as three minutes a day.
From teachers and waiters to Hollywood celebrities, Gurmukh has helped thousands of people find happiness through the healing movements and meditations of Kundalini Yoga -- and she can help you, too!
Healing Mantras: Using Sound Affirmations for Personal Power, Creativity, and Healing
Book Description: "Sound is more than simply a medium of artistic expression. Sound has practical and powerful applications in the real world."
Mantras, or simple chants, are short phrases packed with energy and intention--specifically designed to generate powerful sound waves that promote healing, insight, creativity, and spiritual growth. Healing Mantras is the practical, how-to guide that makes the strengths and benefits of mantras available to everyone. The transformative power of sound has been passed down to the present from the sages of India, the classical scientists of ancient Greece, and the medieval monks of Europe. Mantras, sounds, and chants have inspired, comforted, and mended the lives of individuals, religious orders, and even entire cultures. Even though the science and discipline of chanting and formal prayer are practiced in every religion around the world, this is the first time that ancient Sanskrit mantras have been explained and adapted to Western needs.
One of the few Western experts in Hindu and Buddhist mantras, Thomas Ashley-Farrand has practiced mantra-based spiritual disciplines for twenty-five years. In this illuminating book, he explains how and why mantras work and shows how to use them for everything from controlling habits to overcoming fear, from curing specific ailments to finding inner peace. In each of the more than fifty mantras, all translated from the original Sanskrit, Ashley-Farrand unlocks the power of every word, explains its appropriate application, and tells you how to pronounce it in easy-to-follow phonetic symbols. Inside, you'll find mantras for
- Health - Worldly Success - Habit Control - Protection - Grief - Anger - Controlling Fear - Personal Attraction - Wisdom - Concentration and Mental Clarity - Healing Life Issues - and more!
These mantras can be repeated aloud or in silence and can be used by people of any religion or spiritual practice, "as you wash dishes, as you drive on the freeway, as you meditate, or as you cook." Sound can help and sound can heal, and Healing Mantras now makes this sound medicine available to everyone.
Rev. Jeff says: Anyone interested in the power of mantras must read this book! The most excellent book I have ever read on the subject of the power of sound.
Be Here Now
Amazon.com:
It's easy to dismiss Be Here Now as the relic of a whacked-out '60s acid tripper. Paging through the center section of the book, with its inch-high print and psychedelic drawings, you come across lines like:
Magic Theatre
For madmen only
price of admission
your
mind
Then you turn to the first page of the book, and you are suddenly sucked into the story of a Harvard psychiatrist who has reached the pinnacle of success, discovers the mind-expanding powers of acid, and ends up trooping through India with a 23-year-old holy man from Laguna Beach, California. In the story, you see all the trappings of your own life and begin to wonder if India might hold the answers after all. Before booking your ticket, turn to the last section of the Be Here Now, "Cookbook for a Sacred Life." Ram Dass saves you the trouble by proffering a sober introduction to the basics of Hindu religion. Although he still can't resist CAPITAL LETTERS, he has done his homework, presenting a whole range of concepts and practices having to do with yoga postures, meditation, renunciation, dying, and sexual energy. So, for the most part, Be Here Now stands the test of time, and if you can entertain the center section in a retro kind of a spirit, it might be just what you're looking for: "The opposite of craving is saying, baby, this is the way it is, yeah, OK, here and now, this is it. I ACCEPT THE HERE & NOW FULLY." --Brian Bruya
Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation
Amazon.com: On the list of the greatest spiritual books of all time, the Bhagavad Gita resides permanently in the top echelon. This poem of patently Indian genius sprouted an immense tree of devotional, artistic, and philosophical elaboration in the subcontinent. The scene is a battlefield with the prince Arjuna pitted against his own family, but no sooner does the poem begin than the action reverts inward. Krishna, Arjuna's avatar and spiritual guide, points the way to the supreme wisdom and perfect freedom that lie within everyone's reach. Worship and be faithful, meditate and know reality--these make up the secret of life and lead eventually to the realization that the self is the root of the world. In this titular translation, Stephen Mitchell's rhythms are faultless, making music of this ancient "Song of the Blessed One." Savor his rendition, but nibble around the edges of his introduction. In a bizarre mixture of praise and condescension, Mitchell disregards two millennia of Indian commentary, seeking illumination on the text from Daoism and Zen, with the Gita coming up just shy of full spiritual merit. Perhaps we should take it from Gandhi, who used the Gita as a handbook for life, that it nourishes on many levels. --Brian Bruya --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Be As You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi
Rev. Jeff says: Explore the teachings of one of India's most revered spiritual teachers.
The Spiritual Science of Kriya Yoga
Book Description: This fully illustrated book is the most complete text available on the theory and practice of Kriya Yoga. The Spiritual Science of Kriya Yoga takes the student step-by-step through the eight stages of Patanjali's Kriya Yoga system and contains extensive chapters on hatha yoga pranayama, mantra, meditation and samadhi. Goswami Kriyananda explicitly teaches how specific asanas can be used to balance each of the seven charkas. If you could only have one book on yoga, this would be it!
Rev. Jeff says: A most complete book on the various practices of Kriya Yoga. Learn Hatha Yoga postures, hand mudras, the power of the breath, mantras, meditation. An excellent resource.
Raja-Yoga
Book Description: By Swami Vivekananda, Raja-Yoga, the path of meditation and control of the mind, gives a scientific treatment of Yoga philosophy describing methods of concentration, psychic development and the liberation of the soul from bondage of the body. Rja-Yoga also includes Swami Vivekananda's translation and commentary of the "Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali." Raja-Yoga, along with Swami Vivekananda's Karma-Yoga, Bhakti-Yoga, and Jnna-Yoga, are considered classics and outstanding treatises on Hindu philosophy. The Swami's deep spiritual insight, fervid eloquence, and broad human sympathy shine forth in these works and offer inspiration to all spiritual seekers.
Open Your Mind, Open Your Life: A Book Of Eastern Wisdom
Book Description: "Open Your Mind, Open Your Life" has sold more than 200,000 copies since it was first published in May 2001. Building upon that valued tradition, this new and expanded volume contains 70% new material and original watercolor art.
This new edition continues to encourage and uplift readers with more than 300 inspiring guideposts based on the timeless wisdom of Buddhist and Eastern thought. Containing sage advice on opening life to its inherent joy, "Open Your Mind, Open Your Life" leads readers further along the path to lasting happiness and enlightenment.
Beautifully crafted by award-winning book designer Holly Camerlinck, this new volume is filled with exquisite Far East-inspired patterns and original artwork by Matthew Taylor. The book also includes profiles of great Buddhist and Eastern thinkers such as Nichiren, Shakyamuni, Lao-tzu, Confucius, Makiguchi, and Mahatma Gandhi.
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Barefoot Doctor's Guide to the Tao : A Spiritual Handbook for the Urban Warrior
Book Description: Barefoot Doctor's Healing Prescription
Barefoot Doctor's Guide to the Tao is a modern approach to an ancient art that will give you the tools you need to survive and thrive amid the growing pressures of modern life.
Here is the Tao with hipness, humor, and a complete lack of inscrutability. The Tao, which translates roughly as "The Way," is a basic philosophy for focusing the mind, channeling energy, and strengthening the spirit. Genuinely erudite but also highly practical, this book will help you learn the skills of meditation, psychic shielding, mindfulness, and magic to enhance your experience of reality. You'll also pick up instant advice on hundreds of challenges facing today's busy urban warrior: work¸ sex¸ money¸ success¸ politics¸ travel¸ relationships¸ drugs¸ healing¸ technology¸ freedom.
For anyone striving for inner harmony on our messy old planet, let Barefoot Doctor walk the Tao for you.
Rev. Jeff says: I love this book! It is Taoism made simple with philosophy and practices perfect for modern life.
The Tibetan Book of Yoga : Ancient Buddhist Teachings on the Philosophy and Practice of Yoga
Amazon.com:Geshe Michael Roach's The Tibetan Book of Yoga is an excellent second yoga book for someone who is interested in Buddhism and is looking to deepen his or her yoga practice. The slim volume--based on Heart Yoga from the Gelukpa tradition of the Dalai Lamas--delves more into the philosophy behind the poses than their practice. In the first four chapters Roach provides a quick history of Heart Yoga and introduces the uniquely Tibetan Buddhist aspects of the practice. Drawing on Tibetan conceptions of human physiology, Heart Yoga imagines five levels to work in each yoga pose. These levels include the physical body and the breath but also encompass the "inner winds" (internal energy channels), thoughts, and "world-seeds" (each seed is a part of karma that "ripens when we look at something, and colors how we see it").
Heart Yoga is infused with tong-len, a Tibetan meditation of "giving and taking" where the practitioner generates compassion through a mental image of taking away pain from others and giving joy. In later chapters, Roach walks his readers through the 10 exercises that form the core of the daily, 30-minute Heart Yoga practice. Each exercise is described in modest detail (with a few accompanying black-and-white photographs) before Geshe Roach offers his commentary on how the exercise serves the development of the five levels. Throughout, he remains centered on the fifth level, world-seeds, and the generation of compassion, as the vital foundation for successful, long-term practice.
Roach, the first American to receive the title "Geshe," has done a valuable service in bringing these ancient Tibetan traditions to a wider, English-speaking audience. But The Tibetan Book of Yoga is not a comprehensive guide for a yoga beginner. Roach suggests in the text that readers "piggy back" on other yoga teachers and teachings to learn correct pose form and avoid injury. In the end, The Tibetan Book of Yoga fills an important niche in Western yoga as an introduction to Tibetan philosophy of yoga, an introduction that may well spawn a new generation of books, videos and schools to expand on its teaching. --Patrick O'Kelley
The One Minute Guide to Prosperity and Enlightenment
Book Description:Do You Want to Live an Outrageously Wonderful Life?
The One Minute Guide to Prosperity and Enlightenment is a groundbreaking book, offering secret, easy-to-use techniques to help you attract health, wealth, love and happiness. Sri Siva, the spiritual teacher of the best-selling author Wayne Dyer, has written this book to help you live the life of your dreams. It reveals hidden teachings that have never been widely taught to people. Sri Siva, a member of the Tamil Siddha enlightenment lineage, has been given permission from his tradition to share this knowledge openly for the first time.
This book is ideal for busy people who do not have the time to spend hours in meditation or practicing complex spiritual techniques. Based on his personal experience in guiding countless people to miraculous manifestations, this book contains Sri Siva's most potent secrets for transformation. His goal is to help people lead an "outrageously wonderful life filled with abundance and new and expansive opportunities."
Rev. Jeff says:I love it! Simple techniques using the power of mantra from a spiritual teacher.
The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living
Amazon.com:
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sit down with the Dalai Lama and really press him about life's persistent questions? Why are so many people unhappy? How can I abjure loneliness? How can we reduce conflict? Is romantic love true love? Why do we suffer? How should we deal with unfairness and anger? How do you handle the death of a loved one? These are the conundrums that psychiatrist Howard Cutler poses to the Dalai Lama during an extended period of interviews in The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living.
At first, the Dalai Lama's answers seem simplistic, like a surface reading of Robert Fulghum: Ask yourself if you really need something; our enemies can be our teachers; compassion brings peace of mind. Cutler pushes: But some people do seem happy with lots of possessions; but "suffering is life" is so pessimistic; but going to extremes provides the zest in life; but what if I don't believe in karma? As the Dalai Lama's responses become more involved, a coherent philosophy takes shape. Cutler then develops the Dalai Lama's answers in the context of scientific studies and cases from his own practice, substantiating and elaborating on what he finds to be a revolutionary psychology. Like any art, the art of happiness requires study and practice--and the talent for it, the Dalai Lama assures us, is in our nature. --Brian Bruya
Teachings on Love
Book Description: According to the practice of mindfulness, our complete awareness in the moment opens the door to every possibility. It is the key to lasting transformation in all areas of our lives – at work, in worship, even in love. On Teachings on Love, Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh explores how to shine the light of awareness into our intimate relationships. Authentic love, according to Buddhist tradition, must possess four basic qualities: maitri (loving-kindness), karuna (compassion), mudita (joy), and upeksha (freedom). When we look deeply into ourselves and our loved ones, these qualities begin to blossom effortlessly within us, nourishing ourselves and those around us. Weaving together traditional stories, personal experiences, and core concepts, Thich Nhat Hanh offers step-by-step practices that foster understanding and intimacy in any kind of relationship: between lovers, parents and children, even with those who have done us harm. We all yearn to experience a love that is deeper and more joyful. Teachings on Love provides a time-proven path that anyone can follow to nurture sound, fulfilling relationships.
The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times
Amazon.com's Best of 2001: Pema Chödrön may have more good one-liners than a Groucho Marx retrospective, but this nun's stingers go straight to the heart: "The essence of bravery is being without self-deception"; "When we practice generosity, we become intimate with our grasping"; "Difficult people are the greatest teachers." These are the punctuations to specific teachings of fearlessness. In The Places That Scare You, Chödrön introduces a host of the compassionate warriors' tools and concepts for transforming anxieties and negative emotions into positive living. Rather than steeling ourselves against hardship, she suggests we open ourselves to vulnerability; from this comes the loving kindness and compassion that are the wellsprings of joy. How do we achieve it? Through meditation, mindfulness, slogans, aspiration, and several other practices, such as tonglen, which is taking in the pain and suffering of others while sending out happiness to all--emphasis on the all. Chödrön introduces each of these practices in turn, backing them up with succinct practical reasoning and a framework of ideas that offers fresh interpretations of familiar words like strength, laziness, and groundlessness. Chödrön is the type of person you'd like to have with you in an emergency, and to deal with the extremes of daily life. In her absence, The Places That Scare You will do nicely. --Brian Bruya
The Miracle of Mindfulness
Amazon.com: Miracle of Mindfulness is a sly commentary on the Anapanasati Sutra, the Sutra on Breath to Maintain Mindfulness. "Sly" because it doesn't read like a dry commentary at all. One of Thich Nhat Hanh's most popular books, Miracle of Mindfulness is about how to take hold of your consciousness and keep it alive to the present reality, whether eating a tangerine, playing with your children, or washing the dishes. A world-renowned Zen master, Nhat Hanh weaves practical instruction with anecdotes and other stories to show how the meditative mind can be achieved at all times and how it can help us all "reveal and heal." Nhat Hanh is a master at helping us find a calm refuge within ourselves and teaching us how to reach out from there to the rest of the world. --Brian Bruya --
Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Amazon.com: Thich Nhat Hanh's writing is deceptive in its subtlety. He'll go on and on with stories about tree-hugging or metaphors involving raw potatoes; he'll tell you how to eat mindfully, even how to breathe and walk; he'll suggest looking closely at a flower and to see the sun as your heart. As the Zen teacher Richard Baker commented, however, Nhat Hanh is "a cross between a cloud, a snail, and piece of heavy machinery." Sooner or later, it begins to sink in that Nhat Hanh is conveying a depth of psychology and a world outlook that require nothing less than a complete paradigm shift. Through his cute stories and compassionate admonitions, he gradually builds up to his philosophy of interbeing, the notion that none of us is separately, but rather that we inter-are. The ramifications are explosive. How can we mindlessly and selfishly pursue our individual ends, when we are inextricably bound up with everyone and everything else? We see an enemy not as focus of anger but as a human with a complex history, who could be us if we had the same history. Suffice it to say, that after reading Peace Is Every Step, you'll never look at a plastic bag the same way again, and you may even develop a penchant for hugging trees. --Brian Bruya
Buddhism Plain and Simple
Amazon.com: You might want to digest this book slowly, a few pages at a time. Although Zen teacher Steve Hagen has a knack for putting the philosophy of Buddhism in a "plain and simple" package, it may take a while to sink in. There is so much there. Seeing reality, realizing the wisdom of the self, breaking free of dualistic thinking--this is pretty heady stuff. Thankfully, Hagen passes it along in the form of examples from life, psychological tidbits, and stories from Buddhist teachers past and present. And when it clicks in, it can be life-transforming. Hagen explains this shift in outlook and how the fundamental way we look at the world affects everything we do. As an outline, Hagen follows the basic teachings of the Buddha, and we see that, rather than dogmatic truths, they are reminders for us as we reconsider the life we have taken for granted for so long. As it turns out, Buddhism is life, plain and simple. --Brian Bruya
Awakening the Buddha Within : Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World
Amazon.com If you dropped the Buddha into a modern metropolis, would he come off sounding like a 16th-century morality play or more like a drive-time disc jockey? Lama Surya Das doesn't spin platters for a living, but he does have a hip delivery that belies his years of sheltered training in Buddhist monasteries. In Awakening the Buddha Within, he borrows a time-tested bestseller format for a 2,500-year-old tradition that comes off as anything but ancient. With the "Five T's of Concentration," the question of "need or greed," and the story of the monk who bares his backside to prove a point, Surya Das invokes a path of wisdom that is as accessible and down-to-earth as a worn pair of loafers. It's not an easy path--it demands thought, effort, and discipline. But Surya Das is there for you, lighting the way to wisdom training, coaxing you into ethics training, and laying out step by step the path of meditation training. And if that's not enough to get you to live in the now, consider these words of the enlightened lama: "You must be present to win." --Brian Bruya
Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening
Book Description: Those with an interest in Buddhism will welcome this new book by Stephen Batchelor, former monk and author of Alone With Others and The Awakening of the West. But those who are just discovering this increasingly popular practice will have much to gain as well-for Buddhism Without Beliefs serves as a solid, straightforward introduction that demystifies Buddhism and explains simply and plainly how its practice can enrich our lives. Avoiding jargon and theory, Batchelor concentrates on the concrete, making Buddhism accessible and compelling and showing how anyone can embark on this path-regardless of their religious background.
The Buddha in Your Mirror: Practical Buddhism and the Search for Self
Book Description: While the notion that "happiness can found within oneself" has recently become popular, Buddhism has taught for thousands of years that every person is a Buddha, or enlightened being, and has the potential for true and lasting happiness. Through real-life examples, the authors explain how adopting this outlook has positive effects on one's health, relationships, and career, and gives new insights into world environmental concerns, peace issues, and other major social problems.
Being Zen: Bringing Meditation to Life
Amazon.com: The paradox of Zen is that learning to just live in the present requires lots of hard work. In Being Zen, seasoned Zen teacher Ezra Bayda unpacks this paradox. He demonstrates the need to just be and then instructs us how to undertake the hard work with precision and persistence. Through personal anecdotes he shows us how we keep ourselves from living a genuine life. Instead, we maintain an ideal image of ourselves by creating strategies that depend on delusive self-images, blind spots, and knee-jerk reactions. He then shows how, by "living the practice life," we can relentlessly observe this process and transform our edifices into open spaces of natural awareness and innate compassion. Bayda offers specific practices for dealing with such automatic emotions as anger and fear, teaching how they can be dampened and eventually dissolved. A "how-to" book in the best sense of the word, Being Zen is about how to just live. --Brian Bruya
Complete Idiot's Guide to Eastern Philosophy
Rev. Jeff says: A good starting point to learn about the various eastern traditions.
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