Showing titles in Eastern

Ancient, time-tested wisdom: Okinawa, Japan, is a tiny, tiny island south of the Japanese mainland where people live their life's purpose every day. How is it possible for so many to live each day in such meaningful ways? The Okinawan concept of Ikigai. Magical reality come to life: David Michiels stuttered severely well into his adulthood. In clinical terms, his stutter was difficult to treat. But David started to work in a liquor store. Before long, his focus turned to one specific section of the sales floor: the scotch section.

Compiled more than 2,000 years ago by a mysterious warrior-philosopher, The Art of War is still perhaps the most prestigious and influential book of strategy in the world. As a study of the anatomy of organizations in conflict, The Art of War applies to competition and conflict in general, on every level from the interpersonal to the international.

In this extensive lesson, Tenzin Gyatso beautifully elucidates the meaning of the path to enlightenment. His discourse arises from the Third Dalai Lama's brilliant and powerful work, Essence of Refined Gold, a classic text that summarizes the meaning of all Buddha's teachings. The subject of Essence is the Lam Rim, a term that literally means "stages on the spiritual path." Through his insightful exploration and interpretation of Essence of Refined Gold, the Dalai Lama speaks directly to the listener, offering spiritual advice, personal reflections, and scriptural commentary.

From much-admired meditation expert Sebene Selassie, You Belong is a call to action, exploring our tangled relationship with belonging, connection, and each other.

Who was the 20th-century Indian sage known as Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi? How did he attain enlightenment and become one of the most celebrated spiritual masters of his time? Why is his spiritual teaching presently revered by Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, Taoists, and followers of other spiritual paths, transcending all religious differences? What is the essence of his revolutionary technique, popularly known as self-inquiry meditation? The Spiritual Teaching of Ramana Maharshi offers you the answers to these profound questions.

From self-realization and self-promotion to self-help and the selfie, the modern world encourages us to be self-obsessed. We are even told that finding ourselves is the key to happiness. Better to lose yourself! More than 2,500 years ago, the Buddha argued that the self is an illusion—and that our belief in it is the cause of most, if not all, of our suffering. How to Lose Yourself presents lively, accessible, and expert new translations of ancient Buddhist writings about the central, unique, and powerful Buddhist teaching of "no-self."

A master of psychoanalysis and social philosophy explores Zen Buddhism. In 1957, social philosopher and psychoanalyst Erich Fromm invited Daisetz T. Suzuki, the most famous Zen Buddhist master in the Western world, to a seminar at his new home in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Their discussion was one of the highlights of Fromm’s life, and the paper Fromm presented (and later expanded into a book) was a watershed work. Fromm demonstrates his mastery of the philosophy and practice of Zen.

In little time, Loy has become one of the most powerful advocates of the Buddhist worldview, explaining like no one else its ability to transform the sociopolitical landscape of the modern world. In this, his most accessible work to date, he offers sharp and even shockingly clear presentations of oft-misunderstood Buddhist staples - the working of karma, the nature of self, the causes of trouble on both the individual and societal levels - and the real reasons behind our collective sense of "never enough", whether it's time, money, sex, security...even war.

The modern lifestyle with its excesses and worldly desires, the constant need to be connected, and the rapid development in technology, has made stress and lifestyle-related diseases the norm. The need for meditation, thus, is more acute. Meditation calms the mind, brings focus and enhances the senses, resulting in a better quality of life and work. And with the right Mantras, meditation becomes a highly effective tool in unleashing the immense potential within oneself.

Current Western society would lead us to believe that acquiring financial wealth would be the answer to all of our problems. Or would it? In this thought-provoking program, author and Eastern philosopher Laurence Boldt takes you on a journey to uncover what your belief system is and just how much your life is being dictated by a misdirected desire to gain peace of mind through acquiring material wealth.

These discourses contain what Osho describes as the most significant statements ever made, which point to the whole secret of the mystic approach toward life. And the sutra that begins this series of discourses, he says, contains the very essence of the entire Upanishadic vision - that the universe is an indivisible totality, an organic whole. Osho illuminates these ancient texts with such clarity that their significance seems stunningly obvious.

At the core of this ancient strategy manual is the understanding that conflict is an inescapable part of human life. Since, as Sun Tzu teaches, aggression and response in kind can lead only to destruction, we must learn to work with conflict in a more profound and effective way. Crucial to this strategic vision is knowledge - especially self-knowledge - and a view of the whole that seeks to bring conflicting views into a larger perspective.

In Being Different: An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism, thinker and philosopher Rajiv Malhotra addresses the challenge of a direct and honest engagement on differences by reversing the gaze, repositioning India from being the observed to the observer and looking at the West from the dharmic point of view. In doing so, he challenges many hitherto unexamined beliefs that both sides hold about themselves and each other.

Twenty-seven years ago, Matthieu Ricard gave up a promising career as a scientist to study Tibetan Buddhism—not as a detached observer but by immersing himself in its practice under the guidance of its greatest living masters. Years later, this project was born, and Ricard met with his father, Jean-Francois Revel—a French philosopher who became world famous for his challenges to both Communism and Christianity. At an inn, these two profoundly thoughtful men explored questions that have occupied humankind throughout its history.

To many people, the word samurai conjures images of menacing masks, long blades and elaborate armor. However, this classic text by Inazo Nitobe reveals the greater depths to samurai culture - they were not simply warriors but an aristocratic class who practiced literary and military arts in equal measure. Essential to this way of life was the samurai's moral code and the quality of bushido, roughly translated as chivalry.

Reduced stress, improved concentration, lower blood pressure, and increased sexual pleasure are among the many benefits of meditating. So what's holding you back? Perhaps you don't see yourself signing up with a guru. Or twisting yourself into a lotus position while repeating a mantra. But what if meditating were as easy and pleasurable as eating a dish of ice cream? In this guide, Lorin Roche proves that mediation is that easy - and even more enjoyable. Roche explains everything you need to get started, including some mini-meditations that can be integrated into spare moment throughout the day and tips for developing a customized practice that will become as natural and vital to you as breathing.

Shortly before his death in 1645, the undefeated swordsman Miyamoto Musashi retreated to a cave to live as a hermit. There he wrote five scrolls describing the "true principles" required for victory in the martial arts and on the battlefield. Instead of relying on religion or theory, Musashi based his writings on his own experience, observation, and reason. The scrolls, published as The Book of Five Rings, have recently gained an international reputation in the business world as a means of resolving differences and achieving success.

This special edition of A Book of Five Rings contains one hour of traditional Japanese flute (shakuhachi) and 43 minutes of music by traditional japanese ensemble. The music appears track by track at the end of the two and a half hour audiobook and is included as wonderful compliment to this dynamic and elegant listening experience. Legendary 17th-century swordsman Miyamoto Musashi’s exposition of sword fighting, strategy, and Zen philosophy.

The Sufis, mystics of Islam, have been educators of the heart for some fourteen centuries. Their teachings and methods are designed to help us awaken and purify the heart, to learn to listen to our deepest knowing. In The Knowing Heart, Kabir Helminski presents the Sufi way as a practical spirituality suitable for all cultures and times—and offers insights that are especially valuable for our life in today's world. In cultivating a knowing heart, we learn to experience a new sense of self, transform our relationships, and enhance our creative capacities.

For a generation adjusting painfully to the demands of a modern industrial and commercial society, Asia came to represent an alternative vision of the good life: aesthetically austere, socially aristocratic and imbued with spirituality. The Book of Tea was originally written in English and sought to address the inchoate yearnings of disaffected Westerners. In a flash of inspiration, Okakura saw that the formal tea party as practiced in New England was a distant cousin of the Japanese tea ceremony, and that East and West had thus 'met in the tea-cup'.