Showing titles in Buddhism

Eager to share the life-enhancing benefits he found in Buddhism, skeptic Scott Snibbe presents this 8-step programme that allows anyone to build positive mental habits. Inspired by the ancient Buddhist path to enlightenment yet firmly grounded in modern science, How to Train a Happy Mind is the first mainstream book to show how you can achieve happiness using analytical meditation. Working in much the same way as cognitive behavioural therapy, analytical meditation goes beyond the calm-inducing practice of mindfulness to actively train the brain through easy-to-follow narrative visualizations.

While his masterpiece On the Road languished on the desks of unresponsive editors, Kerouac turned to Buddhism, and in 1953 began writing reading notes on the subject intended for his friend Allen Ginsberg. As his Buddhist study and meditation practice intensified, what had begun as notes evolved into a vast, all-encompassing work of nonfiction into which he poured his life, incorporating poems, haiku, prayers, journal entries, fragments of letters, ideas about writing, sketches, and more.

What is the essence of Zen meditation? Why is it considered one of the most celebrated spiritual practices of all time? What are the basic steps of its practice? What is the essence of the revolutionary philosophy behind it? And how can its regular practice allow you to conquer spiritual progress and inner peace starting today? Zen Meditation in Easy Steps answers these and other profound questions, presenting the basic teachings of Zen Buddhism. With a bonus selection of Zen spiritual tales, this beginner’s guide contains the basic steps of Zen meditation.

An unlikely duo—Professor Peter Singer, a preeminent philosopher and professor of bioethics, and Venerable Shih Chao-Hwei, a Taiwanese Buddhist monastic and social activist—join forces to talk ethics in lively conversations that cross oceans, overcome language barriers, and bridge philosophies. The eye-opening dialogues collected here share unique perspectives on contemporary issues like animal welfare, gender equality, the death penalty, and more. Together, these two deep thinkers explore the foundation of ethics and key Buddhist concepts.

For more than half a century, in such books as The Art of Happiness and The Dalai Lama's Little Book of Inner Peace, the Dalai Lama has guided us along the path to compassion and taught us how to improve our inner lives. In A Force for Good, with the help of his longtime friend Daniel Goleman, the New York Times best-selling author of Emotional Intelligence, the Dalai Lama explains how to turn our compassionate energy outward. This revelatory and inspiring work provides a singular vision for transforming the world in practical and positive ways.

While many accounts of the Buddha’s life mix legend and history, this compelling new biography discriminates between fact and fiction to reveal Gautama, the remarkable human being behind the myth, and sheds new light on his teachings. Plunging us into the noises, smells and jostling streets of Gautama’s world, Vishvapani Blomfield brings the Buddha to life as a passionate and determined individual - a strikingly modern figure who rejected contemporary beliefs.

In this meditative memoir - a compelling fusion of Barbarian Days and the journals of Thomas Merton - the author of Saltwater Buddha reflects on his "failing toward enlightenment," his continued search to find meaning and a greater understanding of grace in the world’s oceans as well as everyday life. Born to a family of seekers, Jaimal Yogis left home at 16 to surf in Hawaii and join a monastery - an adventure he chronicled in Saltwater Buddha. Now, in his early 20s, his heart is broken and he’s lost his way.

Dogen (1200-1253 C.E.) founded the Soto school of Zen Buddhism in Japan. His teachings are the very embodiment of the paradoxical blend of mystery and clarity that characterizes Zen. Dogen's approach to meditation has become perhaps the most influential Eastern spiritual practice in the Western world. The selections in this program are from Moon in a Dewdrop.

In the Buddhist teaching of love, there are four elements. The first is maitri–friendship, brotherhood, loving-kindness. And the second is karuna–capacity to understand the suffering and help remove and transform it–compassion. Mudita is the third element–joy–your joy is her joy, her joy is our joy. The last element is upeksha–nondiscrimination. This is a higher form of love. The four qualities have no limits–infinite love–these elements are also called the Four Unlimited Minds. Betterlisten is pleased to compile some of Thich Nhat Hanh's best lectures into this bundle!

“A masterpiece. . . . It teaches us how not to fear and repress, but to rechannel and harness the most powerful energies of life toward freedom and bliss.” —ROBERT THURMAN It is common in both Buddhism and Freudian psychoanalysis to treat desire as if it is the root of all suffering and...

Preparing to Die is for anyone interested in learning how to prepare for death from a Buddhist perspective, both spiritually and practically. It is also for those who want to learn how to help someone else who is dying, both during the time of illness and death as well as after death.

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.

The Dalai Lama inspired millions around the world with his wisdom and compassion in The Art of Happiness. Now, in The Essence of Happiness, further moving insights from His Holiness are here. Offering sage advice on defeating day-to-day depression, anxiety, anger, jealousy, and other emotions that get in the way of true happiness, here are transforming reflections on how to overcome suffering and obstacles to create a fulfilled, joyous life.

A listener-friendly guide to Zen Buddhist ethics for modern times. In the West, Zen Buddhism has a reputation for paradoxes that defy logic. In particular, the Buddhist concept of nonduality—the realization that everything in the Universe forms a single, integrated whole—is especially difficult to grasp. In The Other Side of Nothing, Zen teacher Brad Warner untangles the mystery and explains nonduality in plain English.

An interdisciplinary deep dive into Buddhist jhāna meditation and how it can transform our understanding of self and consciousness.

Walk down the streets of Chinatown in any American or western European city and look around. She is there. Walk through the downtown streets, look in a shop window. She is there. Go to any city in China and open your eyes. She is there, too. Kuan Yin is the most ubiquitous Chinese deity - and the most loved. She is the living expression of compassion whose gentle face and elegant figure form the center of devotion in most Chinese homes and workplaces. Until relatively recently, she was barely known in the West, and few studies had been made of her.

Learn how complete awareness can open the door to lasting transformation in work, worship, love, and all other areas of your life. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's acclaimed theory of mindfulness explores ways to shine the light of awareness into our intimate relationships. He examines Buddhism's four basic qualities of authentic love: kindness, compassion, joy, and freedom.

For nearly 1,000 years, from the destruction of temples and monasteries by Muslim invaders in the 11th and 12th centuries, followed by Hinduism’s increasing power, Buddhism vanished from the country of its origin. Though hugely influential throughout Asia, the religion was forgotten in India.

Dokkōdō, The Noble Path of Solitude—Reinterpreted (Translated) brings the original 21 principles written by legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi into the modern world with accuracy, depth, and practicality. Translated and reinterpreted by a born-and-raised Japanese “Rekijo,” this audiobook preserves the spirit of the original Japanese text while making its wisdom applicable to today’s challenges. For the 21 principles, this audiobook introduces them in Japanese, explains how to pronounce them, and provides English translations, allowing you to learn them from a different perspective.

This historical text from the direct teaching of the Zen master, Huang Po, allows the Western listener to gain an understanding of Zen from the original source, one of the key works in its teachings. It also offers deepening and often startling insights into the rich treasures of Eastern thought. On the Transmission of Mind.