Buddhist Enlightenment

"Within my body are all the sacred places of the world," the Buddhist saint Saraha once said, "and the most profound pilgrimage that I can ever make is within my own body." For 15 centuries, the realized masters of the tantric path used the crucible of their own lives to develop a powerful and...

Buddhism is practiced by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, from Tibetan caves to Tokyo temples to redwood retreats. To an outside viewer, it might be hard to see what they all have in common. In Buddhism, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and American Buddhist nun Thubten Chodron map out with clarity the convergences and the divergences between the two major strains of Buddhism - the Sanskrit traditions of Tibet and East Asia and the Pali traditions of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.

Brought to you by Penguin. Unlikely best friends Thomas and Grace are bound together by questions of faith, love and astronomy in this dazzling summer read from the #1 bestselling author. Thomas Hart and Grace Macaulay have lived all their lives in the small Essex town of Aldleigh. Though...

Brought to you by Penguin. Is modernity really failing? Or have we failed to appreciate progress and the ideals that make it possible? If you follow the headlines, the world in the 21st century appears to be sinking into chaos, hatred and irrationality. Yet, as Steven Pinker shows, if you follow...

Pissed and on the verge of ripping someone to shreds, I didn’t think before I ran off into the forest during a full moon. Not the smartest move.... I know. So of course, I was attacked by a thirsty vampire only to be saved by another.

Brought to you by Penguin. The Enlightenment is one of the formative periods of Western history, yet more than 300 years after it began, it remains controversial. It is often seen as the fountainhead of modern values such as human rights, religious toleration, freedom of thought, scientific...

What is enlightenment? Is it a myth or is it real? On The Science of Enlightenment, you will learn that the liberated state is as real as the sensations you are having right now. For it is through the investigation of your own thoughts and feelings that you can awaken to clear insight and a...

Peace. Calm. Mindfulness. Enlightenment. These are appealing concepts, but they never seem like they're within grasp of the everyday person. With all our responsibilities in life, most of us are doing our best just to keep up, let alone have time to find that elusive 'inner calm'. Luke McLeod...

With characteristic humility, His Holiness the Dalai Lama begins this landmark survey of the entire Buddhist path by saying, "I think an overview of Tibetan Buddhism for the purpose of providing a comprehensive framework of the path may prove helpful in deepening your understanding and practice." In this book the Dalai Lama delivers a presentation that is both concise and profound, accessible and engaging.

From one of America’s most brilliant writers, a New York Times bestselling journey through psychology, philosophy, and lots of meditation to show how Buddhism holds the key to moral clarity and enduring happiness. At the heart of Buddhism is a simple claim: The reason we suffer—and the...

Approximately four million Americans claim to be Buddhist. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of Americans of various faiths read about Buddhism, are interested in its philosophical tenets, or fashionably view themselves as Buddhists. They’re part of what’s been described as the fastest growing religious movement in America: a large group of people dissatisfied with traditional religious offerings and thirsty for an approach to spirituality grounded in logic and consistent with scientific knowledge.

Lost Enlightenment recounts how, between the years 800 and 1200, Central Asia led the world in trade and economic development, the size and sophistication of its cities, the refinement of its arts, and, above all, in the advancement of knowledge in many fields. Central Asians achieved signal breakthroughs in astronomy, mathematics, geology, medicine, chemistry, music, social science, philosophy, and theology, among other subjects.

In Tibetan spiritual life, the practice of body-based meditation has been revered throughout its history as a vital tool for cultivating spiritual awareness and physical well-being. Today, in a world overabundant with stimuli, these embodied practices are more relevant and useful than ever...

Advanced Teachings on Spiritual Awakening, Freedom, and the Mystery of Consciousness In the early 1990s, A.H. Almaas had a realization he was not expecting—even after years of deep inner awakenings. “I thought it was a personal experience, not a teaching,” he reflects. Now, after two...

This Bodhi Leaf by Ajahn Brahmavamso (Ajahn Brahm) is an essay on the path, and the qualities, that lead to Nibbana. Ajahn Brahm is a senior Western monk of the Forest Tradition who lives and teaches in Australia.

We're all on a journey trying to move toward greater awareness, peace, joy, and love. Yet, daily life is full of endless distractions, upsets, and challenges. Best-selling author and frequent Oprah guest Jonathan Robinson set out to find the best ways he could find inner peace by studying with over 100 well-known spiritual teachers. In his multidecade quest, Robinson interviewed everyone from the late Mother Teresa to Ram Dass. By practicing over 50 spiritual methods and philosophies, he learned what really worked to deliver him to lasting inner peace.

Over the course of twenty-five centuries, Buddhism spread from its place of origin in northern India to become a global tradition of remarkable breadth, depth, and richness. Donald S. Lopez Jr. draws on the latest scholarship to construct a detailed and innovative history of Buddhism—not just as a chronology through the centuries or as geographic movement, but as a dense matrix of interconnections.

The End of Enlightenment offers a radical re-evaluation of one of the most important moments in human history. Tracing around the world the changing perspectives of economists, philosophers, politicians and polemicists, historian Richard Whatmore argues that, for figures as diverse as David Hume, Edmund Burke, Adam Smith and Mary Wollstonecraft, the Enlightenment was a profound failure. They had strived to replace superstition with reason, fanaticism with toleration, but witnessed instead terror and revolution, corruption, gross commercial excess and the continued growth of violent empire.

For decades, one of the most engaging teachers of our time has illuminated the many dimensions of awakening - but solely at his live retreats and on audio recordings. Now, with The Science of Enlightenment, Shinzen Young brings to listeners an uncommonly lucid guide to mindfulness meditation for the first time: how it works and how to use it to enhance your cognitive capacities, your kindness and connection with the world, and the richness of all your experiences. As thousands of his students and listeners will confirm, Shinzen is like no other teacher you’ve ever encountered.

A rare, intimate account of a world-renowned Buddhist monk’s near-death experience and the life-changing wisdom he gained as a result. 'One of the most generous, beautiful, and essential books I’ve ever read – thoroughly engaging, so clear, so honest, so courageous and full of wisdom.'...