Form is emptiness; emptiness is form.

This is the bold and intriguing assertion of the Heart Sutra, a text of seminal importance to the Buddhist tradition made even more fascinating by its deep resonance with the cutting edges of quantum physics and cognitive science. In spare and approachable language, The Heart of the Universe deftly explores this gem of world religious literature from a variety of perspectives—historical, spiritual, linguistic, and scientific—each serving to interdependently illuminate the other.

Thunderous Silence throws light on the Heart Sutra—a pithy encapsulation of the essence of Perfection of Wisdom literature—using stop-by-step analysis and an easy, conversational voice. Dosung Yoo examines the sutra phrase by phrase, using rich explanations and metaphors drawn from Korean folklore, quantum physics, Charles Dickens, and everything in between to clarify subtle concepts for the reader. This book invites us to examine the fundamentals of Buddhism—the Four Noble Truths, emptiness, enlightenment—through the prism of the Heart Sutra. Both those new to Buddhism and longtime practitioners looking to revisit a core text from a fresh perspective will find this work appealing.

Entangling Vines, a translation of the Shumon kattoshu, is one of the few major koan texts to have been compiled in Japan rather than China. Indeed, Kajitani Sonin (1914–95), former chief abbot of Shokoku-ji and author of an annotated, modern-Japanese translation of the Kattoshu, commented that “herein are compiled the basic Dharma materials of the koan system.” Most of the central koans of the contemporary Rinzai koan curriculum are contained in this work.

A distinctive feature of Entangling Vines is that, unlike The Gateless Gate and Blue Cliff Record, it presents the koans “bare,” with no introductions, commentaries, or verses. Its straightforward structure  lends the koans added force and immediacy, emphasizing the Great Matter, the essential point to be interrogated, and providing ample material for the rigors of examining and refining Zen experience.

Containing 272 cases and extensive note material, the collection is indispensable for serious koan training and will also be of interest for anyone drawn to Zen literature. The present translation had its origins in the discussions between three forward-looking modern Japanese Zen masters and Thomas Kirchner, an experienced Zen monk from America. And Kirchner’s careful annotation of each koan makes this a brilliant introduction to Buddhist philosophy.

Featuring an introduction by Ueda Shizuteru.

The great Buddhist scholars Śāntarakṣita (725–88 CE.) and his disciple Kamalaśīla were among the most influential thinkers in classical India. They debated ideas not only within the Buddhist tradition but also with exegetes of other Indian religions, and they both traveled to Tibet during Buddhism’s infancy there. Their views, however, have been notoriously hard to classify. The present volume examines Śāntarakṣita’s Tattvasaṃgraha and Kamalaśīla’s extensive commentary on it, works that cover all conceivable problems in Buddhist thought and portray Buddhism as a supremely rational faith.

One hotly debated topic of their time was omniscience—whether it is possible and whether a rational person may justifiably claim it as a quality of the Buddha. Śāntarakṣita and Kamalaśīla affirm both claims, but in their argumentation they employ divergent rhetorical strategies in different passages, advancing what appear to be contradictory positions. McClintock’s investigation of the complex strategies these authors use in defense of omniscience sheds light on the rhetorical nature of their enterprise, one that shadows their own personal views as they advance the arguments they deem most effective to convince the audiences at hand.

Learn more about the Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism series.

Jan Willis is not Baptist or Buddhist. She is simply both. Dreaming Me is the story of her life, as a child growing up in the Jim Crow South, dealing with racism in an Ivy League college, and becoming involved with the Black Panther Party. But it wasn’t until meeting Lama Yeshe, a Tibetan Buddhist monk living in the mountains of Nepal, that she realized who the real Jan Willis was, and how to make the most of the life she was living.

While only a young man, Orgyen Trinley Dorje’s life has been marked indelibly by devotion, intrigue, and transformation. Karmapa: The Politics of Reincarnation is his amazing story.

For Westerners, Tibet is a land of powerful spiritual teachings, staggering mountain vistas, and geopolitical intrigue. The country’s resistance to Chinese occupation, and also the growing presence of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, are not just part of our daily news but of the Western consciousness as well. In January 2000, interest hit a peak as fourteen-year-old Orgyen Trinley Dorje was thrust upon the world stage. Recognized as the Seventeenth Karmapa-arguably the second most powerful figure in the Tibetan Buddhist religious hierarchy-he made a dramatic escape from his Chinese Communist overseers to the land of the Buddha’s birth, India, so that he could study with the masters of his religious lineage, follow his conscience, and be a leader to his people.

Through wide-ranging research and interviews with key figures, including the Karmapa himself, award-winning journalist Lea Terhune unlocks the riveting tale of the Karmapa’s disputed incarnation, and traces the roots of the Kagyu tradition and the history of the previous Karmapas in order to illuminate the tale of the young man born to play a key role in the future of Tibet.

A fascinating portrait of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, one of the most charismatic, controversial, and visionary spiritual teachers of all time, this book is also an inspiring, heart-warming, and often humorous account of the author’s own path of transformation from skeptic to mature spiritual practitioner. What’s more, Warrior-King of Shambhala is a splendid presentation of the teachings and experiences that have become the heart of the Shambhala Buddhist tradition.

A pioneer in introducing Tibetan Buddhism to the West, Chogyam Trungpa is also one of its most controversial figures: he often defied notions of how a holy man should act, and his unconventional behavior and “crazy wisdom” caused some to view him with suspicion. But he was above all known for his compassion, insight, and vision and was immediately recognized as a living Buddha by a generation of spiritual seekers.

One of those seekers was Jeremy Hayward, who in little time became a close confidante of the teacher. Warrior King of Shambhala, Hayward’s intimate memoir of Trungpa, begins with their first meeting in 1970, progressing year by year until Trungpa’s death and beyond. Hayward vividly describes Trungpa’s powerful, direct way of working with students, his groundbreaking work in bringing Buddhism to the West, and the teachings Trungpa presented each year. He also describes his own personal spiritual journey with the inimitable Chogyam Trungpa as his guide.

The Kagyü school of Tibetan Buddhism began in the eleventh century with such renowned figures as Marpa and Milarepa, and its seminal meditative traditions are Mahāmudrā and the six Dharmas of Nāropa. Mahāmudrā teachings focus on the cultivation of profound insight into the nature of the mind. The Mahāmudrā texts in this volume include a lucid work by the celebrated master Tselé Natsok Rangdröl and works by the twelfth-century master Shang Rinpoche, the great Third Karmapa, the Eighth Tai Situ, and Drukpa Pema Karpo. The volume also contains an inspirational work by Gampopa, the Drigung Kagyü root text, The Single Viewpoint, the Sixth Shamarpa’s guide to the six Dharmas of Nāropā, and finally an overview of tantric practice by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal, author of the famous Moonlight of Mahāmudrā. The texts in this volume were selected by the preeminent scholar of the Kagyü school, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche.

Learn more about the Library of Tibetan Classics

Learn about becoming a benefactor of the Library of Tibetan Classics

Read the biographies of Gampopa, Sherab Jungne, Lama Shang, and the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje at the Treasury of Lives.

One of the most beloved Buddhist books of all time—having inspired popular musicians, artists, a documentary film, and countless readers—is now in an expanded, new edition, loaded with extras. Absolutely absorbing from start to finish, this is a true story you might truly fall in love with.

At only 24, Maura O’Halloran left her Irish-American family stateside and traveled to Japan, where she began studying under a Zen master. She would herself become recognized as a Zen master—in an uncommonly brief amount of time. Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind is Maura’s beautifully-written account of her journey. These journal entries and letters home reveal astonishing, wise-beyond-her-years humor, compassion, wisdom, and commitment.

This expanded edition includes never-before-seen entries and poems, the author’s unfinished novel, and an afterword that discusses the book’s cultural impact. It will be a must-have for Maura’s previous fans—and will surely find her thousands of new ones.

The stories in You Are Not Here and Other Works of Buddhist Fiction dramatize the spirit of Buddhism, often with wit, always with verve, and each in some distinctly vivid way. Only a few of these stories touch on the Dharma explicitly and this book takes you on an inward tour across the whole world-to the jungles of Indonesia, a fog-shrouded park in San Francisco, the sun-blistered African veldt, a Burmese monastery surrounded by gun-fire, and the church-like sanctuary of a Nebraska barn, just to name a few. Collectively these stories paint a living portrait of the face of Buddhism, and readers may discover that that face is a strangely familiar one-and that every journey only ever leads home.

Edited by Keith Kachtick—the author of Hungry Ghost: A Novel (A New York Times Notable Book),You Are Not Here and Other Works of Buddhist Fiction—offers more surprising and transcendent work from some of fiction’s famous names, alongside that of names you’ve never heard before—but surely will again:

Lama Surya Das, Keith Kachtick, Robert Olen Butler, Kate Wheeler, Anne Donovan, Samantha Schoech, Mary Yukari Waters, Andrew Foster Altschul, Jess Row, Anh Chi Pham, Sean Murphy, Pico Iyer, Dan Zigmond, Michele Martin, Sean Hoade, Jeff Davis, Jake Lorfing, Geshe Michael Roach, Anne Carolyn Klein, Dean Sluyter, Mark Salzman, and Hal Hallstein.

Combining the genius of Chan (Zen) Buddhism and Daoism with rigorous physical and martial discipline and breathing exercises, the training that originated at China’s famous Shaolin Temple was a unique elixir that would change the way the world perceived mind and body. Here, Andy James exposes the hitherto unrecognized spiritual legacy of Shaolin Temple, which has provided modernity with comprehensive, time-tested techniques in martial arts, health maintenance, energetic healing and spiritual transformation.

In addition to Buddhism and Daoism, James explores Qigong (Chi Kung) and the “internal” systems of martial arts such as Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan). While many books have traced Chan’s story into Japan, James remains in China to explain how the unique spiritual, martial and energetic traditions of the Shaolin Temple continued to interact and evolve in dynamic relation to culture, society, and the individual. This engaging and very personal book will appeal to martial arts enthusiasts, healing arts professionals, and anyone interested in the mind-body connection.

Healing our wounded Earth is not unrelated to healing our own personal wounds. The pains of the Earth and those of the individuals making up our Earth community cannot be separated. Thus the healing of our individual lives can become the basis of the healing of Earth. This book sheds light on Zen as a spiritual path that leads to healing—in the personal, social, and ecological dimensions of our being. If you are seeking a form of spiritual practice that addresses all three of these dimensions or simply seeking to deepen your understanding of the Zen path, it is written for you. If instead of fragmentation, disorientation, and vacuity, you seek wholeness, groundedness, and integrity in your life, it is written for you. Perhaps you, too, have come to realize that our global community is in a sad state of affairs, that we need to radically change how we live and relate to one another and to the Earth. You may already be engaged in some form of social or ecological action addressing these issues-and you may feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task. If you’ve been tempted to pessimism or have thrown up your hands in despair when your best efforts don’t seem to make a dent, this book is for you, Healing Breath offers a way to integrate a spiritual path with active, socio-ecological engagement as the ground.

This book also addresses another set of questions: can a Christian genuinely practice Zen? How is Zen practice compatible with a Christian faith commitment? To fully engage in a Zen practice, what kind of belief system is presupposed or required? How can spiritual practice in an Eastern tradition inform Christian life and understanding?

In the process of describing the Zen way of life, Healing Breath will consider various Christian expressions, symbols, and practices—not as an apologetic for that belief system, but to show how they, too, point to the transformative and healing perspectives and experiences provided by Zen.

For centuries, Dzogchen—a special meditative practice to achieve spontaneous enlightenment—has been misinterpreted by both critics and malinformed meditators as being purely mystical and anti-rational. In the grand spirit of Buddhist debate, 19th century Buddhist philosopher Mipham wrote Beacon of Certainty, a compelling defense of Dzogchen philosophy that employs the very logic it was criticized as lacking. Through lucid and accessible textural translation and penetrating analysis, Pettit presents Mipham as one of Tibet’s greatest thinkers.

Learn more about the Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism series.

Read Mipham Gyatso’s biography at the Treasury of Lives.

The Three Levels of Spiritual Perception is a revised edition of the classic guide to the Lamdre, a key system of meditation of the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

Written by one of the first Tibetan masters to live and teach in the United States, it is rendered in a lyrical style that entertains, inspires, and motivates the reader. A key work for all those who are eager to develop and deepen their meditation practice.

Learn more about Ngorchen Konchog Lhundrup at the Treasury of Lives.

Written by a great modern Nyingma master, Dudjom Rinpoche’s The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism covers in detail and depth both the fundamental teachings and the history of Tibetan Buddhism’s oldest school. This, the first English translation of His Holiness’ masterwork, constitutes the most complete work of its type in the West.

An absolute treasure for students of the tradition, it is also an indispensable reference for anyone with an interest in Buddhism. The book includes chronologies and glossaries that elucidate Buddhist doctrine, and it provides fascinating insights into the Buddhist history of Tibet. Two treatises form the present volume, namely the Fundamentals of the Nyingma School and the History of the Nyingma School. Among the most widely read of all His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche’s works, these treatises were composed during the years immediately following his arrival in India as a refugee. His intention in writing them was to preserve the precise structure of the Nyingma philosophical view within its own historical and cultural context.

This is the first time this text has been available in a trade edition. Beautifully presented, this single-volume edition represents a truly wonderful gift, and features illustrations in black and white and in color, plus maps, bibliographic information, and useful annotations.

Dreams play a powerful role in the sacred biographies of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism: they foretell the births of religious figures, describe their accomplishments, and reveal esoteric teachings.

In this fascinating study of the Buddhist dream experience, Dr. Serinity Young explores the complex functions of dreams in the sacred biographies of the Buddha and other central Buddhist figures, and reveals the ever-changing nature of dreams in Buddhist thought and practice.

Young presents a fascinating, culturally varied picture of the Buddhist dream experience and its revelations about Buddhist ideas of consciousness, cognition, and salvation. Using biographies of the Buddha and other important Buddhist figures, Serinity Young explores the functions of dreams and maps their role at the intersection of biography, history, and religious belief.

Associated with the promotion of world peace, the Kalachakra—or “Wheel of Time”—tantra is one of the most detailed and encompassing systems of theory and practice within Tibetan Buddhism. This book contains a complete translation of the Kalachakra initiation ritual as conferred by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, along with his commentary and a comprehensive introduction by Professor Jeffrey Hopkins that explores the Kalachakra’s rich symbolism, meaning, and history. The book also includes the Six-Session Yoga.

Daily Doses of Wisdom draws on the richness of Buddhist writings to offer a spiritual cornucopia that will illuminate and inspire day after day, year after year. Sources span a spectrum from ancient sages to modern teachers, from monks to laypeople, from East to West, from poetry to prose. Each page, and each new day, reveals another gem carefully selected from the entire list of titles published by Wisdom.

Waking Up Together is written for those who want to journey to new depths of intimacy, both spiritually and in their love relationship. The book shows how a committed, long-term relationship can enhance spiritual development and how relationships can be transformed by spiritual practice. Written by two Zen teachers married for thirty-seven years, it shows that relationships and all that arise from them can be a help—not a hindrance!—as we seek greater freedom and joy. It is possible to wake up together!

Going far beyond merely recommending skills and strategies to improve relationships, Waking Up Together serves as a guide in our ongoing process of spiritual discovery and intimacy. Throughout the book the authors intermingle stories and poems along with anecdotes from their married life, empowering couples to awaken to an ever-expanding experience of relationship that is full of spontaneity, mystery, awe, love, and unlimited possibility. Waking Up Together will be useful for couples of all persuasions. It affirms and encourages couples to cultivate the richness of their own relationship, and open to the unbounded potential of love.

Joel & Michelle Levey have taught thousands of people around the globe to live in greater harmony and balance. Field-tested and refined over many years, the Leveys’ unique approach to stress-mastery and personal development offers step-by-step guidance for developing personal strengths, enhancing the quality of life, and making a real contribution to the world.

The Fine Arts of Relaxation, Concentration and Meditation offers a treasury of their most useful teachings:

• Waking up throughout the day—finding your meditation practice and sticking to it.
• Balancing breath, brain, and mind-mastering stress—enhancing performance in every arena of your life.
• Creative intelligence—the dynamic synergy of active and quiet mind skills.
• Mastery, mystery, and meditation—awakening to your true nature.
• Inspired Work—relaxation, concentration, and meditation on the job.

A vital blend of profoundly practical skills, advice, instruction, and encouragement makes Fine Arts a complete course for awakening more fully to your highest potentials in each moment of your life.