What is emptiness? This question at the heart of Buddhist philosophy has preoccupied the greatest minds of India and Tibet for two millennia, producing hundreds of volumes. Distinguishing the Views, by the fifteenth-century Sakya scholar Gorampa Sönam Sengé, is one of the most important of those works, esteemed for its conciseness, lucidity, and profundity. Freedom from Extremes presents Gorampa’s elegant philosophical case on the matter of emptiness here in a masterful translation by Geshe Lobsang Dargyay.
Gorampa’s text is polemical, and his targets are two of Tibet’s greatest thinkers: Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelug school, and Dölpopa, a founding figure of the Jonang school. Distinguishing the Views argues that Dolpopa has fallen into an eternalistic extreme, whereas Tsongkhapa has fallen into nihilism, and that only the mainstream Sakya view—what Gorampa calls “freedom from extremes”—represents the true middle way, the correct view of emptiness. Suppressed for years in Tibet, this seminal work today is widely regarded and is studied in some of Tibet’s greatest academic institutions.
Gorampa’s treatise has been translated and annotated here by two leading scholars of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, and a critical edition of the Tibetan text on facing pages gives students and scholars direct access to Gorampa’s own words. José Cabezón’s extended introduction provides a thorough overview of Tibetan polemical literature and contextualizes the life and work of Gorampa both historically and intellectually. Freedom from Extremes will be indispensable for serious students of Madhyamaka thought.
Learn more about the Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism series.
Stories are ancient and wondrous tools with the mysterious power to transform lives. And the stories and parables of the Lotus Sutra-one of the world’s great religious scriptures and most influential texts-are among the most fascinating and dramatic.
In this fun, engaging, and plain-English book, Gene Reeves-the translator of Wisdom’s critically acclaimed and bestselling edition of the Lotus Sutra-presents the most memorable and remarkable of the Lotus Sutra’s many stories and parables, along with a distillation of his decades of reflection on them in an accessible, inspiring, and naturally illuminating way.
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra is the perfect companion to Reeve’s breathtaking translation of this scriptural masterpiece as well as a thoroughly enjoyable stand-alone volume for those who want to bring the inspiring teachings of the bodhisattva path into their daily lives.
In The Way of Tenderness, Zen priest Zenju Earthlyn Manuel brings Buddhist philosophies of emptiness and appearance to bear on race, sexuality, and gender, using wisdom forged through personal experience and practice to rethink problems of identity and privilege. Manuel brings her own experiences as a lesbian black woman into conversation with Buddhism to square our ultimately empty nature with superficial perspectives of everyday life. Her hard-won insights reveal that dry wisdom alone is not sufficient to heal the wounds of the marginalized; an effective practice must embrace the tenderness found where conventional reality and emptiness intersect. Only warmth and compassion can cure hatred and heal the damage it wreaks within us. This is a book that will teach us all.
Eschewing the entrapments of vanity, power, and money, Kodo Sawaki Roshi lived a traveling and “homeless” life, going from temple to temple, student to student, teaching and instructing and never allowing himself to stray from his chosen path. Always clear, often funny, he jolts us into awakening.
Kosho Uchiyama expands and explains his teacher’s wisdom with his commentary, drawing parallels between Zen teachings and Western philosophy. Shohaku Okumura adds his own insight, grounding his teachers’ power and sagacity for the contemporary practitioner. Through this book, experience the timeless, practical wisdom of three generations of Zen masters.
Throughout the history of Buddhism, few philosophers have attained the stature of Dharmakīrti, the “Lord of Reason” who has influenced virtually every systematic Buddhist thinker since his time.
Dharmakīrti’s renowned works, written in India during the philosophically rich seventh century, argue that the true test of knowledge is its efficacy, and likewise that only the efficacious is knowable and real. Around this central theme is woven an intricate web of interrelated theories concerning perception, reason, language, and the justification of knowledge. Masterfully unpacking these foundations of Dharmakīrti’s system, John Dunne presents the first major study of the most vexing issues in Dharmakīrti’s thought within its Indian philosophical context. Lucid and carefully argued, Dunne’s work serves both as an introduction to Dharmakīrti for students of Buddhism and a groundbreaking resource for scholars of Buddhist thought.
Learn more about the Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism series.
Mahāmudrā is a simple, direct method for looking beyond our thoughts to the very nature of conscious experience. It is said mahāmudrā is not attained not because it is too difficult but because it is too easy, not because it is too far but because it is too close, and not because it is hidden but because it is too evident.
The Mind of Mahāmudrā highlights this central meditation practice of the Kagyü school of Tibetan Buddhism through six texts ranging from the twelfth-century to the seventeenth and including such celebrated authors as Lama Shang and the Third Karmapa. Eminent scholar Peter Alan Roberts draws on his thirty-plus years of experience of translating for Tibetan lamas to illuminate these benchmark translations.
Read the biographies of Lama Shang and the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje at the Treasury of Lives.
Compiled in the fifteenth century, Mind Training: The Great Collection is the earliest anthology of a special genre of Tibetan literature known as “mind training,” or lojong in Tibetan. The principal focus of these texts is the systematic cultivation of such altruistic thoughts and emotions as compassion, love, forbearance, and perseverance. The mind-training teachings are highly revered by the Tibetan people for their pragmatism and down-to-earth advice on coping with the various challenges and hardships that unavoidably characterize everyday human existence.
The volume contains forty-four individual texts, including the most important works of the mind training cycle, such as Serlingpa’s well-known Leveling Out All Preconceptions, Atisha’s Bodhisattva’s Jewel Garland, Langri Thangpa’s Eight Verses on Training the Mind, and Chekawa’s Seven-Point Mind Training together with the earliest commentaries on these seminal texts. An accurate and lyrical translation of these texts, many of which are in metered verse, marks an important contribution to the world’s literary heritage, enriching its spiritual resources.
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Read the biographies of the following masters at the Treasury of Lives:
“I have a new best friend. I’ve known her my whole life, but we only just became friends.”
When people we care about are having a hard time, we usually treat them with kindness and understanding—yet when we are the ones having a hard time, we are often quick to be unkind. We may get angry and impatient with ourselves, even calling ourselves nasty names. My New Best Friend invites children to break free of this pattern of “inner bullying,” helping them treat themselves with kindness and understanding—laying the groundwork for emotional resilience, self-compassion, and positive self-esteem.
“This is an absolutely delightful book that perfectly delivers the message of self-compassion in a way that is fun and easy to understand for kids. Parents who buy this book for their children will be giving them a gift to last a lifetime!”
—Kristin Neff, Ph.D, author of Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
Why practice Zen?
What sets it apart from religion?
What are its different practices?
Zen Master Koun Yamada takes up and answers these questions and more, using compelling stories and a systematic approach to guide readers through creating and sustaining a lifelong practice. Warm and ecumenical in tone, he uses Zen insights to promote a deeper understanding of faith. Zen: The Authentic Gate is an easy-to-follow guide to building an effortless and natural practice regardless of background, tradition, or religion.
The practice of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection, is the pinnacle of the nine vehicles of practice taught in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. The highly influential mystic Düdjom Lingpa (1835–1904) and his disciple Sera Khandro (1892–1940), the most prolific female writer in Tibetan history, here illuminate the methods to discover our own primordial purity and abide in uncontrived awareness.
Buddhahood Without Meditation: This is Düdjom Lingpa’s most widely taught visionary text. In it wisdom beings and historical figures in the Great Perfection lineage emphasize the view of cutting through (trekchö) to the original purity of pristine awareness via the four special samayas, or pledges, of the Great Perfection: nonexistence, oneness, uniform pervasiveness, and spontaneous actualization. At each stage of his spiritual progress, Düdjom Lingpa’s doubts are dispelled and his realizations enhanced by pithy advice.
The Fine Path to Liberation: Sera Khandro establishes the necessary motivation and conduct for receiving teachings such as Buddhahood Without Meditation. This sublime Dharma is to be seen in the context of the five perfections of the sambhogakaya: the teacher, place, time, disciples, and Dharma are fully perfected and must not be reified as ordinary.
Garland for the Delight of the Fortunate: Sera Khandro fills in the gaps of Buddhahood Without Meditation, explaining the metaphors, and spelling out the implications of the root text’s highly condensed verses. This is an essential key for unlocking Düdjom Lingpa’s profound wisdom.
Sex and the Spiritual Teacher looks at the complex of forces that tempt otherwise insightful, compassionate, and well-intentioned teachers to lose their way—and that tempt some of their students to lose their way as well. It analyzes why most of our current efforts to keep spiritual teachers from transgressing usually don’t (and in fact can’t) work. Perhaps most importantly, it suggests a set of practices and structures that can build community, encourage healthy student-teacher relationships, increase trust and spiritual intimacy between teachers and their students, and help authentic spiritual teachers stay happily monogamous or celibate. Sex and the Spiritual Teacher is for anyone who is or might become part of a spiritual community: students, teachers, clergy, lay leaders, and even casual visitors. It’s a reader-friendly, no-nonsense guide to making spiritual life safer and fuller for all of us one person, relationship, and community at a time.
In Song of the Road, Tsarchen Losal Gyatso (1502-66), a tantric master of the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, weaves ecstatic poetry, song, and accounts of visionary experiences into a record of pilgrimage to central Tibet. Translated for the first time here, Tsarchen’s work, a favorite of the Fifth Dalai Lama, brims with striking descriptions of encounters with the divine as well as lyrical portraits of Tibetan landscape. The literary flights of Song of the Road are anchored by Tsarchen’s candid observations on the social and political climate of his day, including a rare example in Tibetan literature of open critique of religious power.
Like the Japanese master Basho’s famous Narrow Road to the Interior, written 150 years later, Tsarchen’s travelogue contains a mixture of luminous prose and verse, rich with allusions. Traveling on horseback with a band of companions, Tsarchen visited some of the most renowned holy sites of the Tsang region, incluing Jonang, Tropu, Ngor, Shalu, and Gyantse. In his introduction and copious notes, Cyrus Stearns unearths the layers of meaning concealed in the text, excavating the history, legends, and lore associated with people and places encountered on the pilgrimage, revealing the spiritual as well as geographical topography of Tsarchen’s journey.
“Great doubt and great faith are foundations of Zen practice. This great gift of a book provides essential checkpoints along the path.” —Grace Schireson, author of Zen Women
“Upbeat, insightful, and inspiring teachings—a rich resource for all Buddhist practitioners.” —Richard M. Jaffe, Duke University, author of Neither Monk nor Layman
“Boshan addresses the reader directly with vivid metaphors and stern (sometimes humorous) admonishments. He pulls no punches… These concise texts, not previously available in their entirety in English, offer classic wisdom for those exploring the Zen paths.” —Publishers Weekly
“A classic Chinese text with clear—and inspiring—commentaries.” —Thomas Yuho Kirchner, translator of Entangling Vines
Featured in Buddhadharma’s Book Briefs, Fall 2016.
From Acceptance to Zafu, Mindfulness A to Z offers a wealth of inspirational advice and practical instruction on how to bring mindfulness fully into your life. In each entry, Dr. Kozak combines his personal insights and expert guidance on all aspects of mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness A to Z presents a multifaceted look at living mindfully in our hectic world, whether dealing with internal conflict, such as fear of missing out, technical problems, such as how to meditate comfortably, or everyday joys such as finding your smile.
Whether you devour the whole book in one sitting, or read an entry a day, Mindfulness A to Z will be a great resource for building better practices in your daily life.
Rinchen Sadutshang was born in 1928 near the Tibet-China border to a well-off trading family, educated in a Jesuit school in the Himalayan foothills of British India, and served in the Dalai Lama’s government both before and after the 1959 Communist takeover of Lhasa. A refugee alongside tens of thousands of his countrymen, he played a crucial role in bringing the plight of the Tibetan people to the world’s attention.
In this memoir, published just months after his passing in July of 2015, the author recounts his long, fascinating career in service to the Tibetan cause. From meeting British viceroy Lord Waverly in India and General Chiang Kai-shek in China in 1946 to being part of the delegation that successfully pled Tibet’s case before the United Nations in the 1960s, he offers a first-hand perspective on a number of memorable historical events.
In this down-to-earth book, Ben Connelly sure-handedly guides us through the intricacies of Yogacara and the richness of the “Thirty Verses.” Dedicating a chapter of the book to each line of the poem, he lets us thoroughly lose ourselves in its depths. His warm and wise voice unpacks and contextualizes its wisdom, showing us how we can apply its ancient insights to our own modern lives, to create a life of engaged peace, harmony, compassion, and joy.
In fourth-century India one of the great geniuses of Buddhism, Vasubandhu, sought to reconcile the diverse ideas and forms of Buddhism practiced at the time and demonstrate how they could be effectively integrated into a single system. This was the Yogacara movement, and it continues to have great influence in modern Tibetan and Zen Buddhism. “Thirty Verses on Consciousness Only,” or “Trimshika,” is the most concise, comprehensive, and accessible work by this revered figure.
Vasubandhu’s “Thirty Verses” lay out a path of practice that integrates the most powerful of Buddhism’s psychological and mystical possibilities: Early Buddhism’s practices for shedding afflictive emotional habit and the Mahayana emphasis on shedding divisive concepts, the path of individual liberation and the path of freeing all beings, the path to nirvana and the path of enlightenment as the very ground of being right now. Although Yogacara has a reputation for being extremely complex, the “Thirty Verses” distills the principles of these traditions to their most practical forms, and this book follows that sense of focus; it goes to the heart of the matter—how do we alleviate suffering through shedding our emotional knots and our sense of alienation?
This is a great introduction to a philosophy, a master, and a work whose influence reverberates throughout modern Buddhism.
How do we think about death? How do we think about the dying? What’s the current state of palliative and end-of-life health care, and how can we improve it? And how do we give care without becoming emotionally and spiritually depleted? In Awake at the Bedside, pioneers of palliative and end-of-life care — as well as doctors, Dharma teachers, chaplains, poets, and caregivers of all kinds — offer insights on incredibly challenging questions like these.
This book isn’t about dying. It’s about life and what life has to teach us. It’s about caring and what giving care really means. Equal parts instruction manual and spiritual testimony, it includes specific instructions and personal accounts to inspire, counsel, and teach. An indispensable resource for anyone involved in hospice work or caregiving of any kind.
Contributors include Anyen Rinpoche, Coleman Barks, Craig D. Blinderman, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Joshua Bright, Ira Byock, Robert Chodo Campbell, Rafael Campo, Ajahn Chah, Ram Dass, Kirsten DeLeo, Issan Dorsey, Mark Doty, Norman Fischer, Nick Flynn, Gil Fronsdal, Joseph Goldstein, Shodo Harada Roshi, Tony Hoagland, Marie Howe, Fernando Kawai, Michael Kearney, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Stanley Kunitz, Stephen and Ondrea Levine, Judy Lief, Betsy MacGregor, Diane E. Meier, W. S. Merwin, Naomi Shihab Nye, Frank Ostaseski, Rachel Naome Remen, Larry Rosenberg, Rumi, Cicely Saunders, Senryu, Jason Shinder, Derek Walcott, Radhule B. Weininger.
“Marvelous. A compilation of essential treasures exploring the face and feeling of utter engagement, compassion, and wisdom in turning toward death and being present with and for people who are dying. Our culture might benefit greatly from this book and its institutional implications for end of life care and for caring, period.”
—Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Wherever You Go, There You Are
“Awake at the Bedside is a beacon in the dark night of our healthcare system today. It is a must read.”
—Donna Karan, fashion designer & founder of Urban Zen Foundation
“Awake at the Bedside brings together an extraordinary group of teachers who share their wisdom and insights into the great issue of our lives: how to understand the dying process in a way that allows for grace and peace as we transition into what for most of us is the great mystery. This volume will certainly be of help for accompanying others in their journeys as well as providing a deeper understanding of our own. ”
—Joseph Goldstein, author of Mindfulness
“This nourishing book, Awake at the Bedside, should be required reading for any compassionate caregiver engaged in fostering healing in themselves, clients, loved ones and society. It envisions revolutionary change in how we care for ourselves and the world.”
—Dr. Andrew Weil
“Profoundly moving, inspiring and helpful, Awake at the Bedside is a real treasure.”
—Jack Kornfield, author of A Path With Heart
“Moving and informative—this is a much needed book! Put into practice, the wisdom of Awake at the Bedside could transform end-of-life care in America. And, every reader will receive support from the collective understanding shared in these pages.”
—Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness
A comprehensive and in-depth survey of the philosophical underpinnings of the Dalai Lama’s Geluk tradition written by one of the founding figures of Tibetan Buddhist studies in the West.
In this classic work of Buddhist studies scholarship, Jeffrey Hopkins—one of the world’s foremost scholar-practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism—offers a clear exposition of the Prāsaṇgika-Madhyamaka view of emptiness as presented in the Geluk tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. In bringing this remarkable and complex philosophy to life, he describes the meditational practices by which emptiness can be realized and shows throughout that, far from being merely abstract scholasticism, these classic teachings can be vivid and utterly practical.
Treating subjects ranging from the progressive path of meditation to the nature of emptiness and how it can be directly realized, this wide-ranging book guides the reader on an itinerary of intellectual and spiritual discovery, unpacking the distinctive Geluk synthesis of scholastic and meditative practices. The first study in any Western language to provide a comprehensive treatment of the doctrines and practices of a Tibetan Buddhist school, this book is indispensable for those wishing to delve deeply into Buddhist thought and its practical relevance.
Fed up with teenage life in the suburbs, Jaimal Yogis ran off to Hawaii with little more than a copy of Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha and enough cash for a surfboard. His journey is a coming-of-age saga that takes him from communes to monasteries, from the warm Pacific to the icy New York shore. Equal parts spiritual memoir and surfer’s tale, this is a chronicle of finding meditative focus in the barrel of a wave and eternal truth in the great salty blue.
The Dalai Lama opens The Middle Way with an elegant argument for the power of compassion in cultivating a happy life. From there, he connects core ideas of Buddhist philosophy to the truths of our shared condition. His Holiness delivers a sparklingly clear teaching on how the Buddhist ideas of emptiness and interdependency relate to personal experience and bring a deeper understanding of the world around us.
In down-to-earth style, His Holiness sets forth a comprehensive explanation of the Mahayana tradition based on two of Buddhism’s most revered figures and their renowned works: Nagarjuna’s Middle Way and Tsongkhapa’s Three Principal Aspects of the Path. Both works are rooted in the ancient Indian scholastic tradition of Nalanda Monastery, which approached Buddhism not just through faith and devotion, but through critical inquiry.
Through these beautifully complementary teachings, His Holiness urges us to strive “with an objective mind, endowed with a curious skepticism, to engage in careful analysis and seek the reasons behind our beliefs,” for only faith grounded in reason is truly unshakable.
Hardcover edition
Read Tsongkhapa’s biography at the Treasury of Lives.