Fifth grade isn’t exactly easy for eleven-year-old Taneesha Bey-Ross. For one thing, she’s getting tired of being her best friend Carli Flanagan’s personal bodyguard. Carli wears a leg brace and she’s white, and when Taneesha does stand up for Carli in the face of a local bully—a giant of a girl with big fists and army boots—she’s told to expect revenge. Taneesha’s also running a loser’s race for class president, and her love-hate interest Rayshaun has learned that Taneesha is a Buddhist, so now he’s taunting her, saying that she’s going to hell. Her mom may have told her that Taneesha’s got heaven in her heart, but it doesn’t feel that way. And just in case she forgets it, there’s always Evella, Taneesha’s evil imaginary twin, to remind her that she’s a total failure.

This beautifully written, fun, and instantly engaging novel presents vivid characters and a timely story about the big issues that every child faces.

Enter the essence of Chinese Zen from the perspective of a young, dynamic, Western-educated teacher. Master Guojun offers an intimate, lyrical portrayal of life lived in the rich tradition of Chan, from his apprenticeship with a master Zen calligrapher to the lessons learned from building and running a major practice center. Through sparkling prose, Guojun lays out the essence of Chan and captures moving encounters with some of its greatest contemporary teachers, showing readers how to fold its insights into their own lives. Featuring the lyrical simplicity of Thich Nhat Hanh and the engaging storytelling of Ajahn Brahm, this book is further enhanced by the author’s own elegant calligraphy.

“The ideas, concepts, and methods of various religions must be tried on for size, must be lifted above museum displays, must be confronted and allowed to resonate with one’s own character. It is in this spirit that… I present here a personalized account of central Buddhist practices.”—from the author’s preface

Widely recognized as one of the West’s leading scholars of Tibetan Buddhism, Professor Jeffrey Hopkins is renowned for his textual translations and original scholarship. For ten years he served as the principal English translator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The Tantric Distinction is his effort to make accessible the complexities of this highly sophisticated philosophy by sharing his personal, individual experience with Buddhist thought and practice. It lays out the entire Buddhist path as a living experience.

If you could sit down with the Dalai Lama and talk with him about anything, what would you discuss? Fabien Ouaki, a prominent French businessman, was granted such an opportunity and asked the Dalai Lama for his thoughts on the everyday issues that fill our newspapers and our lives. This is the record of these varied and remarkable conversations.

Covered are a wide spectrum of topics—political, social, personal and spiritual—including the media and education, marriage and sex, and disarmament and compassion. Blessed by His Holiness’ buoyant and insightful thoughts, Imagine All the People allows readers to glimpse the spontaneous workings of an extraordinary mind at once of—and above—this world.

Includes the full text of The Global Community and the Need for Universal Responsibility.

Jones presents an astute, well-informed, and balanced analysis of the philosophy, history, and future of socially relevant Buddhism. At a time when clear social action is needed more than ever, The New Social Face of Buddhism is vital reading for activists, scholars and everyone seeking to transform their spiritual practice into a force for social, political, and global change. A groundbreaking work, Jones’s book is a wellspring of inspiration that should not be missed.

Many books have been published in recent years on the topic of mahamudra, or meditation on the fundamentally clear nature of the mind. This book is different in the systematic way it draws from a variety of source texts in order to construct a complete, graded path of practice informed by an understanding of the particular obstacles faced by meditators in the West. Dan Brown is a clinical psychotherapist who has also spent much time evaluating the experiences of meditators on longterm retreats. He knows the Tibetan literature on mahamudra meditation and has over thirty years of both personal meditation experience and observation of the experiences of others. He co-wrote, with Ken Wilber and Jack Engler, the book Transformations in Consciousness, and he teaches an annual seminar on mahamudra meditation at the Esalen Institute.

Pointing Out the Great Way is a spiritual manual that describes the Tibetan Buddhist meditation known as mahamudra from the perspective of the ‘gradual path.’ The gradual path is a progressive process of training that is often contrasted to sudden realization. As such, this book contains a step-by-step description of the ways to practice, precise descriptions of the various stages and their intended realizations, and the typical problems that arise along with their remedies. Simply put, mahamudra meditation involves penetrative focus, free of conceptual elaboration, upon the very nature of conscious awareness.

A unique feature of this book is its integrative approach to the stages of mahamudra meditation. A number of works on Buddhist meditation stages in general and mahamudra meditation in particular are already available in English, yet none, single text or commentary on the stages of mahamudra meditation, captures the inner experience of these stages in sufficient detail to convey its richness. This book represents the needed alternative by integrating material from a variety of root texts, practical manuals, and commentaries. Another unique feature of this book is its relational approach. It is intended as a return to the original teacher/student style of teaching meditation, which may be better suited to Western culture than the monastic or retreat style of practice. The book distills and codifies the experiences of many great masters who have traversed the path of meditation to the point of perfect mastery.

For more than two thousand years, the Heart Sutra has been part of the daily life of millions of Buddhists. This concise text, so rich and laden with meaning, concentrates the very heart of Buddhism into a powerful and evocative teaching on the interdependence of all reality.

In Essence of the Heart Sutra, the Dalai Lama masterfully unpacks the Heart Sutra so that any reader can benefit from its teachings—teachings meant to help us release ourselves from suffering and live with true compassion. Comprised of his “Heart of Wisdom” talks, originally delivered to thousands of listeners in 2001, the book offers the Dalai Lama’s commentary as well as his easy-to-follow overview of Buddhist philosophy that places the sutra within its historical and philosophical context. With additional contributions by scholar and translator Thupten Jinpa, Essence of the Heart Sutra is the authoritative presentation of a text seminal to the world’s religious heritage.

The release of Ruben Habito’s new book, Living Zen, Loving God has coincided with a rave review from Publishers Weekly magazine:

“Habito may not seem himself as a revolutionary, but his humble life calling—to illuminate the commonalities between Zen Buddhism and Christianity—seems a profound gift. Habito excels in illuminating the connective spiritual tissue between the two religions, while explaining the principles of Buddhism. This is an excellent book for readers who want to deepen their understanding of Christianity, as well as Buddhism.”—Publishers Weekly

Exactly right. This wonderful book, in its friendly, informative tone, carefully explains Buddhist ideas—from key concepts like Emptiness and The Truth of Suffering to an in-depth and enlightening examination of the Heart Sutra—all in terms that will help modern Christian practitioners to deepen their faith, and Buddhists, to revitalize and broaden their perception and understanding.

This is a book with immense value to anyone interested in interreligious dialogue and studies, and as such, has already won accolades from Habito’s contemporaries. (See below.)

Habito, a practicing Catholic and former Jesuit priest—as well as an acknowledged Zen master and professor in the School of Theology at Southern Methodist University—makes a clear case that Zen practice can deepen a Christian’s connection to God, further clarify the Gospel teachings of Jesus, and enable one to live a more joyous, compassionate, and socially engaged life. Habito demonstrates that the practice of Zen meditation and even some elements of the Buddhist worldview can enable one to love God more constantly and commit to the service of the Realm of Heaven and the human community more wholeheartedly.

Ruben L.F. Habito is the author of numerous publications, in both Japanese and English, on Zen and Christianity and is a prominent figure in the Buddhist-Christian Dialogue. A native of the philipines, Habito served as a Jesuit priest in Japan under the guidance of the great spiritual pioneer Father Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle and studied Zen with renowned teacher Koun Yamada. He lives in Dallas, Texas.

Playful, thoughtful, and important, the 28 poets found in The Wisdom Anthology of North American Buddhist Poetry offer innovations on traditional and time-honored Buddhist poetic forms.

This unique collection brings us African Americans reading the Black diaspora through the eyes of exiled Tibetan monks; Americans of Vietnamese and Tibetan heritage wrestling with the cultural norms of their parents or ancestors; Zen and Dada inspired performance pieces; and groundbreaking writings from the pioneers of the Beat movement, so many of whom remain not just relevant but vital to this day.

With its eclectic mix of acknowledged elders and newly emergent voices, this landmark anthology vividly displays how Buddhism is influencing the character of contemporary poetry.

Includes biographical notes and historical introduction by the editor, enhancing its value for workshop and classroom use.

Includes works by:

• Diane di Prima
• Lawrence Ferlinghetti
• Norman Fischer
• Sam Hamill
• Jane Hirshfield
• Mike O’Connor
• Gary Snyder
• Eliot Weinberger
• Philip Whalen
• Michael McClure
• Leslie Scalapino
• and more…

Author Deborah Schoeberlein pioneers the practical application of mindfulness in education. By showing teachers how to tune into what’s happening, inside and around them, she offers fresh, straightforward approaches to training attention and generating caring both in and outside of the classroom. Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness emphasizes how the teacher’s personal familiarity with mindfulness plants the seed for an education infused with attention, awareness, kindness, empathy, compassion, and gratitude. The book follows a teacher from morning to night on a typical school day, at home, during the commute, and before, during, and after class. This book is perfect for teachers of all kinds: schoolteachers, religious educators, coaches, parents-anyone who teaches anything.

From a major mind of Buddhism today comes this unique philosophical work, which hearkens back to the classical verse-form, but in a modern voice that speaks directly to the twenty-first century reader and practitioner.

Gesture of Awareness involves a fascinating philosophical exploration of time, space, and movement but at the same time is a manual for an embodied “practice of exploration.”

Genoud is very well known to the leading lights of Buddhism today. He and his work are continuingly praised for their invention and importance. Well-versed in French and continental philosophies, as well as Eastern thought, he has produced a work that will be welcomed as a Buddhist book and a noteworthy contribution to the larger philosophical community.

A meditator’s meditator, Rigdzin Shikpo (né Michael Hookham) began the practice in the mid 1950s and eventually became a prominent student of several renowned Tibetan Buddhist teachers, including Chögyam Trungpa and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Over the years he has developed his own utterly unique style made of straight talk and sparkling, inspiring insights.

The title of this, his long-awaited new book, comes from the teachings Rigdzin Shikpo received from Trungpa Rinpoche, who said that we should always turn toward those things that scare us, open to them completely, and never turn away from them. This path of openness, clarity, and sensitivity is a hallmark of the Dzogchen tradition of Buddhist practice. Rigdzin Shikpo has lived its truth so deeply that his words shine with authenticity and freshness.

Using vignettes and anecdotes from his own life—as well as quotations drawn from sources as varied as the Bible, Yiddish aphorisms, and stand-up comedy—Zen teacher and Unitarian Universalist minister James Ishmael Ford shares the gifts won over his lifetime of full-hearted engagement with the Zen path. “I’ve found myself broken open,” Ford says, “and found in that opening my fundamental connection to the whole world.”

What’s more, If You’re Lucky, Your Heart Will Break breathes new life into the Buddhist ideas of karma and rebirth—as well as the Buddhist precepts of ethical action—and finds for them kinship in other spiritual endeavors. Even the most cynical of hearts will find resonance in Ford’s compassionate presentation of basic human truths.

The Diamond Sutra is revered throughout Asia as one of the Buddha’s most profound expressions of the nature of reality. A gem among the vast Perfection of Wisdom literature, the Diamond Sutra elicits an experience of eternal truth through its use of a seemingly paradoxical style, as the reader goes back and forth between “what is” and “what is not.” Master Hsing Yun skillfully plumbs the depths of the Diamond Sutra, illuminating for us its power to change who we are and how we interpret our world.

This wonderful picture book for children and adults alike introduces the powerful practice of mindfulness in a fun and exciting way. With the delightful Monkey and his serene friend Happy Panda guiding readers to a calmer and more attentive mind, this whimsical yet warm presentation will delight all readers.

As our story begins, Monkey is not so mindful—his Monkey Mind constantly jumping from one thing to another—but he encounters a mysterious and playful friend in Happy Panda. Panda helps Monkey recognize the simple joy of doing what you’re doing while you’re doing it.

2016: Chosen as one of Omega Institute’s 6 Mindfulness Books for Kids.

Geshe Sopa offers insightful commentary on two of the earliest Tibetan texts that focus on mental training. Peacock in the Poison Grove presents powerful yogic methods of dispelling the selfish delusions of the ego and maintaining purity in our motives. Geshe Sopa’s lucid explanations teach how we can fight the egocentric enemy within by realizing the truth of emptiness and by developing a compassionate, loving attitude toward others.

Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), the author of The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment and the teacher of the First Dalai Lama, is renowned as one of the greatest scholar-saints that Tibet has ever produced. He composed his poetic Praise for Dependent Relativity the very morning that he abandoned confusion and attained the final view, the clear realization of emptiness that is the essence of wisdom. English monk Graham Woodhouse, a longtime student of Buddhism, was living near the Dalai Lama’s residence in northern India when he translated Tsongkhapa’s celebrated text, and he conveys for modern readers the explanation of it he received from his teacher, the late Venerable Lobsang Gyatso.

Read Tsongkhapa’s biography at the Treasury of Lives.

The Essence of Jung’s Psychology and Tibetan Buddhism cuts to the heart of two very different yet remarkably similar traditions. The author touches on many of their major ideas: the collective unconscious and karma, archetypes and deities, the analyst and the spiritual friend, and mandalas. Within Tibetan Buddhism she focuses on tantra and relates its emphasis on spiritual transformation, also a major concern of Jung. This expanded edition includes new material on the integration of the two traditions, and the importance of these paths of the heart in today’s unsteady world.

Exploring crucial points on the path to enlightenment, “Stages of the Path” literature continues to hold its place as one of the great treasures of Buddhist thought. In this volume, Geshe Rabten presents a structured explanation of the popular and practical text, The Essential Nectar of Holy Doctrine, by the eighteenth-century scholar Yeshe Tsöndrü. Geshe Rabten’s teachings reveal how we may see life’s great value and, by taking up the profound practice described herein, make the most of its abundant opportunity.

In a voice both sweet and potent, The Essential Nectar reveals the essence of the path to enlightenment.

A Hundred Thousand White Stones is one young Tibetan woman’s fearlessly told story of longing and change. Kunsang Dolma writes with unvarnished candor of the hardships she experienced as a girl in Tibet, violations as a refugee nun in India, and struggles as an immigrant and new mother in America. Yet even in tribulation, she finds levity and never descends to self-pity. We watch in wonder as her unlikely choices and remarkable persistence bring her into ever-widening circles, finding love and a family in the process, and finally bringing her back to her childhood home. A Hundred Thousand White Stones offers an honest assessment of what is gained in pursuing life in the developed world and what is lost.