This engaging and accessible little book is filled with both humor and profound teaching. It presents 108 metaphors for mindfulness, meditation practice, the nature of the self, change, deep acceptance, and other related concepts that Dr. Kozak has cultivated over twenty-five years of meditating, practicing yoga, and working as a clinical psychologist.
Metaphors are indispensable to understanding mindfulness, and to help deeply internalize it and make it a part of everyday life. These mentally catchy images can motivate us to practice, show us how and where to bring mindfulness to life in our personal experience, and help us employ powerful methods for transformation.
Presented in simple yet strikingly memorable language, the messages in Saying Yes to Life (Even the Hard Parts) provide inspiration for each day, and invitations to go more deeply into the spiritual life. These gems of wisdom range from page-long reflections to simple aphorisms. The themes presented emphasize the importance of making peace with life’s paradoxes, opening to the unwanted, finding the happiness in difficulty, and living always with what’s here. Page after page reveals truths that can be put into action in the moment, yet also unfold ever more deeply with thorough examination. Insightful and never convoluted, Saying Yes to Life (Even the Hard Parts) is a great companion for life’s long journey.
“I’ve studied politics my entire life. It’s been because of my time working on this book that I’ve finally learned what’s really important in politics.” So says Melvin McLeod, editor of Mindful Politics, a book that transcends Right and Left, progressive and conservative, to get to the heart of what matters: how we can all make a positive difference in our complex political world.
This is not your typical political book. It’s not written at a fever pitch, it doesn’t use a good/bad binary, and it doesn’t tout partisan policies. Instead, this timely collection addresses the less-discussed but more important questions about politics: What insight does religion have to offer politics? How can we as concerned citizens move beyond the particulars of legislation and party affiliation, and take direct action? How, amid divisive and challenging times, can personal growth and effective advocacy take place together?
In short, Mindful Politics offers the perspectives of 34 important authors and thinkers on how each of us, right now, can make the world a better place.
McLeod includes essays and insights from some of the brightest, and most controversial, lights of Buddhism—and beyond.
Included are:
- Thich Nhat Hanh
- Sam Harris (author of The End of Faith)
- The Dalai Lama
- Jerry Brown
- Pema Chödrön
- Trungpa Rinpoche
- bell hooks
- Ezra Bayda
- Meg Wheatley
- …and many more
NOTE: The ebook bundle for The Gateless Gate does not contain a PDF file.
In The Gateless Gate, one of modern Zen Buddhism’s uniquely influential masters offers classic commentaries on the Mumonkan, one of Zen’s greatest collections of teaching stories. This translation was compiled with the Western reader in mind, and includes Koan Yamada’s clear and penetrating comments on each case. Yamada played a seminal role in bringing Zen Buddhism to the West from Japan, going on to be the head of the Sanbo Kyodan Zen Community.
The Gateless Gate would be invaluable if only for the translation and commentary alone, yet it’s loaded with extra material and is a fantastic resource to keep close by:
- An in-depth Introduction to the History of Zen Practice
- Lineage charts
- Japanese-to-Chinese and Chinese-to-Japanese conversion charts for personal names, place names, and names of writings
- Plus front- and back-matter from ancient and modern figures: Mumon, Shuan, Kubota Ji’un, Taizan Maezumi, Hugo Enomiya-Lasalle, and Yamada Roshi’s son, Masamichi Yamada.
A wonderful inspiration for the koan practitioner, and for those with a general interest in Zen Buddhism.
From two great masters comes a detailed description of meditative practices for developing a mind that is alert, powerful, and capable of gaining great insight. Discussing step-by-step the practice of meditation itself, they provide us with practical antidotes to the various obstacles that may arise in meditation. At the same time, they intersperse their presentations with captivating descriptions of the sometimes fantastic and astonishing cosmology that provides the background and context for Buddhist practice.
In this sixth and final volume in the Foundation of Buddhist Thought series, Geshe Tashi Tsering brings his familiar, helpful approach to the esoteric practices of Buddhist tantra. Anticipating the many questions Westerners have upon first encountering tantra’s colorful imagery and veiled language, Tantra uses straight talk to explain deities, initiations, mandalas, and the body’s subtle physiology of channels and chakras.
Tantric Buddhism provides a quick avenue to buddhahood by means of dissolving the body’s wind energies into the central channel at the heart, mimicking the transformations of consciousness that occur at the time of death. Guiding readers systematically from tantra’s generation stage through to the full enlightenment of the completion stage, Geshe Tashi Tsering even unpacks a simple compassion practice composed by the Dalai Lama, using it to illustrate the building blocks common to all such visualization techniques.
Tantra is a fitting conclusion to this accessible and practical series.
“After my death I will come back and haunt over you, checking on your practice.” Dainin Katagiri Roshi, one of the greatest pioneers of Zen in America, said this frequently, teasing Dosho Port and his fellow students. For Dosho, Katagiri Roshi’s “haunting” still includes, to borrow a phrase from Warren Zevon, “keeping him in my heart a while”—continuing the intimate exploration of the indelible imprint that a Zen teacher leaves on a student’s heart.
Katagiri’s teaching was at once powerful, gentle, and sometimes almost even casual. For Dosho, some of the richest teachings came in these simple, casual moments during everyday interactions. The structure of this book is built around a series of such vivid truth-happening places, evocative of the ancient koans of the Zen tradition, touching on such topics as the nature and purpose of Zen, the dynamic and working of realization, and, of course, the functioning of the teacher-student relationship.
Dzogchen, or the “Great Perfection,” is considered by many to be the apex of Tibetan Buddhism, and Longchen Rabjam is the most celebrated of all the saints of this remarkable tradition. Natural Perfection presents the radical precepts of Dzogchen, pointing the way to absolute liberation from conceptual fetters and leading the practitioner to a state of pure, natural integration into one’s true being.
Transcending the Tibetan context or even the confines of Buddhist tradition, Longchen Rabjam delivers a manual full of practical wisdom. Natural Perfection is a shining example of why people have continued to turn to the traditions of Tibet for spiritual and personal transformation and realization. Keith Dowman’s illuminating translation of this remarkable work of wisdom provides clear accessibility to the profound path of Dzogchen in the here-and-now.
There’s a war on—and Lin Jensen isn’t gonna take it standing up. In 36 riveting scenes, Pavement shows how the Buddhist perspective can help us all, even in the toughest times.
Every day, Lin Jensen has gone down to the center of his small town of Chico, California, plopped down a meditation cushion, and sat “peace vigils” in protest of the US invasion of Iraq—his honest effort to change the world.
From his knee-level spot on the pavement, he has encountered a wonderful array of what Lin calls “uprights”: a heart-breakingly generous homeless man who offers Lin his only possession; hostile passers-by who shout “F@#k you, Peace Wimp!”; “White Wolf,” who punctuates every comment (always shouted!) with a sharp poke to Lin’s chest; compassionate soldiers; and more—all amid rain and bright sun, exhaust fumes, and the scent of azaleas.
Jensen, the author who so moved readers with his acclaimed memoir Bad Dog!, here shares what sidewalk-dwelling has taught him about humility, generosity, and what it really means to love our neighbors. It’s inspiring, good-humored reading—especially for anyone who might work or wish for change but doesn’t want to be just spitting into the wind.
This immensely useful book explores Zen’s rich tradition of chanted liturgy and the powerful ways that such chants support meditation, expressing and helping us truly uphold our heartfelt vows to live a life of freedom and compassion. Exploring eight of Zen’s most essential and universal liturgical texts, Living by Vow is a handbook to walking the Zen path, and Shohaku Okumura guides us like an old friend, speaking clearly and directly of the personal meaning and implications of these chants, generously using his experiences to illustrate their practical significance. A scholar of Buddhist literature, he masterfully uncovers the subtle, intricate web of culture and history that permeate these great texts. Esoteric or challenging terms take on vivid, personal meaning, and old familiar phrases gain new poetic resonance.
Essential reading for those seeking life-changing psychological tools and transcendent wisdom, Enlightenment to Go provides a lively and accessible introduction to the ‘best of’ Shantideva. With warmth, humor, and stories of his own experiences, author David Michie shows how modern psychological science confirms Shantideva’s insights, and he explores powerful antidotes to contemporary problems, including stress, anxiety, and depression. Whether you are a newcomer to Buddhism or a seasoned practitioner, Enlightenment to Go offers a glimpse of a radiantly different reality right here in your busy life.
In life and in death, in meditation and in sleep, every transitional stage of consciousness, or bardo, provides an opportunity to overcome limitations, frustrations, and fears. The profound teachings in this book provide the understanding and instruction necessary to turn every phase of life into an opportunity for uncontrived, natural liberation.
Like the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Natural Liberation is a terma, a “hidden treasure” attributed to the eighth-century master Padmasambhava. Gyatrul Rinpoche’s lucid commentary accompanies the text, illuminating the path of awakening to the point of full enlightenment. Natural Liberation is an essential contribution to the library of both scholars and practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism.
Shodo Harada is internationally recognized both as a Zen teacher and as a world-class master of the fine art of Zen calligraphy. Harada regularly exhibits and gives calligraphy demonstrations in museums and universities in the U.S. and abroad. Accomplished Zen teachers from across the globe come to further plumb the depths of Zen through studying with him, earning him a reputation as “the roshi’s roshi”—which is to say, the master’s master.
Moon by the Window is a beautiful collection of 108 pieces of Shodo Harada’s calligraphic Zen masterpieces—assembled over decades, and drawn from the rich and poetic literature of the Zen tradition. Each work of art is accompanied by Harada Roshi’s sharp and glittering commentaries, making each page a spiritually edifying and aesthetically uplifting treasure.
His Holiness the Sakya Trizin, the head of the glorious Sakya lineage, one of the four primary schools of Tibetan Buddhism, presents here the essential Buddhist teachings of the four noble truths, universal compassion, and the proper motivation for practice. This book opens by sharing a private teaching His Holiness gave to a young newcomer seeking to understand this great master’s spiritual heritage. His Holiness’s advice inspires us to integrate the living power of these teachings into our daily lives.
Full of timeless wisdom, Freeing the Heart and Mind contains, in addition to this introduction, an explanation of the teaching Matchless Compassion by the Indian saint Virupa, and a selection of commentaries on the essential teaching called Parting from the Four Attachments. Developed as the first volume in a course of study for students of the Sakya tradition, it nonetheless stands alone as an excellent entry into the teachings of the Buddha.
Freeing the Heart and Mind includes a full-color photo insert of Sakya lineage masters.
Inspired by years of scholarly training and decades of solitary retreat, Tibetan monk Gen Lamrimpa offers a concise overview of all phases of the Kalachakra practice: the preliminaries, the initiation, and finally, the stages of generation and completion. With remarkable clarity, he makes the Six-Session Guruyoga practice accessible to all practitioners, and deepens our understanding and appreciation of this sublime teaching of the Buddha.
Gen Lamrimpa begins this eminently practical explanation by emphasizing the importance of a compassionate motivation for spiritual practice. He then explores the nature of suffering and the cycle of existence that traps all living beings, and concludes with a detailed account of the Six-Phase Yoga, which is meant to be recited and contemplated three times during the day and three times at night. Alan Wallace’s introduction illuminates both Kalachakra’s rich history and Gen Lamrimpa’s unique contribution to our understanding.
This book provides a clear explanation of Kalachakra as set forth within the context of the Six-Session Guruyoga, a daily meditation practice for initiates. Transcending Time presents all phases of Kalachakra practice—the preliminaries, the initiation, and finally, the stages of generation and completion.
This lucid translation of a rare Tibetan text makes available for the first time to Western readers the remarkable life story of Princess Madarava. As the principal consort of the eighth century Indian master Padmasambhava before he introduced tantric Buddhism to Tibet, Mandarava is the Indian counterpart of the Tibetan consort Yeshe Tsogyal. Lives and Liberation recounts her struggles and triumphs as a Buddhist adept throughout her many lives and is an authentic deliverance story of a female Buddhist master. Those who read this book will gain inspiration and encouragement on the path to liberation.
Learn more about Princess Mandarava at the Treasury of Lives.
A popular guide to the art of living, the Sakya Legshe—or “Treasury of Good Advice”—has been fundamental to the development of Tibetan culture and character. As in Aesop’s Fables, Sakya Pandita uses proverbs and stories to address the basic question: “How are we to live peaceably with ourselves and with others?”
This is the only available English translation of the Sakya Legshe—a book that reveals the heart of the Buddhist way of life.
Read Sakya Pandita’s biography at the Treasury of Lives.
The compassion, humor, and practical intelligence of one of Korea’s foremost Zen masters shines throughout this new collection of Dharma talks. On each page, Master Daehaeng reveals how everything in daily life, even the ugly and difficult parts, can become the fuel for our spiritual growth. Her illuminating insight will guide the reader toward an understanding of her ultimate teaching—know yourself, trust yourself, and go forward, no matter what your current life situation might be.
At turns laughing and scolding, always engaging, Zen Master Daehaeng exhorts, cajoles, and instructs readers in their practice. These Dharma talks—gathered over several years—are like having Master Daehang at your side, urging you on.
The question-and-answer sessions with students are particularly enlightening; readers will find that the students’ questions mirror their own and that Master Daehaeng’s responses guide them on.
Like its successful predecessor, Daily Wisdom, More Daily 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 of Daily Wisdom.
Entries included are from some of Buddhism’s best-known figures: the Dalai Lama, Sylvia Boorstein, Bhante Gunaratana (Mindfulness in Plain English), Lama Zopa Rinpoche (Transforming Problems into Happiness), Lama Yeshe (Introduction to Tantra), Ayya Khema (Being Nobody, Going Nowhere) and of course, the Buddha himself.
Here, in a teaching of outstanding completeness and clarity, the Dalai Lama sets out the key principles of Buddhism, showing how the mind can be transformed, and suffering overcome, through love, compassion, and a true understanding of the nature of reality. By illustrating his brilliant overview of the path with his own personal experiences and advice on how to integrate the practice, the Dalai Lama brings these teachings to life.
The Dalai Lama delves deep into the teaching of the Great Perfection, or Dzogchen. His enthusiasm and admiration for this profound tradition shine through as he comments on an important work by the great Dzogchen master Longchen Rabjam, Finding Comfort and Ease in Meditation on the Great Perfection.
Blending the highest wisdom with the deepest compassion and humanity, Mind in Comfort and Ease offers a glimpse into the Dalai Lama’s wisdom mind and a panoramic view of the Buddhist path.