Buddhist Enlightenment

A follow up to Pico Iyer’s essay “The Joy of Quiet,” The Art of Stillness considers the unexpected adventure of staying put and reveals a counterintuitive truth: The more ways we have to connect, the more we seem desperate to unplug. Why might a lifelong traveler like Pico Iyer, who has...

Gallileo, Copernicus, Newton, Niels Bohr, Einstein. Their insights shook our perception of who we are and where we stand in the world and in their wake have left an uneasy co-existence: science vs. religion, faith vs. empirical enquiry. Which is the keeper of truth? Which is the true path to...

In this book, J.D. Gilbert challenges the preconceptions around this ancient religion by showing how Buddhism has been and remains a dynamic and evolving framework for universal truths and personal transformation.

The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the most important teachings in Buddhism. In this series of eight lectures, given originally in 1965, Urgyen Sangharakshita introduces each stage, from right understanding to right meditation, explaining the deeper implications involved. Sangharakshita, the London-born Buddhist teacher, is one of the most influential figures in the development of Buddhism in the West.

Based on extensive cultural studies and long years of practice, Livia Kohn creates a new typology of meditation, based on six distinct ways of accessing the subconscious. In a special chapter on each type, she outlines the physiology, world view, and traditional practice as well as its modern medical adaptations and organizational settings. Providing a thorough theoretical framework combined with a comprehensive, analytical overview, the book greatly advances our understanding of meditation.

In Awakening the Luminous Mind, meditation teacher Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche guides you to find refuge within instead of searching for support outside of yourself. Using the heart instructions of Dawa Gyaltsen, an 8th-century Tibetan meditation master, as a vehicle to guide contemplative practice...

Buddhism is one of the most practical and simple belief systems on this planet and it has greatly helped me on my way to become a better person in every aspect possible. No matter if you are totally green when it comes to Buddha's teachings or if you have already heard something about them - this audiobook will help you systematize your knowledge and will inspire you to learn more and to take steps to make your life positively better!

This lucid overview of the Buddhist path takes the perspective of the three "vehicles" of Tibetan Buddhism: the Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. While these vehicles are usually presented as a historical development, they are here equated with the attitudes that individuals bring to their Buddhist practice. Basic to them all, however, is the need to understand our own immediate condition. The primary tool for achieving this is meditation, and The Essence of Buddhism serves as a handbook for the various meditative approaches of Buddhist practice.

One of the earliest of all Buddhist texts, the Atthakavagga, or Book of Eights, is a remarkable document, not only because it comes from the earliest strain of the literature - before the Buddha, as the title suggests, came to be thought of as a "Buddhist" - but also because its approach to awakening is so simple and free of adherence to any kind of ideology. Instead the Atthakavagga points to a direct and simple approach for attaining peace without requiring the adherence to doctrine.

One of the most beloved stories of the Tibetan people and a great literary example of the contemplative life The Life of Milarepa, a biography and a dramatic tale from a culture now in crisis, can be read on several levels. A personal and moving introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, it is also a...

Twenty-four of the Buddha's most distinguished disciples are brought to life in ten chapters of rich narration. They include monks who were very close to him throughout his life, including Sariputta and Mahamoggallana; his cousin and companion Ananda; his principal women disciples, including the nun Isidasi and his lay disciple, the courtesan Ambapali; and the serial killer Angulimala, whose character was transformed after meeting the Buddha.

An ancient and deeply revered practice, Buddhism is even more popular now than it has been in decades. The secret behind its steady rise is due in part to the plethora of benefits Buddhism reaps upon those who practice it and apply its teachings to their lives. Through mindfulness and meditation, Buddhism injects peace and clarity into the minds and lives of those who dedicate themselves to it. Those wonderful benefits can be a part of your life as well through the careful study of its various tenets.

The Enlightenment That Failed explores the growing rift between those Enlightenment trends and initiatives that appealed exclusively to elites and those aspiring to enlighten all of society by raising mankind's awareness, freedoms, and educational level generally. Jonathan I. Israel explains why the democratic and radical secularizing tendency of the Western Enlightenment, after gaining some notable successes during the revolutionary era (1775-1820) in numerous countries, especially in Europe, North America, and Spanish America, ultimately failed.

This book will help you appreciate the timeless wisdom of the oldest form of Buddhism in existence, understand what it means to be a Buddhist, recognize the key practices and traditions of Theravada Buddhism, and avoid faux pas in conversation - both in traveling and personal relationships. Access the world's religions through this entry in this series of simple guides that provide concise, accessible introductions to the world's major religions.

Growing up in the modern world, our children have to cope with ever-increasing amounts of stress, which can hinder their development. The ancient wisdom of Buddhism, with its emphasis on peace, love and compassion, is the ideal basis for helping any child to face these challenges with inner confidence and calm.

A collection of Zen stories to amuse and illuminate. Includes all the stories from classic Zen literature: 101 Zen Stories, The Gateless Gate, The Ten Bulls and Centering. Includes the soundtrack The Mysterious Sound of Wind In the Bamboo - a 43 minute collection of Zen inspired Japanese music by The Matsu Take Ensemble.

This guide shares Tibetan Buddhist insight and tools that will benefit everyone in transforming their mind. Khenpo Sodargye, who has attracted hundreds of thousands of students worldwide with his concise, easy-to-follow teaching style, sketches the big picture of the Mahayana path in straightforward language with stories relevant to everyday life. He draws on authentic texts and teachings by renowned Buddhist masters to explain complex concepts and introduces a systematic approach to studying Buddhism.

A little guide to cultivating tsewa: the loving warmth of heart from which the awakened mind arises--from the popular Buddhist teacher and author of The Intelligent Heart. This is a call to a revolution of heart. In Tibetan Buddhism, it is taught that one of the most essential qualities of...

In this extensive lesson, Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, beautifully elucidates the meaning of the path to enlightenment. His discourse arises from the Third Dalai Lama's brilliant and powerful work, Essence of Refined Gold, a classic text that summarizes the meaning of all Buddha's...

The author of Breakfast with Buddha brings his characteristic whimsy to a new novel about New York book editor Otto Ringling and Mongolian monk Volya Rinpoche, who embark on a road trip from Rinpoche's meditation center in North Dakota to the glitter and glitz of the Las Vegas strip.