Contemplating Reality

Contemplating Reality
Author: Andy Karr
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2007-04-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1590304292

A clear, in-depth exploration of traditional Buddhist philosophy that unpacks difficult concepts through guided exercises that encourage experiential understanding This book is for intermediate and advanced Buddhist practitioners who wish to deepen their understanding by joining practice with study of traditional ideas. It introduces the reader to contemplations that investigate a series of views of reality as they evolved in the Buddhist tradition. These views are explained in plain English, with contemporary metaphors and examples to bring out their meaning for modern Buddhists. Quotations from both historical and living meditation masters and scholars are presented as examples of key principles. Topics include • Egolessness • Appearances and reality • Methods of investigation • Enlightenment • Tenets of different schools through the centuries • The root of compassion • The origin of thoughts Guided exercises encourage the reader to trust in experiential understanding through deep contemplation of complex concepts. The book is structured as a guide for the reader’s journey. For more information about this book, please visit www.contemplatingreality.org.

Into the Mirror

Into the Mirror
Author: Andy Karr
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2023-05-23
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1645471640

Into the Mirror examines the materialism of the modern world through the profound teachings of Mahayana Buddhism and offers an accessible and powerful method for investigating the way our minds construct our worlds. Into the Mirror combines contemporary Western inquiries into the nature of consciousness, with classical Buddhist investigations into the nature of mind, to offer deep insights into the nature of reality. Andy Karr invites the reader to make this a personal, experiential journey through study, contemplation, and meditation. The first part of the book presents the Mahayana Buddhist approach to the path of freedom from suffering. It explores foundational teachings, such as the four truths, the notion of enlightenment, and the practice of meditation, from a fresh perspective. The second part deconstructs assumptions about mind and the material world using easily understood tools from contemporary Western philosophy. Part three presents a series of contemplative practices, ethics, and insights, starting with the Middle Way teachings on emptiness and interdependence, through Yogachara’s subtle understanding of non-duality, to the view that buddha nature is already within us to be revealed rather than something external to be acquired. Into the Mirror concludes with a call to cultivate compassion for beings and the environment right within this world of illusion.

Beguiled by Beauty

Beguiled by Beauty
Author: Wendy Farley
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2020-12-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1646980077

Contemplative disciplines, such as centering prayer and meditation, have been part of Christian life for centuries. They seem hard to practice now, not simply because our distracted and hyperstimulated age makes them difficult but also because they can appear irrelevant to the needs of a fractured and ugly historical moment. Yet these practices are more essential now than ever, claims Wendy Farley. These practices essentially awaken and attune us to the beauty both of the created order and of human relationships. Farley helps readers discover being made for both kinds of beauty, with contemplative disciplines immersing us in it. Tying these disciplines with contemplation allows us to engage with the struggle for justice in an unjust society. Beguiled by Beauty includes practical advice for readers to learn several contemplative-meditation practices.

The Inner Experience

The Inner Experience
Author: Thomas Merton
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2012-09-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0062245082

Now in paperback, revised and redesigned: This is Thomas Merton's last book, in which he draws on both Eastern and Western traditions to explore the hot topic of contemplation/meditation in depth and to show how we can practice true contemplation in everyday life. Never before published except as a series of articles (one per chapter) in an academic journal, this book on contemplation was revised by Merton shortly before his untimely death. The material bridges Merton's early work on Catholic monasticism, mysticism, and contemplation with his later writing on Eastern, especially Buddhist, traditions of meditation and spirituality. This book thus provides a comprehensive understanding of contemplation that draws on the best of Western and Eastern traditions. Merton was still tinkering with this book when he died; it was the book he struggled with most during his career as a writer. But now the Merton Legacy Trust and experts have determined that the book makes such a valuable contribution as his major comprehensive presentation of contemplation that they have allowed its publication.

Contemplating God, Changing the World

Contemplating God, Changing the World
Author: Mario I. Aguilar
Publisher: Church Publishing, Inc.
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2008
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781596271081

Mario Aguilar skillfully, elegantly, and clearly presents the life and thought of some of the major spiritual forces of our time as a starting point for his own compelling reflections on the relationship between contemplation and politics... We need more books like this one. Professor Ivan Petrella, University of Miami

Contemplation in a World of Action

Contemplation in a World of Action
Author: Thomas Merton
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess
Total Pages: 213
Release: 1998-02-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0268162379

The spiritual and psychological insights of these essays were nurtured in a monastic milieu, but their issues are universally human. Thomas Merton lays a foundation for personal growth and transformation through fidelity to "our own truth and inner being." His main focus is our desire and need to attain "a fully human and personal identity." This classic is a newly restored and corrected edition and the inaugural volume of Gethsemani Studies in Psychological and Religious Anthropology, a series of books that explores, through the twin perspectives of psychology and religion, the dynamics and depths of being fully human. "When I speak of the contemplative life I do not mean the institutional, cloistered life, . . . I am talking about a special dimension of inner discipline and experience, a certain integrity and fullness of personal development . . . . Discovering the contemplative life is a new self-discovery. One might say it is the flowering of a deeper identity on an entirely different plane . . ." --Thomas Merton, from the book

Contemplation

Contemplation
Author: Kevin Hart
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 102
Release: 2024-07-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0231559909

What is contemplation? How is it distinct from meditation? Is contemplation essentially religious or mystical? What should one contemplate, and how? Are there different styles of contemplation, and why should one practice them? Ought we try to lead more contemplative lives? This book offers a philosophical introduction to the theory and practice of contemplation. Kevin Hart examines a variety of religious, aesthetic, and philosophical notions, shedding light on the singular qualities of contemplation. This book spans topics including the spiritual exercises of the ancient Greeks, overlooked aspects of Christian spirituality, and aesthetic contemplation of nature and art. Contemplation ranges from ancient thinkers such as Aristotle, Plato, and Plotinus to Aquinas and other medieval theologians as well as modern philosophers like Kant, Husserl, and Wittgenstein. Though focused on Christianity, it also considers contemplation in other religious traditions, among them Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Paganism. Concise and comprehensive, this book provides both religious and nonreligious readers with a foundational understanding of the history and nature of contemplation as well as the benefits of practicing it.

Contemplation

Contemplation
Author: David Allen, M.D.
Publisher: Curtain Call Productions, LLC
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2004-04
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 9780975330609

"Body, mind, spirit family and relationships medical psychology religion self-help."

New Seeds of Contemplation

New Seeds of Contemplation
Author: Thomas Merton
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2003
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1590300491

A collection of thirty-nine short essays in which Thomas Merton examines what true contemplation is and how it can impact one's spirituality.