The Power of an Open Question

The Power of an Open Question
Author: Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2010-09-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0834822792

“A bold, playful, and invigorating” look at how asking challenging questions—without expectations—can lead Buddhist practitioners to powerful spiritual insights (Pema Chödrön) How do we find a resting place in a world that is complex and always changing? How do we practice spirituality beyond the limits of blind acceptance and doubt? Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel proposes that when we ask challenging questions like these, we access our deepest intelligence and most powerful insights. “When we ask a question,” Mattis-Namgyel suggests, “our mind is engaged yet open. The process of inquiry protects us from our tendency to reach static conclusions. Instead, we can respond to uncertainty and change with inquisitiveness and a sense of wonder.” By telling the story of the Buddha's awakening, Mattis-Namgyel shows us that by contemplating hard questions—and by not simply rejecting seeming contradictions in his experience—the Buddha became enlightened. Her book guides us on a provocative, playful, and spiritually enriching journey of contemplation that could last a lifetime.

The Buddha Pill

The Buddha Pill
Author: Miguel Farias
Publisher: Watkins Media Limited
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2019-02-19
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1786782863

Millions of people meditate daily but can meditative practices really make us ‘better’ people? In The Buddha Pill, pioneering psychologists Dr Miguel Farias and Catherine Wikholm put meditation and mindfulness under the microscope. Separating fact from fiction, they reveal what scientific research – including their groundbreaking study on yoga and meditation with prisoners – tells us about the benefits and limitations of these techniques for improving our lives. As well as illuminating the potential, the authors argue that these practices may have unexpected consequences, and that peace and happiness may not always be the end result. Offering a compelling examination of research on transcendental meditation to recent brain-imaging studies on the effects of mindfulness and yoga, and with fascinating contributions from spiritual teachers and therapists, Farias and Wikholm weave together a unique story about the science and the delusions of personal change.

What the Buddha Taught

What the Buddha Taught
Author: Walpola Rahula
Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2007-12-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0802198104

“A terrific introduction to the Buddha’s teachings.” —Paul Blairon, California Literary Review This indispensable volume is a lucid and faithful account of the Buddha’s teachings. “For years,” says the Journal of the Buddhist Society, “the newcomer to Buddhism has lacked a simple and reliable introduction to the complexities of the subject. Dr. Rahula’s What the Buddha Taught fills the need as only could be done by one having a firm grasp of the vast material to be sifted. It is a model of what a book should be that is addressed first of all to ‘the educated and intelligent reader.’ Authoritative and clear, logical and sober, this study is as comprehensive as it is masterly.” This edition contains a selection of illustrative texts from the Suttas and the Dhammapada (specially translated by the author), sixteen illustrations, and a bibliography, glossary, and index. “[Rahula’s] succinct, clear overview of Buddhist concepts has never been surpassed. It is the standard.” —Library Journal

Without and Within

Without and Within
Author: Jayasaro (Ajahn)
Publisher:
Total Pages: 174
Release: 2015
Genre: Theravāda Buddhism
ISBN: 9786167930046

Tiny Buddha

Tiny Buddha
Author: Lori Deschene
Publisher: Mango Media Inc.
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2023-07-25
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1684811902

Meaningful Answers to Hard Questions “Tiny Buddha is a moving and insightful synthesis of evocative stories and ancient wisdom applied to modern life. A great read!” — Jonathan Fields, author of Uncertainty From the mind of TinyBuddha.com, Lori Deschene brings us the latest edition of her guide on how to throw off stagnation and walk into a happier and healthier life. Feeling good is a choice, the possibility of it is up to you! You are in control of your purpose. Life has a way of giving us more questions than answers. Especially this one we hear all too well: Why am I here? People all over are wondering that very thing. With Tiny Buddha, learn how we can choose the meaning behind our place in this vast universe. Learn how to transcend happiness from feeling like a chore to being an active daily practice. Jump into your life purpose. Featuring straightforward and practical advice based on Taoist practices and her own personal journey, author Lori Deschene explores universal aspects that help uncover your life purpose. By breaking down hard yet revealing questions about life, love, happiness, and change; Tiny Buddha provides all sorts of down-to-earth wisdom and ways for knowing and feeling good about your place in this crazy, complicated universe now and moving forward. Inside, you’ll find: • The difference between searching for meaning versus creating it ourselves • How to create a peaceful space for your spiritual health by not being in control • The importance of accepting your struggles without fully understanding the “why” If you like self-help books or advice blogs, or if you enjoyed Living on Purpose, The Soul’s Human Experience, or The Tao of Influence, then you’ll love Tiny Buddha

Buddha Taught Nonviolence, Not Pacifism

Buddha Taught Nonviolence, Not Pacifism
Author: Paul R. Fleischman
Publisher: Pariyatti Publishing
Total Pages: 59
Release: 2002-01-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1928706223

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, this thought-provoking essay explores the Buddha's teaching to find one prescription: not war, not pacifism but nonviolence.

The Buddha in the Attic

The Buddha in the Attic
Author: Julie Otsuka
Publisher: Anchor
Total Pages: 145
Release: 2011-08-23
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0307700461

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • PEN/FAULKER AWARD WINNER • The acclaimed author of The Swimmers and When the Emperor Was Divine tells the story of a group of young women brought from Japan to San Francisco as “picture brides” a century ago in this "understated masterpiece ... that unfolds with great emotional power" (San Francisco Chronicle). In eight unforgettable sections, The Buddha in the Attic traces the extraordinary lives of these women, from their arduous journeys by boat, to their arrival in San Francisco and their tremulous first nights as new wives; from their experiences raising children who would later reject their culture and language, to the deracinating arrival of war. Julie Otsuka has written a spellbinding novel about identity and loyalty, and what it means to be an American in uncertain times.

Great Disciples of the Buddha

Great Disciples of the Buddha
Author: Nyanaponika (Thera)
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 450
Release: 2003-06-15
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0861713818

This book is a compilation of twenty-four life stories of the closest and most eminent of the Buddha's personal disciples.

Sounds of Innate Freedom

Sounds of Innate Freedom
Author:
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 704
Release: 2020-12-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1614296367

The first volume in an historic and noteworthy 6-volume series containing many of the first English translations of the classic mahamudra literature compiled by the Seventh Karmapa. Sounds of Innate Freedom: The Indian Texts of Mahamudra is an historic six-volume series containing many of the first English translations of classic Mahamudra literature. The texts and songs in these volumes constitute the large compendium called The Indian Texts of the Mahamudra of Definitive Meaning, compiled by the Seventh Karmapa, Chötra Gyatso (1456–1539). Mahamudra refers to perfect buddhahood in a single instant, the omnipresent essence of mind, nondual and free of obscuration. This collection offers a brilliant window into the richness of the vast ocean of Indian Mahamudra texts, many cherished in all Tibetan lineages, particularly in the Kagyü tradition, giving us a clear view of the sources of one of the world’s great contemplative traditions. This first volume in publication contains the majority of songs of realization, consisting of dohas (couplets), vajragitis (vajra songs), and caryagitis (conduct songs), all lucidly expressing the inexpressible. These songs offer readers a feast of profound and powerful pith instructions uttered by numerous male and female mahasiddhas, yogis, and dakinis, often in the context of ritual ganacakras and initially kept in their secret treasury. Displaying a vast range of themes, styles, and metaphors , they all point to the single true nature of the mind—mahamudra—in inspiring ways and from different angles, using a dazzling array of skillful means to penetrate the sole vital point of buddhahood being found nowhere but within our own mind. The beautifully translated texts brilliantly capture the wordplay, mystical wonder, bliss, and ecstatic sense of freedom expressed by awakened Mahamudra masters of India. It includes works by Saraha, Mitrayogi, Virupa, Tilopa, Naropa, Maitripa, Nagarjuna, the female mahasiddhas princess Laksmimkara and Dombiyogini, and otherwise unknown awakened figures of this rich tradition. Reading and singing these songs that convey the inconceivable and contemplating their meaning in meditation will open doors to spiritual experience for us today just as it has for countless practitioners in the past.

Living Is Dying

Living Is Dying
Author: Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2020-03-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1611808073

An insightful collection of teachings about death and dying to help face life's greatest mystery calmly and with equanimity. Lifetimes of effort go into organizing, designing, and structuring every aspect of our lives, but how many people are willing to contemplate the inevitability of death? Although dying is an essential part of life, it is an uncomfortable topic that most people avoid. With no idea what will happen when we die and a strong desire to sidestep the conversation, we make all kinds of assumptions. Living Is Dying collects teachings about death and the bardos that have been passed down through a long lineage of brilliant Buddhist masters, each of whom went to great lengths to examine the process in minute detail. Renowned author and teacher Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse responds to the most common questions he's been asked about death and dying--exploring how one prepares for death, what to say to a loved one who is dying, and prayers and practices to use as a handhold when approaching the unknown territory of death. Whether you are facing death today or decades from now, preparing for it can help to allay your worst fears and help you appreciate what it means to be truly alive.