Stillness, Insight, and Emptiness

Stillness, Insight, and Emptiness
Author: Lama Dudjom Dorjee
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 153
Release: 2013-12-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0834829150

Developing an effective meditation practice is the first step toward discerning the true nature of mind and reality as taught by Buddha Shakyamuni. In Stillness, Insight, and Emptiness, Lama Dudjom Dorjee offers instructions that will help beginning meditators establish a firm foundation in the practices that lead to direct realization. Topics such as finding the best meditation posture, learning to direct and focus the attention, expanding the mind’s scope, and realizing the luminous and spacious qualities of the mind are explained in terms that are both encouraging and easy to understand.

Stillness, Insight, and Emptiness

Stillness, Insight, and Emptiness
Author: Lama Dudjom Dorjee
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 153
Release: 2013-12-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 155939420X

Meditation is the key to meaningful Buddhist practice, but establishing a solid foundation requires skill and sustained effort. In simple and inviting language, this book shows how to develop a successful meditation practice. In Tibetan Buddhism, developing a consistent and sustained meditation practice is the first step toward discerning the true nature of reality as taught by the Buddha. Lama Dudjom Dorjee encapsulates the Buddha's teaching in terms that are accessible and encouraging for beginning meditators, covering topics from establishing a proper meditation posture to realizing the luminous and spacious qualities of the mind. Chapters discuss •The life of the Buddha •The first turning of the wheel of dharma •The four noble truths and the eightfold path •Proper meditation posture •The nine stages of shamatha, or resting the mind •Common obstacles to shamatha and their antidotes •Benefits of developing shamatha •The subsequent stages of practice, including insight/vipashyana meditation and mahamudra

Emptiness

Emptiness
Author: Guy Armstrong
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 327
Release: 2017-05-02
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1614293635

If everything is empty, then what ceases in Nirvana and is born in rebirth? How can you live in the world without feeling trapped by it? Guy Armstrong tackles these questions and more in this richly informed, practical guide to emptiness for the meditator. It may seem odd for emptiness to serve as the central philosophy of a major religion. In fact, emptiness points to something quite different than “nothingness” or “vacancy.” And by developing a richer understanding of this complex topic, we can experience freedom as we live consciously in the world. Guy Armstrong has been a leading figure and beloved teacher of insight meditation for decades. In this book, he makes difficult Buddhist topics easy to understand, weaving together Theravada and Mahayana teachings on emptiness to show how we can liberate our minds and manifest compassion in our lives.

Seeing That Frees

Seeing That Frees
Author: Rob Burbea
Publisher: Troubador Publishing
Total Pages: 464
Release: 2014-10-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780992848910

In this ground-breaking and seminal work, esteemed Buddhist teacher Rob Burbea lays out an original and comprehensive approach to deepening insight. Starting from simple and easily accessible understandings of emptiness, Burbea presents a unique conception of the path along which he escorts the practitioner gradually, through the careful structure of the work, into ever more mystical levels of insight. Through its precise instructions, illuminating exercises and discussions that address the subtleties of both practice and understanding, Seeing That Frees opens up for the committed meditator all the profundity of the Buddha's radical teachings on emptiness. This is a book that will take time to digest and will serve as a lifelong companion on the path, leading the reader, as it does, progressively deeper into the territory of liberation. From the Foreword by Joseph Goldstein: "Rob Burbea, in this remarkable book, proves to be a wonderfully skilled guide in exploring the understanding of emptiness as the key insight in transforming our lives... It is rare to find a book that explores so deeply the philosophical underpinnings of awakening at the same time as offering the practical means to realize it."

Stillness Is the Key

Stillness Is the Key
Author: Ryan Holiday
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2019-10-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0525538585

Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller & Wall Street Journal Bestseller In The Obstacle Is the Way and Ego Is the Enemy, bestselling author Ryan Holiday made ancient wisdom wildly popular with a new generation of leaders in sports, politics, and technology. In his new book, Stillness Is the Key, Holiday draws on timeless Stoic and Buddhist philosophy to show why slowing down is the secret weapon for those charging ahead. All great leaders, thinkers, artists, athletes, and visionaries share one indelible quality. It enables them to conquer their tempers. To avoid distraction and discover great insights. To achieve happiness and do the right thing. Ryan Holiday calls it stillness--to be steady while the world spins around you. In this book, he outlines a path for achieving this ancient, but urgently necessary way of living. Drawing on a wide range of history's greatest thinkers, from Confucius to Seneca, Marcus Aurelius to Thich Nhat Hanh, John Stuart Mill to Nietzsche, he argues that stillness is not mere inactivity, but the doorway to self-mastery, discipline, and focus. Holiday also examines figures who exemplified the power of stillness: baseball player Sadaharu Oh, whose study of Zen made him the greatest home run hitter of all time; Winston Churchill, who in balancing his busy public life with time spent laying bricks and painting at his Chartwell estate managed to save the world from annihilation in the process; Fred Rogers, who taught generations of children to see what was invisible to the eye; Anne Frank, whose journaling and love of nature guided her through unimaginable adversity. More than ever, people are overwhelmed. They face obstacles and egos and competition. Stillness Is the Key offers a simple but inspiring antidote to the stress of 24/7 news and social media. The stillness that we all seek is the path to meaning, contentment, and excellence in a world that needs more of it than ever.

The Peaceful Stillness of the Silent Mind

The Peaceful Stillness of the Silent Mind
Author: Lama Yeshe
Publisher: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive
Total Pages: 112
Release: 2004-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1891868594

Lama Yeshe on Buddhism: "Buddhism is not just about one or two small things; it is not some tiny philosophy. Lord Buddha explained the nature of every single phenomenon in the universe." On Mind: "At certain times, a silent mind is very important, but 'silent' does not mean closed. The silent mind is an alert, awakened mind; a mind seeking the nature of reality." On Meditation: "Meditation is the right medicine for the uncontrolled, undisciplined mind. Meditation is the way to perfect satisfaction. The uncontrolled mind is by nature sick; dissatisfaction is a form of mental illness. What's the right antidote to that? It's knowledge-wisdom; understanding the nature of psychological phenomena; knowing how the internal world functions." This book is made possible by kind supporters of the Archive who, like you, appreciate how we make these teachings available in so many ways, including in our website for instant reading, listening or downloading, and as printed and electronic books. Our website offers immediate access to thousands of pages of teachings and hundreds of audio recordings by some of the greatest lamas of our time. Our photo gallery and our ever-popular books are also freely accessible there. Please help us increase our efforts to spread the Dharma for the happiness and benefit of all beings. You can find out more about becoming a supporter of the Archive and see all we have to offer by visiting our website. Thank you so much, and please enjoy this ebook.

Road to Heaven

Road to Heaven
Author: Red Pine
Publisher: Catapult
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2009-08-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1582439427

In 1989, Bill Porter, having spent much of his life studying and translating Chinese religious and philosophical texts, began to wonder if the Buddhist hermit tradition still existed in China. At the time, it was believed that the Cultural Revolution had dealt a lethal blow to all religions in China, destroying countless temples and shrines, and forcibly returning thousands of monks and nuns to a lay life. But when Porter travels to the Chungnan mountains — the historical refuge of ancient hermits — he discovers that the hermit tradition is very much alive, as dozens of monks and nuns continue to lead solitary lives in quiet contemplation of their faith deep in the mountains. Part travelogue, part history, part sociology, and part religious study, this record of extraordinary journeys to an unknown China sheds light on a phenomenon unparalleled in the West. Porter's discovery is more than a revelation, and uncovers the glimmer of hope for the future of religion in China.

A Philosophy of Emptiness

A Philosophy of Emptiness
Author: Gay Watson
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2014-03-15
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1780232853

In this book Gay Watson offers an alternative view of emptiness via a tour of early and non-Western philosophy, taking us from Buddhism, Taoism and religious mysticism to the contemporary world of philosophy, science and art practice.

Mind in the Balance

Mind in the Balance
Author: B. Alan Wallace
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2009-03-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0231519702

By establishing a dialogue in which the meditative practices of Buddhism and Christianity speak to the theories of modern philosophy and science, B. Alan Wallace reveals the theoretical similarities underlying these disparate disciplines and their unified approach to making sense of the objective world. Wallace begins by exploring the relationship between Christian and Buddhist meditative practices. He outlines a sequence of meditations the reader can undertake, showing that, though Buddhism and Christianity differ in their belief systems, their methods of cognitive inquiry provide similar insight into the nature and origins of consciousness. From this convergence Wallace then connects the approaches of contemporary cognitive science, quantum mechanics, and the philosophy of the mind. He links Buddhist and Christian views to the provocative philosophical theories of Hilary Putnam, Charles Taylor, and Bas van Fraassen, and he seamlessly incorporates the work of such physicists as Anton Zeilinger, John Wheeler, and Stephen Hawking. Combining a concrete analysis of conceptions of consciousness with a guide to cultivating mindfulness and profound contemplative practice, Wallace takes the scientific and intellectual mapping of the mind in exciting new directions.

Compassion and Emptiness in Early Buddhist Meditation

Compassion and Emptiness in Early Buddhist Meditation
Author: Analayo
Publisher: Windhorse Publications
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2015-07-27
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1909314625

Analayo investigates the meditative practices of compassion and emptiness by examining and interpreting material from the early Buddhist discourses. Similar to his previous study of satipaa'-a'-hana, he brings a new dimension to our understanding by comparing Pali texts with versions that have survived in Chinese, Sanskrit and Tibetan. The result is a wide-ranging exploration of what these practices meant in early Buddhism.