A general introduction to the main ideas of Theravada Buddhism. The purpose of this book is to help the reader gain insight into the Buddhist scriptures and the way in which the teachings can be used to benefit both ourselves and others in everyday life. Several chapters are written in the form of question and answer, inspired by questions posed by ordinary people who were confronted with difficulties in the practical application of the teachings. The book will be an invaluable aid for those individuals who wish to develop the Buddhist path to true understanding. Suitable for both practicing Buddhists and newcomers to the teachings.

From one of America's most brilliant writers, a New York Times bestselling journey through psychology, philosophy, and lots of meditation to show how Buddhism holds the key to moral clarity and enduring happiness. At the heart of Buddhism is a simple claim: The reason we suffer-and the reason we make other people suffer-is that we don't see the world clearly. At the heart of Buddhist meditative practice is a radical promise: We can learn to see the world, including ourselves, more clearly and so gain a deep and morally valid happiness. In this "sublime" (The New Yorker), pathbreaking book, Robert Wright shows how taking this promise seriously can change your life-how it can loosen the grip of anxiety, regret, and hatred, and how it can deepen your appreciation of beauty and of other people. He also shows why this transformation works, drawing on the latest in neuroscience and psychology, and armed with an acute understanding of human evolution. This book is the culmination of a personal journey that began with Wright's landmark book on evolutionary psychology, The Moral Animal, and deepened as he immersed himself in meditative practice and conversed with some of the world's most skilled meditators. The result is a story that is "provocative, informative and...deeply rewarding" (The New York Times Book Review), and as entertaining as it is illuminating. Written with the wit, clarity, and grace for which Wright is famous, Why Buddhism Is True lays the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age and shows how, in a time of technological distraction and social division, we can save ourselves from ourselves, both as individuals and as a species.

Yongming Yanshou ranks among the great thinkers of the Chinese and East Asian Buddhist traditions, one whose legacy has endured for more than a thousand years. Albert Welter offers new insight into the significance of Yanshou and his major work, the Zongjing lu, by showing their critical role in the contested Buddhist and intellectual territories of the Five Dynasties and early Song dynasty China.
Welter gives a comprehensive study of Yanshou's life, showing how Yanshou's Buddhist identity has been and continues to be disputed. He also provides an in-depth examination of the Zongjing lu, connecting it to Chan debates ongoing at the time of its writing. This analysis includes a discussion of the seminal meaning of the term zong as the implicit truth of Chan and Buddhist teaching, and a defining notion of Chan identity. Particularly significant is an analysis of the long underappreciated significance of the Chan fragments in the Zongjing lu, which constitute some of the earliest information about the teachings of Chan's early masters.
In light of Yanshou's advocacy of a morally based Chan Buddhist practice, Welter also challenges the way Buddhism, particularly Chan, has frequently been criticized in Neo-Confucianism as amoral and unprincipled. Yongming Yanshou's Conception of Chan in the Zongjing lu concludes with an annotated translation of fascicle one of the Zongjing lu, the first translation of the work into a Western language.

Zen is not a religion of God, nor a religion of faith. It is a religion of emptiness, a religion of absolute nothingness. However it is not nothingness but dynamically positive, for Zen is based on self-awakening, awakening to the self. In this book, a sequel to Zen and Western Thought, the author tries to clarify the true meaning of Buddhist emptiness in comparison with Aristotelian notion of substance and Whiteheadron notion of process. He also emphasises that Buddhism completely defies and overcomes dualism, but it is not monistic, but rather nondualistic. What is Nondualism? This is one of the important themes of this book.

The context for the first part of this study is the community (sangha) of early Buddhism in India, as it is reflected in the religion's canon composed in the Pali language, which is preserved by the Theravada tradition as the only authentic record of the words of the Buddha and his disciples, as well as of events within that community. This book does not assert that the Pali Canon represents any sort of "original" Buddhism, but it maintains that it reflects issues and concerns of this religious community in the last centuries before the Common Era. The events focused on in part one of this study revolve around diversity and debate with respect to proper soteriology, which in earliest Buddhist communities entails what paths of practice successfully lead to the religion's final goal of nibbana (Sanskrit: nirvana). One of the main theses of this study is that some of the vocational and soteriological tensions and points of departure of the early community depicted in the Pali Canon have had a tendency to crop up in the ongoing Theravada tradition in Sri Lanka, which forms the second part of the study. In particular, part two covers first a vocational bifurcation in the Sri Lankan that has existed at least from the last century of the Common Era to contemporary times, and second a modern debate held between two leading voices in Theravada Buddhism, on the subject of what constitutes the right meditative path to nibbana.With a few notable exceptions, both members of Theravada Buddhism and the scholars who have studied them have maintained that the Pali Canon, and the ongoing tradition that has grown out of it, has a singular soteriology. The aim of this study is to deconstruct tradition, in the simple sense of revealing the tradition's essential multiplicity. Prior to this study, past scholarship--which preferred to portray early Indian and Theravada Buddhsim as wholly rationalist systems--has shied away from giving ample treatment on the noble person who possesses supernormal powers. This book examines the dichotomy between two Theravada monastic vocations that have grown out of tensions discussed in part one. The bifurcation is between the town-dwelling scholar monk and the forest-dwelling meditator monk. Scholars have certainly recognized this split in the sangha before, but this is the first attempt to completely compare their historical roles side by side. This is an important book for collections in Asian studies, Buddhist studies, history, and religious studies.

Still appearing on the Publisher's Weekly bestseller lists, this invaluable guide to finding happiness in difficult times is now available in massmarket for the first time. Pema Chodron reveals the vast potential for happiness, wisdom and courage even in the most painful circumstances. Pema Chodron teaches that there is a fundamental opportunity for happiness right within our reach, yet we usually miss it -- ironically, while we are caught up in attempt to escape pain and suffering. This accessible guide to compassionate living shows us how we can use painful emotions to cultivate wisdom, compassion and courage, ways of communication that lead to openness and true intimacy with others, practices for reversing our negative habitual patterns, methods for working with chaotic situations and ways to cultivate compassionate, energetic social action for anyone -- whether they have a spiritual path or not. Her heartfelt advice and wisdom (developed in her 20 years of practice as a Tibetan Buddhist nun as well as her years previously as a normal 'housewife and mother') give her a wide appeal. This advice strikes just the right note, offering us comfort and challenging us to live deeply and contribute to creating a more loving world.

D.T. Suzuki (1870-1966) reached global fame for his writings on Zen Buddhism. In this introduction to his theories of self, knowledge, and the world, Suzuki is presented as a Buddhist philosopher in his own right. Beginning with a biography of his life providing the historical context to his thought and discussing Suzuki's influences, chapters cover the Zen notion of the non-self and Suzuki's Zen view of consciousness, language, and religious truths. His ideas about philosophy and radical views on rationality and faith come to life in two new complete translations of The Place of Peace in our Heart (1894) and Religion and Science (1949), which helps us to understand why Suzuki's description of Zen attracted the attention of many leading intellectuals and helped it become a household name in the English-speaking world. Offering the first complete overview of Suzuki's approach, reputation, and legacy as a philosopher, this is for anyone interested in the philosophical relevance and development of Mahayana Buddhism today.

The Buddhist view of inter-religious dialogue is significantly different from, say, that of Christianity. In Christianity Jesus Christ, being the only incarnation in the history, has an inexplicable uniqueness. It must be maintained even in the inter-faith dialogue. By contrast, in Buddhism Guatama Buddha is not the only Buddha, but one of many Buddhas. His uniqueness is realized in the fact that he is the first Buddha in human history. Furthermore, the Buddhist teaching of dependent co-origination and emptiness not only provides a dynamic common basis for various religions, but also will suggest a creative cooperation amongst world religions. The book clarifies such a Buddhist view and inter-religious dialogue from various perspectives.

Abhidhamma in Daily Life is an exposition of absolute realities in detail. Abhidhamma means higher doctrine and the book's purpose is to encourage the right application of Buddhism in order to eradicate wrong view and eventually all defilements. Many terms in Pali the language of early Buddhism are used and are defined as they are introduced. The book is therefore suitable for beginners as well as practicing Buddhists. It is detailed and precise and an invaluable aid to unlocking the deep meaning of the entire Buddhist canon and applying the theory to our daily lives for the benefit of ourselves and others.

How are Buddhists and Buddhism represented in contemporary films? Are these mediated sources accurate representations of the Buddhist tradition? What kinds of Buddhisms and Buddhists are missing in these films and why?"Silver Screen Buddha" is the first book to explore the representation of Buddhism, race, and gender in contemporary films directed by both Asian and non-Asian directors. It examines the cinematic encounter with Buddhism that has flourished in Asia and in the West in the past century - from images of Shangri-La in Frank Capra's 1937 "Lost Horizon" to Kim Ki-Duk's 2003 international box office success, "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter....and Spring." The book helps readers see that representations of Buddhism in Asia and in the West are often fraught with political, gendered, and racist undertones that are missed and overlooked by viewers. "Silver Screen Buddha" also draws significant attention to the ordinary lay Buddhism that is often overlooked in popular film. Readers are introduced to some of the key Buddhist texts and doctrines that are implied in Buddhist films yet not explicitly explained, helping them to ascertain the difference between a fictionalized, commodified, and exoticized Buddhism and a more realistic representation of the tradition that includes the laity and, in particular, women and Asian/Asian Americans. The book also engages in a reimagining of Buddhism that expands the popular understanding of Buddhism as the realm of meditating monks and nuns to include an everyday lay Buddhism.

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

'Ridiculous and funny' - GREG DAVIES 'In a fast-moving world, the only self-help book I recommend is this collection of the words from the Dolly Llama' - ED GAMBLE Llama Karma lies within you. The Dolly Llama, the world's first behooved spiritual leader, shares his words of wisdom and spiritual teachings for the first time. In this gem of a book he shows you how cultivate Llama Karma and to bring peace, compassion and 'cuditation' (a form of chewing and meditation) into your everyday life. His Gentleness has drawn great inspiration from 'the four bales of wisdom' which have helped many grazer browsers before him on the rocky path of life. Take a leaf out of this book and learn how Llama Karma can help you harness inner calm, as well as cope with everyday problems like hoof infection. The perfect gift for llama-lovers, spiritualists and animal-lovers alike.

Using the garden as a metaphor, The Seeds of Love is a charming guide to creating your own mindfulness. The development of the practice of mindfulness and its tools can help to maintain a state of awareness and openness to oneself and others. In The Seeds of Love, readers interested in Zen Buddhism will learn how to nurture metaphorical seeds such as compassion, joy, and generosity, and how to use personal challenges such as jealousy, anger, and self-doubt as a tool for growth. The 20 chapters include: Seeing: It All Begins with the Gardener Being: Watering the Seed of Mindfulness Watering Seeds of Love and Transforming Seeds of Suffering Deep-Listening Creating a Legacy as a Master Gardener: Tending Your Inner Garden Using precepts from many faiths and traditions, The Seeds of Love offers simple, basic actions to help readers reach the best within themselves and share it with those around them. It will be an invaluable guide to anyone seeking deeper and more conscious relationships.

Since the Buddha did not fully explain the theory of persons that underlies his teaching, in later centuries a number of different interpretations were developed. This book presents the interpretation by the celebrated Indian Buddhist philosopher, Candrakirti (ca. 570-650 C.E.). Candrakirti's fullest statement of the theory is included in his Autocommentary on the Introduction to the Middle Way (Madhyamakavatarabhasya), which is, along with his Introduction to the Middle Way (Madhyamakavatara ), among the central treatises that present the Prasavgika account of the Madhyamaka (Middle Way) philosophy. In this book, Candrakirti's most complete statement of his theory of persons is translated and provided with an introduction and commentary that present a careful philosophical analysis of Candrakirti's account of the selflessness of persons. This analysis is both philologically precise and analytically sophisticated. The book is of interest to scholars of Buddhism generally and especially to scholars of Indian Buddhist philosophy.