Explore the life-changing practice of ānāpānasati, or breathing mindfulness—one of the most popular and foundational Buddhist meditation practices.

Breathing mindfulness meditation is a cornerstone of Buddhist practice, believed to be key to the Buddha's own enlightenment. This powerful technique fosters a harmonious blend of awareness and tranquility, guiding practitioners towards profound meditative states and deeper wisdom.

Sarah Shaw guides readers through the history and contemporary interpretations of breathing mindfulness in the Pali or Southern tradition of Buddhism. In this in-depth study, she examines:

• The Ānāpānasati Sutta, the foundational Buddhist text on breathing mindfulness;
• The systematization of the practice through the commentarial texts like Vimuttimagga (The Path to Freedom) and Visuddhimagga (The Path of Purification);
• Intriguing, lesser-known systems of esoteric Theravada breath meditation nearly lost to history;
• The integration of breath meditation into modern spiritual practices;
• The importance of breath meditation to the insight meditation (vipassana) movement;
• And the influence of breathing mindfulness across diverse spiritual paths.

This brief survey text tells the story of Buddhism as it unfolds through the narrative of the Brahmanical cosmology from which Buddhism emerged, the stories and myths surrounding Buddha's birth, Buddha's path to enlightenment, and the eventual spread of his teachings throughout India and the world. Jacob N. Kinnard's clear telling of the tale helps students understand such complex concepts as the natural law of cause and effect (karma), the birth/life/death/rebirth cycle (samsara), the ever-changing state of suffering (dukkha), and salvation, the absence of all states (nirvana). Primary documents, illustrations, glossary and biographical sketches illuminate the extraordinary life and legacy of the man called Buddha. The text's chapters integrate key pedagogy, including introductions, study questions, textboxes, photos, maps, suggested readings, and a glossary and timeline.

'The monk who taught the world mindfulness' Time In this masterful work, one of the most revered spiritual leaders in the world today shares his wisdom on how to be the change we want to see in the world. In these troubling times we all yearn for a better world. But many of us feel powerless and uncertain what we can do. Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) is blazingly clear: there's one thing that we have the power to change-and which can make all the difference: our mind. How we see and think about things determines all the choices we make, the everyday actions we take (or avoid), how we relate to those we love (or oppose), and how we react in a crisis or when things don't go our way. Filled with powerful examples of engaged action he himself has undertaken, inspiring Buddhist parables, and accessible daily meditations, this powerful spiritual guide offers us a path forward, opening us to the possibilities of change and how we can contribute to the collective awakening and environmental revolution our fractured world so desperately needs.

..".a successfully ambitious effort, richly informative and insightful in its coverage of the site's religious life and most sophisticated in its use and advancing of theoretical perspectives...Profound insights...abound in this complex and rewarding piece of scholarship..a must read for scholars of south Asian religions." -The Australian Journal of Anthropology

The Sri Lankan ethnic conflict that has occurred largely between Sinhala Buddhists and Tamil Hindus is marked by a degree of religious tolerance that sees both communities worshiping together. This study describes one important site of such worship, the ancient Hindu temple complex of Munnesvaram. Standing adjacent to one of Sri Lanka's historical western ports, the fortunes of the Munnesvaram temples have waxed and waned through the years of turbulence, violence and social change that have been the country's lot since the advent of European colonialism in the Indian Ocean. Bastin recounts the story of these temples and analyses how the Hindu temple is reproduced as a center of worship amidst conflict and competition.

Rohan Bastin is Head of the School of Anthropology, Archaeology & Sociology at James Cook University.

Tibetan Buddhism is the most widely encountered and generally known Buddhist tradition in the world. From meditation classes to garden statues, from music and film to the popularity of the Dalai Lama, Introducing Tibetan Buddhism is the ideal starting point for students wishing to undertake a comprehensive study of the fascinating Tibetan Buddhist and Tibetan Bon religions. This lively introduction covers the whole spectrum of Tibetan religious history, from early Tibetan figures, and the development of the old and new schools of Buddhism, to the spread and influence of Tibetan Buddhism throughout the world. Geoffrey Samuel, an experienced teacher of Tibetan religions, introduces the major contemporary Buddhist traditions of Nyingmapa, Kagyupa, Sakyapa, Geluga and Bon, and the bodies of Tibetan textual material, including the writings of major lamas, and the relationship between the practical and textual transmission of the religion. Illustrated throughout, the book also includes text boxes, summary charts, a glossary and a list of further reading to aid students' understanding and revision. The accompanying website for this book can be found at www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415456654.

Saicho (767-822), the founder of the Tendai School, is one of the great masters of Japanese Buddhism. This edition, which includes a new preface by the author, makes available again a classic work on this important figure's life and accomplishments. Groner's study focuses on Saicho's founding of the great monastic center on Mount Hiei, the leading religious institution of medieval Japan, and his radical move to adopt for purposes of ordination the Mahayana bodhisattva precepts--a decision that had far-reaching consequences for the future of Japanese Buddhist ethical thought, monastic training and organization, lay-clerical relations, philosophical developments, and Buddhism-state relations.

It is widely known that Buddhists deny the existence of the self. However, Buddhist philosophers defend interesting positions on a variety of other issues in fundamental ontology. In particular, they have important things to say about ontological reduction and the nature of the causal relation. Amidst the prolonged debate over global anti-realism, Buddhist philosophers devised an innovative approach to the radical nominalist denial of all universals and real resemblances. While some defend presentism, others propound eternalism. In How Things Are, Mark Siderits presents the arguments that Buddhist philosophers developed on these and other issues. Those with an interest in metaphysics may find new and interesting insights into what the Buddhists had to say about their ideas. This work is designed to introduce some of the more important fruits of Buddhist metaphysical inquiry to philosophers with little or no prior knowledge of that tradition. While there is plenty of scholarship on the Indian Buddhist philosophical tradition, it is primarily concerned with the historical details, often presupposes background knowledge of the major schools and figures, and makes ample use of untranslated Sanskrit technical terms. What has been missing from this area of philosophical inquiry, are studies that make the Buddhist tradition accessible to philosophers who are interested in solving metaphysical problems. This work fills that gap by focusing not on history and texts but on the metaphysical puzzles themselves, and on ways of trying to solve them.

This is a wonderful book that enables the reader to understand the sad situation of Tibet through the eyes of the Tibetan school children. Many of these children suffer from the separation and loss of their families in Chinese-occupied Tibet. The book brings to life their childhood memories, the Tibetan spirit and culture and the future aspiration of these unfortunate children who now in exile have the opportunity for education like their counterparts in the free world.

The Buddhist field of knowledge is now so vast that few can master all of it, and the study and application of its principles must be a matter of choice. One may choose the magnificent moral philosophy of Theravada, the oldest school, or the Zen training of Japan; or special themes such as the doctrine of No-self, the Mahayana emphasis on compassion or the universal law of Karma and Rebirth. But the intense self-discipline needed for true spiritual experience calls for specialization of subject and technique. In this reissue, first published in 1974, Christmas Humphreys takes us on a personal journey through Buddhism, offering insights into the many different paths, doctrines and approaches to Buddhism. This collection of twenty essays ranges from history to doctrine, and from the rise of Buddhism in the West through to the finer points of its everyday practice. It is a truly valuable piece of Western Buddhist literature and its reissue will be welcomed be scholars of Buddhism and interested laypeople alike.

First published in 1978, Christmas Humphrey's autobiography presents the fascinating history of a life rich and varied in both private and in public. Spanning seven decades it touches on many events of historical interest in which he was personally involved. Among them the abdication of Edward VIII, the Japanese War Trials and his time with the Dalai Lama after his flight from Tibet. The author gives a graphic portrait of life behind the Bar and on the Bench - of what it is like to prosecute and to defend, and of the immense difficulties which face a judge when passing sentence. Here too are recollections of many famous cases of the twentieth century, and of the many murder trials in which he appeared as prosecuting counsel or judge. Of equal interest is his fifty years' of work in the field of English Buddhism. In 1924 he and his wife founded the Buddhist Society, which would become hugely influential in the spread of Buddhism throughout the West. Both Sides of the Circle is rich in humour and humanity. There is the joyful account of the author's Edwardian Boyhood followed by the tragedy of his brother's death in World War 1, which lead to the awakening of his interest in Buddhism and Theosophy. He speaks freely of his encounters with the Dalai Lama, with D.T. Suzuki, with Jung and with the Royal families of Thailand, Sikkim and Nepal, as well as his travels throughout the Europe and in the Orient. Both sides of the Circle is more than autobiography - it is also a spiritual odyssey whose reissue will be of great interest to those who've enjoyed Christmas Humphreys' other work and wish to know more about his brilliant career. It will also be very welcome to those wanted to learn about Buddhism in general, and the origins of English Buddhism in particular.

Buddhism in the Modern World explores the challenges faced by Buddhism today, the distinctive forms that it has taken, the individuals and movements that have shaped it, and the modern history of Buddhism in different geographical regions. Part one surveys the Buddhist tradition in different parts of the world, from Southeast Asia to North America, while part two explores key themes including globalisation, gender issues, and the ways in which Buddhism has confronted modernity, science, popular culture and national politics. Each chapter is written by a distinguished scholar in the field, and is designed to offer a lively and up to date overview of the subject. Students and scholars alike will find this book an indispensable guide to the living Buddhist tradition

Buddhism is rich in fascinating practices and rituals. From well known rituals such as chanting sutras or painting mandalas to lesser known rites associated with death or stupa consecration, or derived from contact with other religions, this book offers students a unique understanding of the living tradition. It draws on eye witness reports of Buddhism on the ground, but also provides a reflective context within which the practices can be understood and appreciated. It covers religious and lay practices, art and festivals, regional and temporal variations, socio-political practices, and much else. Written by an authority on the topic, each chapter introduces a ritual or practice, describes it as the author has observed it and then goes on to discuss its context and significance. All entries include a list of further reading as well as photographs to help students deepen their understanding.

The Indian philosopher Acharya Nagarjuna (c. 150-250 CE) was the founder of the Madhyamaka (Middle Path) school of Mahayana Buddhism and arguably the most influential Buddhist thinker after Buddha himself. Indeed, in the Tibetan and East Asian traditions, Nagarjuna is often referred to as the 'second Buddha.' His primary contribution to Buddhist thought lies is in the further development of the concept of sunyata or 'emptiness.' For Nagarjuna, all phenomena are without any svabhaba, literally 'own-nature' or 'self-nature', and thus without any underlying essence. In this book, Jan Westerhoff offers a systematic account of Nagarjuna's philosophical position. He reads Nagarjuna in his own philosophical context, but he does not hesitate to show that the issues of Indian and Tibetan Buddhist philosophy have at least family resemblances to issues in European philosophy.

An essential guide to what it's like to spend a week inside
a Zen Buddhist monastery.

The notion of spending days at a time in silence and meditation amid the serene beauty of a Zen monastery may be appealing but how do you do it, and what can you really expect from the experience?

"Waking Up" provides the answers for everyone who's just curious, as well as for all those who have dreamed of actually giving it a try and now want to know where to begin.

Jack Maguire take us inside the monastery walls to present details of what it's like: the physical work, common meals, conversations with the monks and other residents, meditation, and other activities that fill an ordinary week. We learn: What kind of person resides in a Zen monastery? Why do people stay there/ And for how long? Must you be a Buddhist to spend time there? What do the people there do? What is a typical day like? How does the experience affect people's spiritual life once they're back home? How can I try it out?

A detailed "Guide to Zen and Buddhist Places" and a glossary of terms make "Waking Up" not only a handbook for the curious seeker, but an excellent resource for anyone wanting to know more about the Buddhist way.

The first and only full-length biography of one ofthe most charismatic spiritual innovators of the twentieth century.

Through his widely popular books and lectures, Alan Watts (1915-1973) did more to introduce Eastern philosophy and religion to Western minds than any figure before or since. Watts touched the lives of many. He was a renegade Zen teacher, an Anglican priest, a lecturer, an academic, an entertainer, a leader of the San Francisco renaissance, and the author of more than thirty books, including The Way of Zen, Psychotherapy East and West and The Spirit of Zen.

Monica Furlong followed Watts's travels from his birthplace in England to the San Francisco Bay Area where he ultimately settled, conducting in-depth interviews with his family, colleagues, and intimate friends, to provide an analysis of the intellectual, cultural, and deeply personal influences behind this truly extraordinary life.

A spiritual memoir by the author of "God Is a Verb."

"This book is a treasure map, but not like any you have seen before. Most people believe that the object of a treasure hunt is to find a chest of gold. The mystical approach, however, is that the search itself is the treasure . Here is an invitation to begin an exploration of the treasure fields of your own mind the most exciting and rewarding adventure you will ever take." from the Introduction

Here is an insider s look at a spectrum of mystical traditions by someone who is remarkably fluent in the language of each. Three Gates to Meditation Practicechronicles more than fifteen years in the spiritual journey of "post-denominational" Rabbi David A. Cooper and his wife Shoshana years that led the Coopers everywhere from a secluded mountain hut in New Mexico to the Sinai desert, from chanting Sufi dhikr and meditation with Buddhist masters to studying Kabbalah and esoteric Judaism in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The Coopers story is an intimate account of what intensive spiritual practice is like, with an ultimate message that is supremely inspiring: The spiritual path is completely within our reach, whoever we are, whatever we do, as long as we are willing to try.

This work features compelling and informative teachings by the most influential female Buddhist teachers on a wide range of topics. Buddhism, like all world religions, has been largely shaped and defined by men. Yet despite the challenges, women have diligently practiced since the days of the Buddha. A hallmark of Western Buddhism is the prominent role that women teachers play. This book showcases women teachers who have been pivotal in shaping Western Buddhism and reveals the incredible diversity of their teachings.