This is a unique and powerful presentation of the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism on the five elements: earth, water, air, fire, and space. In their gross and subtle forms, these elements combine to make up the infinite illusory display of phenomenal existence. Through teachings, stories, and his distinctive use of language, Thinley Norbu Rinpoche relates how the energies of the elements manifest within our everyday world, in individual behavior and group traditions, relationships and solitude, medicine and art. He explains their links to the five Buddha families and their respective Wisdom Dakinis, and shows how each element relates to our senses, temperament, passions, habits, and karmic potentials. This magic dance of the elements, he concludes, can be transformed through meditation practice and cultivating the calm, vast, and playful state of consciousness that he calls "playmind."

A comprehensive guide to Shaolin Lohan Kung Fu from both ancient and contemporary masters. With a new foreword by historian and martial artist Alexander Bennett, Shaolin Kung Fu details the oldest form of this ancient Chinese martial art. Shaolin Kung Fu is prized for its elegant style, effectiveness as a fighting system and as an exercise that benefits both body and mind. Authors Donn F. Draeger and P'ng Chye Khim, both master martial artists and Shaolin experts, focus on the Lohan technique--believed to have developed from a form devised at the legendary Shaolin Temple some 1,500 years ago. This comprehensive book offers a practical introduction, including: The history and fundamentals of Shaolin Kung Fu The fundamentals of Shaolin A complete description of the Lohan technique and how to master it Detailed Shaolin training methods, including the use of weapons Weapons used in Shaolin This book is intended as a supplement to a dedicated training program and includes detailed instructions explaining both the solo and partner practice forms. Accompanied by over 400 photos and sketches, this excellent introduction to the Lohan form is a must-have for every serious student of Shaolin and Kung Fu. Shaolin Kung Fu was intended to provide Buddhist monks in ancient China with an art that would not only act as an intense conditioning tool, but also arm them with a formidable system of self defense. Though the context for these skills has changed, modern readers can benefit from this method in much the same way as its original students.

This commentary on a selection of daily chants offers an important perspective upon some of the core tenets of Buddhist thought and teaching. The Venerable Myoko-ni surveys some of the key chants, including The Repentance Sutra, The Heart Sutra, and The Four Great Vows, assessing their origins, and the meaning that lies behind their creation and interpretation. An invaluable guide to all engaged in Buddhism and some of its key daily practices.

This book examines some of the key elements of Buddhist education theory, in particular about educating for wisdom, the ultimate goal of Buddhist education. The teachings of Gautama Buddha have endured for thousands of years carried into the present era in schools, universities, temples, personal development courses, martial arts academies and an array of Buddhist philosophical societies across the globe. Philosophically, the ideas of the Buddha have held appeal across many cultures, but less is known about the underlying educational theories and practices that shape teaching and learning within Buddhist-inspired educational contexts. The chapters outline the development of the Buddha's teachings, his broad approach to education and their relevance in the 21st century. Subsequently, the book reviews the history of the evolution of the various schools of Buddhist thought, their teaching and learning styles and the dissemination among Asia and later also the Western countries. The book discusses education theories and devices embedded within the Buddhist teachings, examining the works found in the Tipitaka, the Buddhist canon.

Defining Buddhism(s): A Reader explores the multiple ways in which Buddhisms have been defined and constructed by Buddhists and scholars. In recent decades, scholars have become increasingly aware of their own role in the process of constructing the Buddhist communities that they represent- a process in which multiple representations of Buddhism (hence Buddhisms) compete with and complement one another. The essays in this reader, written by leaders in the field of Buddhist studies, consider a broad range of inquiries and concerns, methods and approaches that contribute to understanding and learning from constructions of Buddhisms, illuminating the challenges and dilemmas involved in defining historical, social, and political contexts. These different perspectives also demonstrate that definitions of Buddhism have always been contested. As an anthology, this volume also participates in the process of construction, developing a framework in which recent scholarship on Buddhisms can be productively related and interpreted. conversation to emerge, as the investigations and debates raised in each piece are considered in relation to one another. The volume and section introductions highlight the ways in which the essays included represent the contested aspects of constructed Buddhisms: historical contexts are never singular and there is never a solitary agent engaged in shaping them. These diverse reconstructions of Buddhism derive from the recognition that we have much to learn from, as well as about, Buddhists.

Due to the diversity in Buddhism, its essence remains a puzzle. This book investigates the Buddhist path to liberation from a practical and critical perspective by searching for patterns found in the Pali Nikayas and the Chinese Agamas. The early discourses depict the Buddhist path as a network of routes leading to the same goal: liberation from suffering. This book summarizes various teachings in three aspects, provides a template theory for systematically presenting the formulas of the sequential training of the path, and analyses the differences and similarities among diverse descriptions of the path in the early Buddhist texts. By offering a comprehensive map of the Buddhist path, this book will appeal to scholars and students of Buddhist studies as well as those practitioners with a serious interest in the Buddhist path.

A catalogue of 108 portrait bronzes of great masters of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions. It presents a history of these teaching lineages. The sculptures span the most productive period in the history of Tibetan Buddhist art, illustrating Tibetan portraiture's long and varied history. This is a catalogue of 108 portrait bronzes of great masters of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, it presents a history of these teaching lineages based on and illustrated by the collection. Ranging in date from the 12th to 18th century, the sculptures span the most productive period in the

Any practitioner, after meditating for some time, inevitably wonders what meditation method the historical Buddha Shakyamuni himself used while beneath the Bodhi Tree. Many people understand that prior to his realization, Shakyamuni Buddha studied with many of great yogis of his time, but most do not know what method he ultimately found leads most directly to Nirvana. In Ajhan Buddhadasa Bhikku's book, "Mindfulness With Breathing, " the Thai meditation master provides practitioners with penetrating insights into the Anapanasati Sutta, the sacred canonical text which many believe is the most direct transmission of Shakyamuni Buddha's breath meditation methods. Combined with a concise translation of the Sutta itself, "Mindfulness With Breathing" is one of the best guides to Buddhist meditation practice available in the English language.

Explores the multiple ways in which Buddhisms have been defined and constructed by Buddhists and scholars. Scholars have become increasingly aware of their own role in the process of constructing the Buddhist communities that they represent - a process in which multiple representations of Buddhism compete with and complement one another. The essays in this reader, written by leaders in the field of Buddhist studies, consider a broad range of inquiries and concerns, methods and approaches that contribute to understanding and learning from constructions of Buddhisms, illuminating the challenges and dilemmas involved in defining historical, social, and political contexts. These different perspectives also demonstrate that definitions of Buddhism have always been contested. As an anthology, this volume also participates in the process of construction, developing a framework in which recent scholarship on Buddhisms can be productively related and interpreted.

1) This book looks at the issue of violence through religion and literature, and addresses the question of violence in the context of religion, particularly in Sri Lankan Sinhala Buddhism with special reference to Sinhala and Tamil ethnic issues. 2) It fills a major gap by bringing analysis of Sri Lankan literature. 3) This book will be of interest to departments of literature and languages, South Asian literature, literary criticism and theory, linguistics, cultural studies, philosophy, religion, Buddhist studies, diaspora studies, and Sri Lankan literature and sociology.

This volume offers a complete translation of the Samyutta Nikaya, "The Connected Discourses of the Buddha," the third of the four great collections in the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali Canon. The Samyutta Nikaya consists of fifty-six chapters, each governed by a unifying theme that binds together the Buddha's suttas or discourses. The chapters are organized into five major parts.
The first, The Book with Verses, is a compilation of suttas composed largely in verse. This book ranks as one of the most inspiring compilations in the Buddhist canon, showing the Buddha in his full grandeur as the peerless "teacher of gods and humans." The other four books deal in depth with the philosophical principles and meditative structures of early Buddhism. They combine into orderly chapters all the important short discourses of the Buddha on such major topics as dependent origination, the five aggregates, the six sense bases, the seven factors of enlightenment, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the Four Noble Truths.
Among the four large Nikayas belonging to the Pali Canon, the Samyutta Nikaya serves as the repository for the many shorter suttas of the Buddha where he discloses his radical insights into the nature of reality and his unique path to spiritual emancipation. This collection, it seems, was directed mainly at those disciples who were capable of grasping the deepest dimensions of wisdom and of clarifying them for others, and also provided guidance to meditators intent on consummating their efforts with the direct realization of the ultimate truth.
The present work begins with an insightful general introduction to the Samyutta Nikaya as a whole. Each of the five parts is also provided with its own introduction, intended to guide the reader through this vast, ocean-like collection of suttas.
To further assist the reader, the translator has provided an extensive body of notes clarifying various problems concerning both the language and the meaning of the texts.
Distinguished by its lucidity and technical precision, this new translation makes this ancient collection of the Buddha's discourses accessible and comprehensible to the thoughtful reader of today. Like its two predecessors in this series,
"The Connected Discourses of the Buddha" is sure to merit a place of honour in the library of every serious student of Buddhism.

Winner of the Grawemeyer Award in Religion This groundbreaking history tells the little-known story of how, in one of our country's darkest hours, Japanese Americans fought to defend their faith and preserve religious freedom. The mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II is not only a tale of injustice; it is a moving story of faith. In this pathbreaking account, Duncan Ryuken Williams reveals how, even as they were stripped of their homes and imprisoned in camps, Japanese American Buddhists launched one of the most inspiring defenses of religious freedom in our nation's history, insisting that they could be both Buddhist and American. Nearly all Americans of Japanese descent were subject to bigotry and accusations of disloyalty, but Buddhists aroused particular suspicion. Government officials, from the White House to small-town mayors, believed that Buddhism was incompatible with American values. Intelligence agencies targeted the Buddhist community for surveillance, and Buddhist priests were deemed a threat to national security. On December 7, 1941, as the bombs fell on Pearl Harbor, Attorney General Francis Biddle issued a warrant to "take into custody all Japanese" classified as potential national security threats. The first person detained was Bishop Gikyo Kuchiba, leader of the Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist sect in Hawai'i. In the face of discrimination, dislocation, dispossession, and confinement, Japanese Americans turned to their faith to sustain them, whether they were behind barbed wire in camps or serving in one of the most decorated combat units in the European theater. Using newly translated sources and extensive interviews with survivors of the camps and veterans of the war, American Sutra reveals how the Japanese American community broadened our country's conception of religious freedom and forged a new American Buddhism.

There are infinite stories about New York City, here are 41 in haiku form. In this love letter to his favorite city, lifelong New Yorker Peter C. Goldmark, Jr. has crafted a collection of haiku that are simultaneously nostalgic and perceptive. Touching on everything from the city's beloved landmarks to the rising costs of living and the famous lie, "There is a train directly behind this one," the poems in this book capture the true essence of this special place. Given everything New York has endured recently, this book offers a timely celebration of a unique and wonderful city and its people-written to honor the ties and realities that bind them together. Alongside the sweet, and often funny, haiku poems, wistful illustrations help bring New York to life. From the preface by the author: "And then as 2019 and 2020 unfolded, both our country and our city came under stress. The adventure in self-government in America began to wobble seriously. And then the COVID pandemic hit. All this made me realize how much I valued my city-its beauty, its diversity and variety, its remarkable people, its grit and resilience...and how fragile and unique it was." A portion of the proceeds supports Citizens NYC, a non-profit that helps neighborhoods work together to meet challenges like COVID.

Where Does the Search for Truth Lead?

When Tenzin Lahkpa is fifteen years old, his parents give him over to a local temple in Tibet as an offering. Unable to change his fate, he wholeheartedly embraces his life as a monk and begins a quest for full enlightenment through the teachings of Buddhism.

From his local monastery to the famed Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, he learns deep mysteries of Tibetan Buddhism. Yearning to study with the current Dalai Lama, he eventually escapes from China by means of an excruciating, two-thousand-mile, secret trek over the Himalayas--barefoot, with no extra gear, changes of clothing, or money. His dream is realized when he finally sits under the Dalai Lama himself. But his desire to go deeper only grows, leading him to unexpected conclusions....

Follow the fascinating, never-before-told, true story of what makes a highly dedicated Tibetan Buddhist monk make the radical decision to walk away from the teachings of Buddha and leave his monastery to follow Jesus Christ. Discover the reasons other monks want him dead before he can share his story with others.

Leaving Buddha dares to expose the mysterious world of Tibetan Buddhism, with its layered teachings, intricate practices--and troubling secrets. Ultimately, it tells a moving story about the search for truth, the path of enlightenment, and how no one is beyond the reach of a loving God. This gripping narrative will resonate with people from all backgrounds and nations.

Bringing the body-mind insights of Rinzai Zen from the mountains of Japan to the Western world, Zen master Julian Daizan Skinner and Sarah Bladen present simple meditation techniques to help achieve health, wellbeing and success. Taking the reader through the first 100 days of practice, the book then shows how to adapt the new learned techniques to the rest of your life. Including case studies at the end of each chapter to show how people's lives have been transformed through their meditation journeys, this is an accessible and practical guide to adapting Eastern meditation into busy Western lives.

This book brings together the studies of Jeaneane Fowler in Taoism, Chinese popular religion and the broader canvas of Chinese cosmogony, and those of Merv Fowler in Confucianism, Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism. 'Chinese Religions' requires no previous knowledge and thereby serves as an introduction to the religions of China, and places it in the wider context of Chinese history and philosophy. The facets of Chinese religions are as broad, multilayered and varied as the geographical vastness of China itself, yet so many Chinese beliefs have found their way into the West -- the theory of yin and yang, the I Ching, the Tao Te Ching are good examples. One of the greatest characteristics of Chinese religions is that they encompass virtually every avenue of religious thought throughout the long span of Chinese pre-historic and historical pathways.

Having translated The Diamond Sutra and The Heart Sutra, and following with The Platform Sutra, Red Pine now turns his attention to perhaps the greatest Sutra of all. The Lankavatara Sutra is the holy grail of Zen. Zen's first patriarch, Bodhidharma, gave a copy of this text to his successor, Hui-k'o, and told him everything he needed to know was in this book. Passed down from teacher to student ever since, this is the only Zen sutra ever spoken by the Buddha. Although it covers all the major teachings of Mahayana Buddhism, it contains but two teachings: that everything we perceive as being real is nothing but the perceptions of our own mind and that the knowledge of this is something that must be realized and experienced for oneself and cannot be expressed in words. In the words of Chinese Zen masters, these two teachings became known as  have a cup of tea" and  taste the tea."This is the first translation into English of the original text used by Bodhidharma, which was the Chinese translation made by Gunabhadra in 443 and upon which all Chinese Zen masters have relied ever since. In addition to presenting one of the most difficult of all Buddhist texts in clear English, Red Pine has also added summaries, explanations, and notes, including relevant Sanskrit terms on the basis of which the Chinese translation was made. This promises to become an essential text for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding or knowledge of Zen.

Tantric Revisionings presents stimulating new perspectives on Hindu and Buddhist religion, particularly their Tantric versions, in India, Tibet or in modern Western societies. Geoffrey Samuel adopts an historically and textually informed anthropological approach, seeking to locate and understand religion in its social and cultural context. The question of the relation between 'popular' (folk, domestic, village, 'shamanic') religion and elite (literary, textual, monastic) religion forms a recurring theme through these studies. Six chapters have not been previously published; the previously published studies included are in publications which are difficult to locate outside major specialist libraries.

In premodern Japan, legitimization of power and knowledge in various contexts was sanctioned by consecration rituals (kanjo) of Buddhist origin. This is the first book to address in a comprehensive way the multiple forms and aspects of these rituals also in relation to other Asian contexts. The multidisciplinary chapters in the book address the origins of these rituals in ancient Persia and India and their developments in China and Tibet, before discussing in depth their transformations in medieval Japan. In particular, kanjo rituals are examined from various perspectives: imperial ceremonies, Buddhist monastic rituals, vernacular religious forms (Shugendo mountain cults, Shinto lineages), rituals of bodily transformation involving sexual practice, and the performing arts: a history of these developments, descriptions of actual rituals, and reference to religious and intellectual arguments based on under-examined primary sources. No other book presents so many cases of kanjo in such depth and breadth. This book is relevant to readers interested in Buddhist studies, Japanese religions, the history of Japanese culture, and in the intersections between religious doctrines, rituals, legitimization, and performance.

Many people describe themselves as secular rather than religious, but they often qualify this statement by claiming an interest in spirituality. But what kind of spirituality is possible in the absence of religion? In this book, Michael McGhee shows how religious traditions and secular humanism function as 'schools of wisdom' whose aim is to expose and overcome the forces that obstruct justice. He examines the ancient conception of philosophy as a form of ethical self-inquiry and spiritual practice conducted by a community, showing how it helps us to reconceive the philosophy of religion in terms of philosophy as a way of life. McGhee discusses the idea of a dialogue between religion and atheism in terms of Buddhist practice and demonstrates how a non-theistic Buddhism can address itself to theistic traditions as well as to secular humanism. His book also explores how to shift the centre of gravity from religious belief towards states of mind and conduct.

Buddhism, one increasingly hears, is an 'eco-friendly' religion. It is often said that this is because it promotes an 'ecological' view of things, one stressing the essential unity of human beings and the natural world. Buddhism, Virtue and Environment presents a different view. While agreeing that Buddhism is, in many important respects, in tune with environmental concerns, Cooper and James argue that what makes it 'green' is its view of human life. The true connection between the religion and environmental thought is to be found in Buddhist accounts of the virtues - those traits, such as compassion, equanimity and humility, that characterise the life of a spiritually enlightened individual. Central chapters of this book examine these virtues and their implications for environmental attitudes and practice. Buddhism, Virtue and Environment will be of interest not only to students and teachers of Buddhism and environmental ethics, but to those more generally engaged with moral philosophy. Written in a clear and accessible style, this book presents an original conception of Buddhist environmental thought. The authors also contribute to the wider debate on the place of ethics in Buddhist teachings and practices, and to debates within 'virtue ethics' on the relations between human well-being and environmental concern.

Although Christians have well-developed responses to other religions, the counterpart scholarship from Buddhists has thus far lagged behind. Breaking new ground, Buddhist Inclusivism analyzes the currently favored position towards religious others, inclusivism, in Buddhist traditions. Kristin Beise Kiblinger presents examples of inclusivism from a wide range of Buddhist contexts and periods, from Pali texts to the Dalai Lama's recent works. After constructing and defending a preferred, alternative form of Buddhist inclusivism, she evaluates the thought of particular contemporary Buddhists such as Thich Nhat Hanh and Masao Abe in light of her ideal position. This book offers a more systematic treatment of Buddhist inclusivism than has yet been provided either by scholars or by Buddhist leaders.

25th Anniversary Edition Over 3 Million Copies Sold 'I couldn't give this book a higher recommendation' BILLY CONNOLLY Written by the Buddhist meditation master and popular international speaker Sogyal Rinpoche, this highly acclaimed book clarifies the majestic vision of life and death that underlies the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. It includes not only a lucid, inspiring and complete introduction to the practice of meditation, but also advice on how to care for the dying with love and compassion, and how to bring them help of a spiritual kind. But there is much more besides in this classic work, which was written to inspire all who read it to begin the journey to enlightenment and so become 'servants of peace'.