At its most basic, philosophy is about learning how to think about the world around us. It should come as no surprise, then, that children make excellent philosophers! Naturally inquisitive, pint-size scholars need little prompting before being willing to consider life's big questions, however strange or impractical. Plato & Co. introduces children-and curious grown-ups-to the lives and work of famous philosophers, from Socrates to Descartes, Einstein, Marx, Freud, and Wittgenstein. Each book in the series features an engaging-and often funny-story that presents basic tenets of philosophical thought alongside vibrant color illustrations. In Lao-Tzu, or the Way of The Dragon, we follow the ancient Chinese philosopher who founded Taoism, from the comet that announced his birth up to his inspired composition, more than fifty years later, of the Tao Te Ching, the Book of the Way. In body and mind an old sage from birth, Lao-Tzu devotes his life to deciphering the endless book of the world. But he soon becomes frustrated with the silliness of human order, impatient kings, and greedy people, and rides off on the back of a water buffalo in search of the Way. He encounters clouds that solidify under his feet, a cave guarded by a golden monkey, and the venerable Confucius himself, and ultimately finds the wisdom of the dragon already residing deep in his own heart.

Author of bestselling 'Falling Leaves' weaves together for the same audience her own personal experiences with the best of Chinese philosophy. Adeline Yen Mah, whose autobiography 'Falling Leaves' is an international bestseller, here interweaves her own experiences with her views on Chinese thought and wisdom to create an illuminating and highly personal guide for Western readers. Adeline Yen Mah was born in Tianjin, and through the conversations and wisdom of her grandfather and aunt learnt a great deal of traditional Chinese thought, history and religion. Through her father's second marriage to a Eurasian woman, and their subsequent move to Hong Kong, she learnt more about the Chinese attitudes to business and to family, and the strength of the Chinese in exile. Since living in London and California, Adeline Yen Mah has studied Chinese thought, looking at both the strengths and weaknesses which it gives those who follow it and now, in 'Watching the Tree', she takes us on a journey through the Chinese language, religions and history, using both Chinese proverbs and her own experiences, to bring to us an understanding of the richness of China and the ways that we can take and use some of the wisdom for ourselves in the West.

Volume 1 of 3 of a collection of spiritual discourses by Shri Atmananda (Krishna Menon, 1883-1959), a living representative of the tradition of Advaita Vedanta and one of the great sages of the modern world. The discourses were recorded during the period of 1950 to 1959 by a trusted disciple. They are short and masterful talks on realizing the Truth through a recognition that our nature is always pure Consciousness.

An interdisciplinary collection in the new field of environmental humanities, this volume brings together Chinese environmental ethics, religious ontology, and religious practice to explore how traditional Chinese religio-environmental ethics are actually put into social practice both in China's past and present. It also examines how Chinese religious teachings offer a wealth of resources to the environmental project of forging new ontologies for humans co-existing with other living beings. Different chapters examine how: Buddhist ontology avoids anthropocentrism, fengshui (Chinese geomancy) can help protect the landscape from economic development, popular religion organizes tree-planting, ancient dream interpretation practices avoided constructing the possessive individual subjectivity of modern consumerism, Buddhist rituals and ethics promoted compassion for animals and modern recycling, Confucian ancestor rituals and tombs have deterred industrial expansion, and also how Daoism's potential role to deter desertification in northern China was stymied by state operations in contemporary China. A significant advance in the field of Chinese environmental anthropology, the outstanding scholars in this volume provide a unique and much needed contribution to the scholarship on China and the environment.

The spiritual power of yoga - from the ten million-copy bestselling author of The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success In recent years, yoga has exploded in popularity. Yet for most North Americans, yoga remains just another exercise routine - a good option if you want to increase flexibility or relieve stress. According to Deepak Chopra and David Simon, however, this simplistic view ignores the spiritual side of yoga - its profound power to unite body, mind, and spirit and bring about enlightenment. Now, in this new book, they show how everyone can explore yoga's spiritual dimension - and integrate all the layers of their lives. Yoga means union in Sanskrit, and the authors begin by exploring the eight traditional yoga branches - the entry points to this union. The branches address such things as behavior, attention, awareness, the senses, and energy, and only one of them, asana, corresponds to the positions or poses people typically associate with yoga. that govern nature - Pure Potentiality, Giving, Karma, Least Effort, Intention and Desire, Detachment, and Dharma - and how to integrate these laws into their daily lives using meditation, breathing, asana, and other yoga practices. Complete with more than 50 photographs illustrating yoga poses, this new Chopra blockbuster is essential for anyone who wants to embrace yoga's spiritual potential - and lead a happier, more abundant, more harmonious life. Deepak Chopra, MD (San Diego, CA), is one of the bestselling authors of the last 15 years. His New York Times bestselling books include The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, which has sold more than ten million copies, How to Know God, Perfect Health, and The Path to Love. He has been interviewed widely on programs such as Oprah, Larry King Live and Good Morning America (for The Chopra Center Cookbook, 047145404-4) and featured on the cover of Time. David Simon, MD (San Diego, CA), is the Medical Director of the Chopra Center and the author of Vital Energy (0-471-39859-4) and Return to Wholeness (0-471-34964-X).

Working from existing translations, Thomas Merton composed a series of his own versions of the classic sayings of Chuang Tzu, the most spiritual of Chinese philosophers. Chuang Tzu, who wrote in the fourth and third centuries B.C., is the chief authentic historical spokesperson for Taoism and its founder Lao Tzu (a legendary character known largely through Chuang Tzu s writings). Indeed it was because of Chuang Tzu and the other Taoist sages that Indian Buddhism was transformed, in China, into the unique vehicle we now call by its Japanese name Zen. The Chinese sage abounds in wit and paradox and shattering insights into the true ground of being. Thomas Merton, no stranger to Asian thought, brings a vivid, modern idiom to the timeless wisdom of Tao."

If truth can set us free, where do we find it? In The First and Last Freedom, Krishnamurti argues that we will not find truth in formal institutions, nor in organised religions and their dogmas, nor in any guru or outside authority; for, according to Krishnamurti, truth can only be realised through self-understanding. Controversial and challenging, yet always enlightening, Krishnamurti guides us through society's common concerns, such as suffering and fear, love and loneliness, sex and death, the meaning of life, the nature of God, and personal transformation - consistently relating these topics to the essential search for pure truth and perfect freedom. This classic philosophical and spiritual study offers wisdom and insights particularly suited to our own uncertain times.

Essential reading for serious students of Chinese practical arts, including medicine, martial arts and FengShui, Master Zhongxian Wu and Dr Karin Taylor Wu provide a detailed explanation of the 22 GanZhi symbols in this book, outlining the characteristics of each, and their interactions and relationships. TianGan (Heavenly Stems) and DiZhi (Earthly Branches), commonly abbreviated to GanZhi, originated in the ancient Chinese cosmological sciences and is a complex calendrical system which was created to codify the patterns of life and of the universe itself. The ten symbols of Gan express the Yin or Yang perspective of Five Elements and embody the Way of Heaven. The 12 symbols of Zhi, made manifest in the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, hold the root of each Element and embrace the Way of Earth. Poetic summaries from the Song dynasty give the reader a deep understanding of the nature of each Stem and their relationship to each other. Offering an unprecedented insight into the subtleties and far-reaching influence of this ancient system, this book will be invaluable for the study or practice of Chinese medicine, FengShui, Chinese astrology, traditional Chinese cosmology, Qigong, Taiji, and other inner cultivation practices. A set of study cards (9781848191501), also published by Singing Dragon, are available to accompany this book.

Hand mudras have been used for centuries in yogic traditions to promote health and wellbeing, and they are considered valuable tools on the path of spiritual awakening. This card set provides 72 of the most important hand mudras used in yoga. The gestures presented support mental and spiritual development, and have a wide range of health benefits. Each card presents a full-colour image of the mudra with the Sanskrit name, transliteration and English translation. The back of each card includes concise information on technique and applications as well as the physical, energetic and spiritual benefits of the mudra. The accompanying booklet contains background information on the mudras, how to practice them at home, and details on how each of the 72 mudras can be used to address a variety of common health complaints. This card set will enrich the practice of students and teachers of yoga, and will be of interest to anyone looking to gain a comprehensive understanding of hand mudras.

Buddha was a revolutionary. His practice was subversive; his message, seditious. His enlightened point of view went against the norms of his day--in his words, "against the stream." His teachings changed the world, and now they can change you too.

Presenting the basics of Buddhism with personal anecdotes, exercises, and guided meditations, bestselling author Noah Levine guides the reader along a spiritual path that has led to freedom from suffering and has saved lives for 2,500 years. Levine should know. Buddhist meditation saved him from a life of addiction and crime. He went on to counsel and teach countless others the Buddhist way to freedom, and here he shares those life-changing lessons with you. Read and awaken to a new and better life.

Skill and Mastery: Philosophical Stories from the Zhuangzi presents an illuminating analysis of skill stories from the Zhuangzi, a 4th century BCE Daoist text. In this intriguing text that subverts conventional norms and pursuits, ordinary activities such as swimming, cicada-catching and wheelmaking are executed with such remarkable efficacy and spontaneity that they seem like magical feats. An international team of scholars explores these stories in their philosophical, historical and political contexts. Their analyses' highlight the stories'underlying conceptions of agency, character and cultivation; and relevance to contemporary debates on human action and experience. The result is a valuable collection, opening up new lines of inquiry in comparative East-West philosophical debates on skill, cultivation and mastery, as well as cross-disciplinary debates in psychology, cognitive science and philosophy.