Read the story of two worlds that converge: one of Hindu immigrants in America who want to preserve their traditions and pass them on to their children in a new and foreign land, and one of American spiritual seekers who find that the traditions of India fulfil their most deeply held aspirations. Learn about the theoretical approaches to Hinduism in America, the question of orientalism, and "the invention of Hinduism." The book discusses: * the history of Hinduism and its journey to America * how concepts like karma, rebirth, meditation and yoga have infiltrated and influenced the American consciousness * Hindu temples in North America * the influence of Hinduism on vegetarianism and religious pluralism * the emergence of an increasingly assertive socially and politically active American Hinduism. Hinduism in America contains 30 images, chapter summaries, a glossary, study questions, and suggestions for further reading.

Dwight Goddard's collection of translations of a cross-section of Buddhist traditions was a fundamental part of the importation of Buddhism into the USA and then, through the work of the Beat Poets that the book influenced, throughout the West as a whole. Goddard had originally been an engineer but after his wife's death, when he was twenty-nine years old, he entered the Hartford Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 1894 and was sent to China as a Congregational missionary. He was interested in non-Christian religions and as a result of this curiosity began to study various denominations of Buddhism. In 1928, at the age of sixty-seven, Goddard encountered Japanese Zen Buddhism for the first time while in New York City. He was so impressed with it that he moved to Japan where he met D. T. Suzuki and studied for eight months with him at the Yamazaki Taiko Roshi of Shokoku Monastery in Kyoto. His time spent in China and Japan made him feel that lay religious practice was not enough and would lead to worldly distractions and he decided to establish a male-only monastic movement named, 'the Followers of Buddha'. It was situated on forty acres in southern California adjacent to the Santa Barbara National Forest and also on rural land in Thetford, Vermont. The religious 'followers' who participated in the fellowship commuted between the centers in a van, spending winters in California and summers in Vermont. The venture was short lived and closed due to lack of followers. His book, A Buddhist Bible, was published in 1932. Translated from writings Goddard found of worth in the traditions of Theravada, Mahayana, Zen, Tibetan and other Buddhists schools of thought, the book soon became popular and it contributed to the spread of Buddhism in the USA in the 1930's and 1940's. But it was in the 1950's that A Buddhist Bible was to make its most lasting impact. By the end of 1953 the famous writer Jack Kerouac had been living with fellow 'Beat Poets' Neal and Carolyn Cassady in a menage a trois situation and the relationship had become untenable for all of those concerned. It had become obvious that it was time for Jack to move on and Neal recommended that Jack read A Buddhist Bible as a way of finding some much-needed spiritual inspiration. Legend has it that Kerouac headed down to the San Jose library and stole a copy before heading back 'out on the road'! It was natural that Kerouac, who had always battled with his Catholic ideologies and his lifestyle of heavy drinking and womanizing, would find some peace through the principles of Buddhism and this came out in his seminal The Dharma Bums which detailed Kerouac and fellow Beat Gary Snyder's differing takes on the Buddhist way of life. Although at first dismissive of his fellow Beats new found outlook, Allen Ginsberg soon followed suit and A Buddhist Bible, together with the collective writings of the Beat Generation on Buddhism, had a big influence on the American generations that followed. Dwight Goddard was unaware of his new-found fame as he died on his seventy-eighth birthday in 1939.

This book examines the use of Buddhist ideas, particularly mindfulness, to manage a broad spectrum of emotions and to address social and economic issues impacting the world, such as climate change. Beginning with a brief history of emotion studies, it highlights how recent developments in neuroscience and cognitive science have paved the way for exploring the utility of Buddhist concepts in addressing various psychological and social problems in the world. It profiles a wide range of emotions from Western and Buddhist perspectives including anger, sadness, depression, pride, and compassion, and analyses the integration of Buddhist ideas into modern clinical practice. Finally, the author demonstrates the utility of mindfulness in the regulation of emotions in various settings, including psychiatric clinics, schools, and businesses. Anchored in the Buddhist tradition this book this book provides a unique resource for students and scholars of counselling, psychotherapy, clinical psychology and philosophy.

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.

"The purpose of a reclusive monk such as myself audaciously presenting a volume like this is to transmit the True Dharma and the Great Compassion of Buddha. In doing this, I wish to highlight the fact that the "Heart Sutra" is an outstanding guidebook for the path to liberation and for the practice of the Buddha Way. This sutra describes the Ultimate Path in a most straightforward manner. I would like you to know that by exerting yourself daily in the way it describes the time will come without a doubt when the results of your effort will manifest."

-Master Kido Inoue

To fully understand the meaning of the "Heart Sutra," one cannot simply follow, or have faith in what it is says, without detailed analysis. "The Heart Sutra" cannot be fully grasped with pure intellect alone. Practicing the True Way requires you to throw away all things and to forget the ego.

When the words are approached with both the mind and the heart, its full understanding will naturally be revealed through practice. Because of this, the guidance of a real Dharma Master (or Roshi)-such as Master Kido Inoue-is required. Here, he shares his teachings in a straightforward and honest fashion.

China now attracts global attention in direct proportion to its increasing economic and geopolitical power. But for millennia, the philosophy which has shaped the soul of China is not modern Communism, or even new forms of capitalism, but rather Confucianism. And one of the most striking phenomena relating to China's ascendancy on the world stage is a burgeoning interest, throughout Asia and beyond, in the humanistic culture and values that underlie Chinese politics and finance: particularly the thought of Confucius passed on in the Analects. In this stimulating conversation, two leading thinkers from the Confucian and Buddhist traditions discuss the timely relevance of a rejuvenated Confucian ethics to some of the most urgent issues in the modern world: Sino/Japanese/US relations; the transformation of society through education and dialogue; and the role of world religions in promoting human flourishing. Exploring correspondences between the Confucian and Buddhist world-views, the interlocutors commit themselves to a view of spirituality and religion that, without blurring cultural difference, is focused above all on the 'universal heart': on harmony between people and nature that leads to peace and to a hopeful future for all humanity.