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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Buddhism > Zen Buddhism
The "Platform Sutra" comprises a wide range of important
Chan/Zen Buddhist teachings. Purported to contain the autobiography
and sermons of Huineng (638--713), the legendary Sixth Patriarch of
Chan, the sutra has been popular among monastics and the educated
elite for centuries. The first study of its kind in English, this
volume offers essays that introduce the history and ideas of the
sutra to a general audience and interpret its practices. Leading
specialists on Buddhism discuss the text's historical background
and its vaunted legacy in Chinese culture.
Incorporating recent scholarship and theory, chapters include an
overview of Chinese Buddhism, the crucial role of the "Platform
Sutra "in the Chan tradition, and the dynamics of Huineng's
biography. They probe the sutra's key philosophical arguments, its
paradoxical teachings about transmission, and its position on
ordination and other institutions. The book includes a character
glossary and extensive bibliography, with helpful references for
students, general readers, and specialists throughout. The editors
and contributors are among the most respected scholars in the study
of Buddhism, and they assess the place of the "Platform Sutra" in
the broader context of Chinese thought, opening the text to all
readers interested in Asian culture, literature, spirituality, and
religion.
The Chan Handbook: The Learner's Guide to Meditation is a must-read
reference book on the principles and techniques of Chan Meditation.
Chan is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that has been passed down
directly from the Buddha through his lineage of Patriarchs to the
present. The power of Chan Meditation has been taught to seekers of
enlightenment in Asia for thousands of years. In this book, Chan
Master YongHua reveals the extraordinary method of Chan Meditation,
from basic stretches and sitting postures, to the fundamental
principles of Buddhism. As a Buddhist monk who has practiced the
rigorous techniques of Chan for 20 years, Master YongHua presents
these ancient skills to the West, in an easy-to-follow format. The
Chan Handbook is accessible to the casual reader, and yet it also
contains practical and concrete instructions that will be of great
value to the advanced practitioner. In addition, all people,
regardless of their religious affiliation, can achieve personal
benefit from Chan Meditation. Thus The Chan Handbook makes an
excellent gift for anyone interested in meditation. "Meditation is
a powerful technique for restoring your physical, mental,
emotional, and spiritual balance. Ultimately, meditation will help
you unfold your inherent wisdom, enabling you to end suffering and
attain enlightenment. And on a more basic level, you will develop
greater focus and concentration, which will have an immediate and
practical application to your life."
Compiled by a leading scholar of Chinese poetry, "Clouds Thick,
Whereabouts Unknown" is the first collection of Chan (Zen) poems to
be situated within Chan thought and practice. Combined with
exquisite paintings by Charles Chu, the anthology compellingly
captures the ideological and literary nuances of works that were
composed, paradoxically, to "say more by saying less," and creates
an unparalleled experience for readers of all backgrounds.
"Clouds Thick, Whereabouts Unknown" includes verse composed by
monk-poets of the eighth to the seventeenth centuries. Their style
ranges from the direct vernacular to the evocative and imagistic.
Egan's faithful and elegant translations of poems by Han Shan,
Guanxiu, and Qiji, among many others, do justice to their
perceptions and insights, and his detailed notes and analyses
unravel centuries of Chan metaphor and allusion. In these gems,
monk-poets join mainstream ideas on poetic function to religious
reflection and proselytizing, carving out a distinct genre that
came to influence generations of poets, critics, and writers.
The simplicity of Chan poetry belies its complex ideology and
sophisticated language, elements Egan vividly explicates in his
religious and literary critique. His interpretive strategies enable
a richer understanding of Mahayana Buddhism, Chan philosophy, and
the principles of Chinese poetry.
This textbook included all contents of the Five Methodologies of
Chinese Chan Meditation which written by Victor Chiang, and the
information of International Chinese Buddhist Association and
Global Chan Club . The rules of Global Chinese Chan Meditation
Workshop are also included .
The outline of Master Zhi Yi's ( 538-597) Three Meditations,
including: The Beginner's Meditation;The Uncertainty's Meditation;
The Gradually Meditation .
Explanatory on Sutra of Platform of Sixth Patriarch of Chan Sec of
China for modern Buddhist and CEO
Telementation is a variation of what is often called "The Law of
Attraction," where telementation focuses more on feeling reality
into existence rather than believing or visualizing reality into
existence. Telementation is an ancient meditative art form, and it
is the true nature of our real deep inner self. It is virtually
unknown to contemporary, modernized humans, but it is has been
recognized by shamans, mystics, and philosophers as the ultimate
power in the universe, which is possessed by all humans.
Telementation is true consciousness (and true consciousness is the
deepest, innermost part of mental reality, not the surface
emanations), and therefore telementation is what humans actually
are. This book is a short instruction manual on how to carry out
the law of attraction with great ease. Telementation creates a
revolution in a person's life that ends nearly all personal
problems, and it brings a person back to their innate, inalienable
greatness and poetical inner peace. Telementation is particularly
productive for those who want a very simple guidebook on how to
carry out Eastern meditation or Christian mysticism, for those who
have had trouble attaining religious experience despite putting
forth great efforts at meditation, and for those having trouble
overcoming depression by conventional methods.
Through Zen meditation it is possible to find stillness of mind,
even amidst our everyday activities--and this practical book-and-CD
set reveals how. John Daido Loori, one of America's leading Zen
teachers, offers everything needed to begin a meditation practice.
He covers the basics of where to sit (on a cushion, bench, or
chair), how to posture the body (complete with instructional
photographs), and how to practice Zen meditation to discover the
freedom of a peaceful mind.
The accompanying CD is a meditation companion. It has ten- and
thirty-minute timed practice sessions, along with guided
instructions from Daido Loori and an encouraging talk on the
benefits of meditation.
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There is a common misconception that to practice Zen is to practice
meditation and nothing else. In truth, traditionally, the practice
of meditation goes hand-in-hand with moral conduct. In "Invoking
Reality," John Daido Loori, one of the leading Zen teachers in
America today, presents and explains the ethical precepts of Zen as
essential aspects of Zen training and development.
The Buddhist teachings on morality--the precepts--predate Zen,
going all the way back to the Buddha himself. They describe, in
essence, how a buddha, or awakened person, lives his or her life in
the world.
Loori provides a modern interpretation of the precepts and
discusses the ethical significance of these vows as guidelines for
living. "Zen is a practice that takes place within the world," he
says, "based on moral and ethical teachings that have been handed
down from generation to generation." In his view, the Buddhist
precepts form one of the most vital areas of spiritual practice.
This Centenary Commemorative Edition also includes two lesser known
works Buddha and the Intuition of the Universal and Techniques of
Timeless Realization. The volume is complemented by a detailed
Glossary, an Index, an Original Foreword by Aldous Huxley (1955),
an Original Preface by Swami Siddheswarananda (1955), and a
Contemporary Foreword by Professor Asanga Tilakaratne. Benoits
writings on the human predicament and the path to inner freedom
were influenced by his studies in Zen Buddhism and psychoanalysis.
There is, as well, an evident dialogue in Benoits writings between
the Gurdjieff teaching and Zen, with insightful ideas about
universal laws, inner work, the human machine, and work in life.
The Supreme Doctrine and The Realization of the Self foreshadow
contemporary transpersonal and integral psychology: through the
re-integration of psychology and metaphysics, Benoit invites us to
make our own journey toward spiritual transformation and the
intuitive understanding of universal truths. This Centenary
Commemorative Edition also includes two lesser known works Buddha
and the Intuition of the Universal and Techniques of Timeless
Realization. The volume is complemented by a detailed Glossary, an
Index, an Original Foreword by Aldous Huxley (1955), an Original
Preface by Swami Siddheswarananda (1955), and a Contemporary
Foreword by Professor Asanga Tilakaratne.
In "Infinite Circle, "one of America's most distinctive Zen
teachers takes a back-to-basics approach to Zen. Glassman
illuminates three key teachings of Zen Buddhism, offering
line-by-line commentary in clear, direct language:
1. " The Heart Sutra: "the Buddha's essential discourse on
emptiness, a central sutra of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition.
2. "The Identity of Relative and Absolute": an eighth-century poem
by Shih-t'ou His-ch'ien, a key text of the Soto Zen school.
3. The Zen precepts: the rules of conduct for laypeople and monks.
His commentaries are based on workshops he gave as Abbot of the
Zen Community of New York, and they contain within them the
principles that became the foundation for the Greyston Mandala of
community development organizations and the Zen Peacemaker
Order.
The author began the practice of Zen meditation a decade ago under
the tutelage of a Jesuit priest. This book is the fruit of his
spiritual journey. Thomas Merton and Thich Nhat Hanh were and are
two of the foremost spiritual writers of their times. They met only
once. "Individually," says Robert King, "they are important, but
considered together they may be even more significant. For although
their lives developed independently of one another and took quite
different forms, they shed light on each other in wonderful and
unexpected ways. What binds the two is the theme of contemplation
and action - a form of religious practice that could serve as a
unifying paradigm for the world's religions in an age of
globalization".
Here is a book on a topic of increasing interest among American
students of Buddhism. "Dzogchen", the direct experience of
enlightenment, is a practice from Tibetan Buddhism that is being
explored by teachers of many different schools, from the Dalai Lama
to best-selling author Lama Surya Das, to the popular leaders of
the Insight Meditation Soceity such as Sharon Salzberg and Joseph
Goldstein. Without claiming that dzogchen is easy to understand -
much less to achieve - the authors present this seemingly esoteric
idea in down-to-earth terms that anyone who is interest can
understand. While remaining assiduously true to their Tibetan
Lamas' precise instructions, the authors present these ancient
teachings with directness, humor, and gentleness. "Roaring Silence"
walks the reader through the meditation techniques that "enable us
to side-step the bureaucracy of intellectual processes and
experience ourselves directly". Surprisingly, the approach is very
pragmatic. Offering an investigation of the necessary steps, the
authors begin with how to prepare for the journey: the lama is
essential, as is a sense of humour, inspiration, and
determination.They continue by describing the path to realisation
of dzogchen: from sitting meditation to the direct perception of
reality. The chapters include exercises for exploring, for example,
the presence of our awareness, a simple visualisation, the feeling
of trying to "remain uninvolved" with mental activity for a period,
with follow-up guidance on how to view our experiences - all with
the caveat, "be kind to yourself, don't push yourself beyond your
limits."
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