Product Description
For more than 2,500 years, Buddhism has offered an unfailing path to the world's people, incluidng Americans in ever-increasing numbers. Now bestselling author Jack Kornfield illuminates Buddhism's core teachings with this clear and compact audio guide. From the "lion's roar" of the Four Noble Truths, to the story of how Siddhartha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, to the real treasure of the Eightfold Path, here are the essentials of Buddhism's history, traditions, and daily practices. Includes a classic meditation with commentary. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Almost too short.
I bought this CD in hopes of listening to it several times; picking up new things here and there, but really, it is just as the title says "beginner's guide." Guess I was expecting a little bit more...I listened to it twice, then moved on.If you are totally 100% new to Buddhism, then this in an okay introduction; though perhaps you money would be better spent on The Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Living or Buddhism for Dummies. ... Read more

Product Description
His Holiness the Dalai Lama's teaching legacy to the world -- a beautiful and accessible presentation of the time-honored path to enlightenment -- is one of the world's great spiritual treasures.

Customer Reviews (11)

Excellent Dharma Teachings
As a dedicated student of the Dharma, this book is amazing!It is simple, logical, straightforward and very thorough.It is extremely helpful in developing the required reasoning to train the mind from the base up in spirituality versus worldly orientation.This may seem simple, but I have noticed that this basic reasoning to be lacking in many Dharma students, especially in the West.This series addresses from the ground up how one needs to think and train the mind in order to become a real practitioner of Dharma in the unique style of the Dalia Lama, which often reminds me of Indian Buddhism.I am currently reading the second book in the series and it is every bit as good as the first.Enjoy!

Core Tibetan Buddhism
First off, I was disappointed when I opened the book and found every page muddled with pink marker (which I don't recall being noted in the description). I think the seller should have been a little more precise when they stated the book was "used".

Besides that I enjoyed reading the book. I learned more about this path of philosophy and some different ways to look at my life and learn from my experiences. It was a good addition to my collection of philosophical texts.

Potent elixir for those seeking compassionate wisdom
Reading this short introduction to the heart of dharma, it struck me: the author uses "we" to include himself amidst his fellow humans who by definition according to the tenets of his teaching, long to become freed from our "untamed mind." You often forget, given the esteem in which the author's held by many, that he's still caught up in the same karmic whirlwind as anyone else. This down-to-earth acknowledgment of basic shortcomings of human character permeates this short treatise. He also raises insightful comparisons, based on first-hand knowledge to be sure, of how idealism and good intentions, as with Mao and Chinese Communism, can lead one awry if one's inner nature cannot find its own unselfish fulfillment. This perspective enriches the relevance today, sadly, of this 1994 edition. It's based on Tsong-kha-pa's 15 c. "Lam Rim," or "Stages of the Path to Enlightenment," itself an elaboration of Atisha's 11c. "The Lamp on the Path..."

This textual ambiguity confused me at times. The Dalai Lama includes his own comments, while at other times he paraphrases or summarizes (I suppose, as Tsong-kha-pa's never quoted verbatim) the "Lam Rim." Therefore, when reading, I was unsure who was telling me what. Also, there's no index or glossary; a newcomer like me finds it easy to forget what, for example, the "three trainings" were deep into these short but intricate chapters. (Try Thubten Chodren's "Open Heart, Clear Mind" as another primer, from an American convert who became a Tibetan Buddhist nun; it's also reviewed by me.) Perhaps this Western wish for academic clarification pales before the Eastern message. Not who said what, but what is said remains the "core teachings of Tibetan Buddhism," as the subtitle indicates.

It's an insistent, and often severe message. You close this short explanation better informed about the essence of Buddhism, but also you might be discouraged at how difficult it can be to overcome karmic imprints of bad habits, how deeply scarred we may be from past actions and indeed past lives that pull us back from bettering ourselves now and in the future, and how severely Buddhism regards unethical behavior. The path, we learn, must be taken if we are to escape our suffering, of course, yet it's a daunting labor of endless mindfulness and relentless self-scrutiny. This isn't a feel-good collection of jolly platitudes. Those expecting light inspirational encouragement will instead find stern warnings to begin immediately to practice compassion, engage in altruism, reject delusion, incorporate renunciation, and to prepare for death's separation from all we now hold so dear.

"To practice Buddhism is to wage a struggle between the negative and the positive forces in your mind. The mediator seeks to undermine the negative and increase the positive." (1) So this work begins, and the work of any who take the formidable challenge of living up to the encouragement of, and chastisement of, dharma seriously. The powerful passage on pp. 61-63 imagining our death, from the perspective of a palliative doctor's bland assurances to our self vs. the warnings to prepare for the funeral to our relatives in the next room, captures for me the impact of this catechism. It packs quite a punch behind its innocuous title and unassuming format.

Morality, to the surprise perhaps of some seekers, as the Dalai Lama conveys it, obligates sexual control, meticulous examination of conscience, and scrupulous adherence to right behavior, fulfillment of vows, and committment to the compassionate care of others before one's own satisfactions. It's more in line with ascetic practices in Islam, Judaism, or Christianity than you might expect, with the key difference that sins accrue over eons and no confessor or intermediary's there to ease our burden. There's, by the way, no ecumenical outreach in these pages. From the context and the culture, it appears this is pure Buddhism distilled as strong medicine.

The weight of one's past can prove quite an impediment, and the heroic way to liberation opens, as the author cleverly puts it, with our re-orientation of ends and means to tilt in our favor, and that of everyone else.

"I often remark that if you want to be selfish, you should do it in an intelligent way. The stupid way to be selfish is the way we have always worked, seeking happiness for ourselves alone and in the process becoming more and more miserable. The intelligent way to be selfish is to work for the welfare of others, because you become a Buddha in the process." (154) Shades of Jesus enjoining his followers to make friends with those of this world, so as to acquire treasure in the next life?

Hey, it's the Dalai Lama...
Anything written by His Holiness the Dalai Lama is worth reading. You don't have to be Buddhist, heck, in fact, you can be an atheist and still find guidance and solace in the words of the DL.

If I had to claim an organized religion, it would be Buddhism, but, as it is, I am a Lincolnite (When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That is my religion. --Abraham Lincoln). So, since Lincoln's theological writings are limited, I find guidance for my existance through Buddhist philosophy.

If you're a Westerner who just can't handle the liturgy and Christ-centeredness of our Country, then try anything bythe Dalai Lama.

Volume One of Three
Core Teachings of Tibetan Buddhism.I can't recommend this series high enough. ... Read more

Product Description
An exploration of the relationships between Jungian Psychology and Buddhism with a special section on the famous oxherding pictures. Essential reading for all interested in either Buddhism or Jungian Psychology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Ox-herding & psyche-herding
This book consists of 3 Parts: the authors' personal views, their analyses of Kuo-an's (Kuku-an in Japanese) Zen Ox Herding Pictures (OHP), & 6 prior articles by Miyuki, a Pure Land priest, Zen practitioner, & Japanese Jungian psychoanalyst.The OHP is central; 2 renditions (Kuo-an's & Pu-Ming's) are given.The authors compare Buddhist meaning with Jungian Individuation.Spiegelman, also a Zen practitioner & a Jungian analyst) provides a masterful analysis & compares other religious/psychological views.The differences between the 2 author's viewpoints is interesting as the Westerner looks East & the Easterner looks West: Spiegelman seems to emphasize Buddhism while Miyuki emphasizes Jung but only in degree as they share Buddhism & Jung-as does their friend Hayao Kawai, the 1st Eastern Jungian analyst (author of Buddhism & the Art of Psychotherapy, 0890966982).There are other key points--Miyuki points out difficulties of translation & false renderings of Buddhist terms into English: p. 31: "The Zen concept of `mind' refers to something quite different from the Western concept of the word," p. 124: "duhkha which has been translated as `suffering.'However, etymologically & dogmatically, duhkha is better translated as...'dis-ease'" & p. 141: "The terms `'non-ego,' `no-self,' `etc. are inadequate translations of the ideas expressed in the term anatman & such translations serve to further confuse what is a difficult concept to place in Western categories."Aronson (Buddhist Practice on Western Grounds, 1590300939) would agree.Thus, Miyuki states on p. 138: "In my understanding, the Buddhist tradition aids the individual to strengthen the ego through the integration of unconscious contents" & p. 142: "This process of dispelling the illusory identity & manifesting the true self cannot be identified with aiming at dissolution of the ego."This greatly differs from some Western Buddhist authors/teachers assertions!Avoiding Engler's Orientocentric & Eurocentric extremist views, both authors walk the Middle Path as illustrated in the "parable of the White Path."Thus, pp. 64-5: Spiegelman-"For the Freudian we find the face just after we were born...For the Buddhist, it is the face before we were born...For the Jungian, it is both of these.The link with collective, inner & outer, & the discovery of our Selves.So the Jungian might be the intermediary between the two; the psychotherapy which aims at healing, love, & work, & freeing from illusion, but at Enlightenment too" & p. 168: Miyuki-"The individuation process shares, in my opinion, many of the same underlying processes as found in Zen.I fully agree with Jung, therefore, when he says that Zen `can be understood as an Eastern method of psychic healing, i.e. making whole'" & p. 172: "It is my view that C. G. Jung's Analytical Psychology has provided the West with the first meaningful psychological avenue to approach Buddhism & other Asian religious experience."Finally, Miyuki argues the applicability of psychology to Buddhism: p. 127: "All human experience is essentially psychological, in the sense that immediate `reality' is perceived & apprehended in & through our psyches" as well as Buddhism to psychology: p. 172: "Buddhism aims at transformation of the ego in order to help an individual to overcome the `dis-ease' of life brought about by impermanence."

Nice book
A series of essays relating the two subjects, but seemingly more focussed on Buddhism than Jung. Overall quite good, if somewhat repetitive. Spiegelman's essays superior to Miyuki's. Self/Ego illustrated in context of Buddhism in Spiegelman's analysis of the Ten Oxherding Pictures, in which Ego symbolically brings Self into harmonious relationship, with boy/man as Ego, and Ox as Self. ... Read more

Product Description
Details the nature of mind and its functions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Specific Analysis of Mental Functioning
This is an extraordinary book.The written Introduction is detailed and specific enough to immediately expand one's own knowledge and one's own personal experience of one's own knowledge, to allow for a whole series of conceptual leaps in personal knowledge both directly and indirectly.The rest of the book follows forward from this point.I studied with Lati Rinpoche, and he was an exceptionally brilliant man.

Profound Ideas of the Mind and Its Functions
This is a extraordinary book of ideas of the mind.To grasp the meanings you will find it necessary to read (even more than twice) the various parts of the book.You will no doubt find the ideas different from Western writers of the mind, which sets this book apart from the many books about the mind.

A very intriguing book.Anybody who is interested in the mind and its functions from the Tibetan Buddhism point of view is highly recommended.

A concise guide to the study of the awareness of thought.
This book reviews several buddhist thought traditions that have developed through the time.It is somewhat polemical but is remarkable in that the referenced texts predate Kant, Hegel and other western thinkers delving thesame subject.The book is tough to read but the reward is worth the effortbecause one comes to an awareness of what one goal of enlightenment is: theactual awareness of thought, origins of impressions, etc.Engrossing. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first comprehensive study of socially and politically engaged Buddhism in the lands of its origin. Nine accounts of contemporary movements in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Japan are framed by interpretive essays. The historical development and institutional forms of engaged Buddhism are considered in the light of traditional Buddhist conceptions of morality, interdependence, and liberation; and Western ideas of freedom, human rights, and democracy.

Since the fiery self-immolation of the Vietnamese monk Thich Quang Duc on a Saigon street in 1963, "engaged Buddhism" has spread throughout Asia and the West. Twice in recent years the Nobel Prize for peace was awarded to Buddhists for their efforts to free their compatriots from totalitarian regimes.

Engaged Buddhism presents ordained and lay Buddhist activists like Thich Nhat Hanh of Vietnam, Buddhadasa Bhikkhu and Sulak Sivaraksa of Thailand, A. T. Ariyaratne and the Sarvodaya Shramadana movement of Sri Lanka, Daisaku Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai movement of Japan, followers of the Indian Untouchable leader, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, and Buddhist women throughout Asia. These leaders have campaigned relentlessly, attracted and organized millions of new converts, faced death threats, landed in jail, founded schools and universities, and produced a massive new Buddhist literature to restore social and economic justice to their societies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

inspiring book about modern application of Buddhism
This is a quite academic book about Buddhism in modern day Asia. It gives a brief introduction to several different approaches of modern application of Buddhism. It starts with the Ambedkarite Movement in India and ends with the Soka Gakkai in Japan. Well worth reading, especially if you think that Buddhism is a pessimistic religion ... Read more

Product Description
No online description is currently available. If you would like to receive information about this title, please email Routledge at info@routledge-ny.com ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent
If you're interested in the origins of Buddhism, with a thorough exposition of its social parameters, this is the book for you. From the Buddha's relation to Brahminism and the evolution of the religious order founded by him, this book covers it all, including the arrival of Europeans and how Theravada Buddhism reacted to it.

Personally, I started reading this book to know about Theravada Buddhism per se, not so much its social history, but even then I found much to be interesting and helpful for an understanding of Buddhism in general.

The writing is excellent, precise, to the point, and informative.

Outstanding social history of Buddhism in ancient India and Sri Lanka
Gombrich is an excellent writer, his prose clear and precise. In this book, he does a great job of explaining how Buddhism grew out of the Buddha's responses to the various religious and spiritual options available in 500-400 b.c. India, including Brahmanism and various types of renouncers and ascetics. Fascinating! Gombrich also does an excellent job of explaining the specific spiritual problems Gotama attempted to address with his philosophy and practice. Very highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (7)

Each chapter is it's own lesson
"Unlimiting Mind" may become of the most important books for today's Buddhism. Andrew gives us the bare bones, from his perspective as a Theravadan scholar, and psychologist. He attended various school including Lancaster University in England, Harvard and the University of Sri Lanka. For those that do not know Andrew Olendzki, his work is already known in various circles due to his essays being published in Tricycle, The Insight Meditation Journal and various other places. Andrew is a former executive director of the Insight Meditation Center and now is the executive director of Barre Center For Buddhist Studies, which shared grounds with IMS.

I always get a bit freaked out before reading a book if the title has the word "psychology" in it. I automatically assume there are going to be all sorts of huge words that intermingle with one another making it nearly impossible to read. That is not the case, as a matter of fact there isn't much reference to psychology from what I can see, maybe he used his psychological viewpoint to break the teachings down though, and he has certainly broken them down. So much so, he's taken original teaching from Pali texts and compared them to modern day situations we find ourselves in.


For instance, in the chapter titled "One Thing At A Time" he talks about our cultures "need" to constantly multi-task and just how ineffective it truly is. Specifically, he says...

"...try simultaneously texting a message while driving, guided by your GPS through an unfamiliar neighborhood, while catching the latest sports score on your radio and discussing some recent relationship difficulty with your partner."

He goes on in the next paragraph...

"One image in the Pali texts compares the flow of consciousness to a mountain stream flowing swiftly downhill. If there are several outlets through which the water is disperses, then when is reaches the plain it will be little more than a trickle."

Each chapter is it's own lesson, the book is not a comprehensive chapter series, but broken up so you don't have to sit and read in succession. I found the book to be very helpful.

From topics such as recognizing that "ourself"" is really "our non-self", to common misconceptions we often make about the dharma and our own dharma practice.

In the long run, I know this book will be referred to as my practice transforms, fails and get's back up again. A book like this is necessary in today's "Buddhism" because it shows just how relevant the words the Buddha said are, even to the lifestyles we lead right now, more than 2,500 years later.

YAWN - yet another dharma book with nothing to say
If you've read any dharma books, you've read this one.Very few of them actually say anything.I expected better of this author, who is knowledgeable but says nothing of substance.

A Scholar-Meditator's Dazzling Dharma
Many dharma teachers ply their trade by offering uplifting anecdotes, meditation tips and inspirational quotations in the style of Sunday sermons and self-help books.

Olendzki, a Buddhist scholar and linguist by training, offers a refreshing contrast by declaiming the dharma in the voice of a scholar-meditator - a virtuoso explainer with some big ideas of his own.

A linguist of Pali, the ancient language used to record the Buddha's original teachings, Olendzki turns the occasional sigh-inducing spiritual phrase himself. But mainly he guides through his scholarship, his vivid examples, his translations from Pali and a vernacular prose style that matches a savvy charm with direct, at times dazzling clarity.

The book is a collection of 34 short essays grouped in eight thematic chapters titled "The Bigger Picture," "Caring for the World," "Constructing Reality," "The Practice," "Understanding the Teachings," "Self and Non-Self," "Karma," and "The Emergence of Mindfulness." Two meaty essays bookend the central chapters - the Introduction, which relates Buddhist psychology to modern science and psychology, and the final chapter, which ingeniously illuminates the murky ancient masterpiece of Buddhist psychology, the Abhidhamma.These two synthesizing essays, plus the organic unity naturally created by occasional pieces from an author obsessed by a few major themes, offer a unifying arc and make the book a book.

I'm a dharma book junkie and I've never read one quite like this one. The author's style and temperament mix opposite qualities - of the journalist and the scholar; of the scientist and the poet; of an inspired spiritual dreamer and a disciplined pilot flying with a checklist (in Olendzki's case, a Pali-English/English-Pali dictionary) that is always close at hand and exactingly referenced.

Here is how Olendzki begins the essay called "Making the Best of It," possibly the best three pages ever written in plain English explaining the Buddha's theory of human suffering, and how to alleviate it:

"Sensory information hurtles in at our eyeballs at the speed of light, crashes into our eardrums at the speed of sound, and courses through our mind and body as fast as an electrochemical signal can flash from one neuron to the next. And how do we deal with all this data without getting overwhelmed? By blocking out most of it, and stepping down the voltage on what little is left."

And then what happens?

"The brain freezes the world into discrete mind moments, each capturing a barely adequate morsel of information, then processes these one by one in a rapid linear sequence. The result is a compiled virtual world of experience, more or less patterned on what's `out there,' but mostly organized around the needs and limitations of the apparatus constructing it. It is like the brain and its senses are hastily taking a series of snapshots, then stringing them together into a movie we call `the stream of consciousness.'" The Buddhists have a pretty good word to describe this system: delusion."

Citing the word "delusion" (in Pali, moha) typifies Olendzki's use of Pali terms as the foundation, scaffolding and spire of his own reflections. When he finds no historical translation to suit his modern Western purpose, Olendzki steeps himself in the etymology of the term in question and generates a new translation that works.

An example is his translation of "sila," the Pali word usually rendered as "ethics," instead as "integrity." With this single linguistic stroke Olendzki turns the entire notion of "sila" practices, comprising one-third of the Buddhist path to the end of suffering, from an outside-in to an inside-out operation. That is, from ethical behavior that is driven by external forces to ethical behavior driven by "radically experiential knowledge." (The phrase in quotes is the main theme of the book, about which more in a moment.) That move, in turn, generates a whole new line of reflection on the Western idea of integrity in Buddhist terms, including the idea that restraint, the core practice of sila, must also be a core practice of authentic integrity, of living out one's highest ideals.

One normally thinks of integrity as containing an element that is almost the opposite of restraint, in the sense that a person of such character is thought to be able naturally andunrestrictedly to act on the basis of wholesome moral ideals. The idea that meticulous moral restraint is necessary to achieve such integrity could surely be a helpful notion to guide anyone seeking to live from their own highest nature.

The book's subtitle, "The Radically Experiential Psychology of Buddhism," refers to the central thesis that the Buddha delineated a theory of mind that astonishingly foreshadowed the revolutionary postmodern insight that the world cannot be adequately described by an objective outsider, studying the world's laws by looking in. Only an inside view reveals the deepest truth of reality; all meaning is locally constructed.

"Each one of us is planted squarely in the center of a virtual world we create for ourselves every moment," Olendzki explains. As a result, "the non-personal `objective' perspective on everything cannot ultimately be explained except as a sort of thought experiment. We are embedded in the world, whether we like it or not. All views are a view from somewhere, and we are discovering again and again that where you are looking from makes a big difference to what you see."

Relating this radical discovery of the Buddha to contemporary physics, complexity theory, mindfulness psychotherapy and positive psychology is a strength of the book. But so is how the author carefully stays clear of dilettantish speculation on East-West affinities, of the sort that fuels many "science and spirituality" seminars. Indeed in one chapter of Unlimiting Mind, on the topic of "papañca," the Pali word for "mental proliferation," Olendzki spears that type of speculation deftly and definitively.

Olendzki's preferred method, once he has defined one or another of the Buddha's subtle doctrines in vernacular English, is directly to demonstrate some practical application of that doctrine in the real world - usually as a therapy for suffering.

In a section on the potentially abstruse notion of interdependent origination, Olendzki brings the topic down to earth by examining how each moment of consciousness contains two separate elements - first, an object which is experienced, and second, "the liking or disliking of it [which] is something added by our psychological response to it. It is the difference between `That is a threatening person' on the one hand and `I feel threatened when I think of that person' on the other ... It is the difference between `I have to be like this because this is the way I am' on the one hand, and `I am like this because of these conditions, and if I manage to change the conditions slightly I am capable of being different in some important ways."

A refreshing consequence of Olendzki's dispassionate bent is that from time to time, certain clichés of contemporary Buddhist discourse are pleasingly punctured -- though always gently, with suggested areas of conciliation offered. Even the suttas, the sacred original texts of Theravadan Buddhists, sometimes don't quite retain their relevance in modern-day conditions, Olendzki notes at one point. My favorite example of Olendzki's willingness to take on today's conventional dharma wisdom is the chapter called "Interconnected ... Or Not?", which begins:

"When I look up the word `connected' in my dictionary, I find synonyms such as `bound,' `fastened,' and `attached.' Last I heard, these were not considered a good thing in Buddhism. So why do we hear so much about `interconnectedness' these days? Was the Buddha really teaching us that are things are interconnected?"

I won't spoil the ending to this chapter but will offer a hint that has probably already occurred to you: the coinage of a new word that Olendzki, with his typical genial rigor, suggests is more accurate to the Buddha's true teaching than the word "interconnected."

A second unifying theme of the book is that the Buddha's discovery of radically experiential knowledge is today being rediscovered not only in the sciences, but also by millions of meditators worldwide. All of us who are being drawn these days to sit in meditation halls to watch and restrain our minds, Olendzki says, may be the manifestation of an urgently-needed evolution of humankind.

"Mindfulness is a mechanism for evolving as a species," Olendzki writes. "Inquiry into the nature of consciousness, if done directly and experientially, naturally results in a purification of the quality of consciousness. This means that as we come to better understand consciousness, we cannot help but become better people ourselves.

"And it may even be that we can realistically aspire to extinguishing the fires of greed, hatred and delusion that are ravaging the world we inhabit."

This book is a convivial, practical, at times thrillingly inspired companion guide for anyone wishing to add their own efforts to this vital global project.

Relevant, articulate, wonderful
This is a collection of essays that are little jewels that can be read again and again for more insights. They speak directly to our daily life in 2010, articulating the dharma concisely; translating it into both our current cultural context and language.

Highly recommend for therapists using mindfulness-based practices and for anyone who practices mindfulness.
This is an amazing book. Andrew Olendzki presents Buddhist principles in a deeply experiential way, so they are easily accessible to the reader. He shares profound wisdom that stems from his own practice and scholarship in a way that really allows the reader to engage with the material, personalize it, and use it in her or his own life.

This book is essential reading for anyone who teaches mindfulness in any context (Buddhist practice, yoga, psychotherapy) and extremely useful for anyone who practices mindfulness.

Lizabeth Roemer, Ph.D. ... Read more

Product Description
Volume One ofClassics of Buddhism and Zen contains teachings predominantly from the Chinese Zen (Chan) tradition, including the writings of revered Chinese masters such as Pai-chang, founder of the Chan monastic tradition; Huang-po, one of the forefathers of the Lin-chi-tsung or Rinzai school; Foyan, the great master of the twelfth-century Chinese Zen "renaissance"; and many others.



The volume includes:

Zen Lessons: The Art of Leadership
This guide to enlightened conduct for people in positions of authority is based on the teachings of several great Zen masters of China.

Zen Essence: The Science of Freedom
Drawn from the records of the great Chinese Zen masters of the Tang and Song dynasties, this collection represents the most open and direct forms of instruction in the entire Zen canon.

The Five Houses of Zen
These writings are widely considered to be preeminent among Zen literature.

Minding Mind: A Course in Basic Meditation
The meditation instructions in this book focus on attaining a state of true objectivity that enables the practitioner to use all other forms of meditation freely and consciously, without becoming fixated or obsessed.

Instant Zen
Presented here are the teachings of Foyan, who offers simple exercises in attention and thought designed to lead to insight into the real nature of self. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Superb book!
Tom Cleary is not merely a translator.He is an insightful interpreter, working from inside the material, bringing the essential meaning to readers in the English language.His commentary is every bit as much an authentic addition to the literature of Zen and Buddhism as that of the classical commentators, inviting you to stop and see for yourself.Do you understand?

Zen
An excellent collection of Cleary's translations of Zen Classics.
Full of real insight that points the Way through this confusing
age of science and materialistic religions towards true Awakening.
"Don't cling, don't seek. Act spontaneously without attachment."
"Float like a cloud, flow like water, bend like grass in the wind."

Highly recommended!

book purchase
This product was a gift, and I have no first hand contact with it. Nevertheless, its recipient informed he of his complete satisfaction with its delivery and contents. I can rate it only less than perfect for the simple reason that I lack any first hand experience with the item I purchased for someone else. In no way is this rating intended to convey any dissatisfaction with the book whatsoever.

Essential for Zen students, enriching for all
Essential for Zen students, enriching for all.

All Five Volumes of Classics of Buddhism and Zen contain the translations of some of the most essential literature of Buddhism and Zen.

Volume One focuses primarily on the classic Chinese masters of Zen (like Pai-chang, Lin-chi-tsung [J.Rinzai] and his teacher, Huang-po, Yunmen, and more), but also contains some gems from Japanese masters (including Eihei Dogen), and a wonderful translation of one of the classic meditation treatises by the Korean master Chinul.

As the Collected Works of Thomas Cleary, these translations span his remarkably prolific career. Finally, they have become available in this beautiful, accessible five-volume set. This five-volume set includes nearly all of Thomas Cleary's translations (some have even been slightly revised and updated). They also include all the supplemental material included in the original individual translations, ie. glossaries, notes, indexes, Introductions, and Cleary's own insightful commentaries.

Only a handful of Thomas Cleary's Buddhist and Zen translations are not included in this set, primarily because their own bulk would necessarily constitute a volume unto themselves-these include, The Blue Cliff Record (trans. with J.C. Cleary), The Book of Serenity, and The Avatamsaka Sutra.

Volume One contains:

Zen Lessons: The Art of Leadership

Zen Essence: The Science of Freedom

The Five Houses of Zen

Minding Mind: A Course in Basic Meditation

Instant Zen

All five volumes are formatted for ease of access and reading. The set, or the individual volumes are a perfect gift for anyone with an interest in Zen or Buddhism, Eastern Religion or Eastern Philosophy. The Hardcovers are sturdy and finely bound, the Trade Paper are also made to last.

Essential for Zen students, enriching for all
Essential translations of the classic texts of Buddhism and Zen!

All Five Volumes of Classics of Buddhism and Zen contain the translations of some of the most essential literature of Buddhism and Zen.

Volume One focuses primarily on the classic Chinese masters of Zen (like Pai-chang, Lin-chi-tsung [J.Rinzai] and his teacher, Huang-po, Yunmen, and more), but also contains some gems from Japanese masters (including Eihei Dogen), and a wonderful translation of one of the classic meditation treatises by the Korean master Chinul.

As the Collected Works of Thomas Cleary, these translations span his remarkably prolific career. Finally, they have become available in this beautiful, accessible five-volume set. This five-volume set includes nearly all of Thomas Cleary's translations (some have even been slightly revised and updated). They also include all the supplemental material included in the original individual translations, ie. glossaries, notes, indexes, Introductions, and Cleary's own insightful commentaries.

Only a handful of Thomas Cleary's Buddhist and Zen translations are not included in this set, primarily because their own bulk would necessarily constitute a volume unto themselves--these include, The Blue Cliff Record (trans. with J.C. Cleary), The Book of Serenity, and The Avatamsaka Sutra.

Volume One contains:

Zen Lessons: The Art of Leadership

Zen Essence: The Science of Freedom

The Five Houses of Zen

Minding Mind: A Course in Basic Meditation

Instant Zen

(You can find more info on the contents of these texts by "searching" them individually).

All five volumes are formatted for ease of access and reading. The set, or the individual volumes are a perfect gift for anyone with an interest in Zen or Buddhism, Eastern Religion or Eastern Philosophy. The Hardcovers are sturdy and finely bound, the Trade Paper are also made to last.


... Read more

Product Description
Although Indian and Tibetan versions of tantric Buddhism are increasingly recognized, the East Asian variations on this practice remain largely overlooked. The only book to present the entire breadth of tantric Buddhism in East Asia, this collection remedies that situation with 12 key essays drawn from rare sources. Organized into four sections—China and Korea, Japan, Deities and Practices, and Influences on Japanese Religion—the book brings together a "critical mass" of scholarship, with the potential to create a sea change in the understanding of this subject ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Tantric Buddhism in East Asia
"Tantric Buddhism is East Asia" is a welcome collection of essays on Vajrayana Buddhism and the many guises it takes in East Asia. As a casual reader of Buddhist texts I found it to be most enjoyable and recommend it as an introduction to the general climate of what has come to be known in the West as "tantric" Buddhism. The collection is edited by Richard Payne, a Western scholar of religion who happens to be an ordained Shingon priest; though you wouldn't know this from reading his introductory essay. It has some merit, but the author seems excessively spooked by what he sees as orientalist authoritarianism which mire classic Buddhist studies in the West. Without doubt modern philosophical currents shaped the study of Buddhism in the West and continues to do so for the most part to this day. Unfortunately Payne fails to see any "authoritarianism" in his thoroughly "Western academic" approach to the study Buddhism.

As far as the essays are concerned it would be hard to single out the most important essays because they are all quite diverse and important in their own right. Those which appealed to me were James Stanford's "Breath of Life: The Esoteric Nembutsu", H. Byron Earhart's "Shugendo, the Traditions of En no Gyoja and Mikkyo Influence", Henrick Sorensen's "Esoteric Buddhism in Korea", Hisao Inagaki's "Kukai's 'Principle of Attaining Buddhahood with the Present Body'", and Ian Astley's "The Five Mysteries of Vajrasattva: A Buddhist Tantric View of the Passions and Enlightenment". I especially enjoyed the essay on Shugendo, a topic so rare in studies of Japanese religion, yet one of the most interesting for me personally because of its synthesis of Mikkyo and the indigenous mountain asceticism (sangaku shinko) of Japan.

What makes this collection valuable is the scarcity of quality introductions to Vajrayana outside of the well-known Tibetan tradition and the extreme difficulty one finds in accessing the inner logic of Vajrayana, or more popularly "tantric" Buddhism. The essays here are by and large introductory yet scholarly rigorous and, in the case of Korean Esoteric Buddhism, the first of their kind that I've seen. This field is still opening up as interest in Vajrayana increases and as the prejudices which saw in Vajrayana a falling away from the purity of the "original Dharma" begin themselves to fall away.

Fine Collection of Fine Articles
Don't let the slightly New Age look of the cover fool you. This book consists of a number of articles all of high scholarly calibre. Except for the editor's introduction (which includes an interesting if slightly nitpicky consideration of the category "tantric" and other relevant terms), these articles have appeared before, but scattered in more or less inaccessible sources. To have them all easily available together here is a real godsend (so to speak). Also, and perhaps accidentally, a good balance is struck between studies of the esoteric tradition in its classical, clearly formulated aspect and explorations of its interaction and osmosis with other Buddhist traditions.

By the way, the articles are:
1. Tantrism in China (Chou Yi-Liang)
2. Esoteric Buddhism in Korea (Henrik H. Sorensen)
3. On Esoteric Practices in Korean Son Buddhism during the Choson Period (Henrik H. Sorensen)
4. Kukai's "Principle of Attaining Buddhahood with the Present Body" (Hisao Inagaki)
5. The Five Mysteries of Vajrasattva: A Buddhist Tantric View of the Passions and Enlightenment (Ian Astley)
6. An Annotated Translation of the Pancabhisambodhi Practice of the Tattvasamgraha (Dale Todaro)
7. The Twelve-Armed Deity Daisho Kongo and His Scriptural Sources (Pol Vanden Broucke)
8. Breath of Life: The Esoteric Nenbutsu (James H. Sanford)
9. Shugendo, the Traditions of En no Gyoja, and Mikkyo Influence (H. Byron Earhart)
10. The Cave and the Womb World (Helen Hardacre) ... Read more

Product Description
"Written with humor, lightness of touch and an affection for the human condition with all its faults,...also a serious book and nothing of the basic teaching is left out."-- Anne Bancroft, Resurgence ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

This is Guy Claxton on a really lazy day.
I read several of Guy Claxton books.I typically love them.But, not this one.He is an original, insightful, contrarian, brilliant type of thinker on cognitive science.But, not here.I don't think he defines Buddhism well.And, does not provide the reader with much to work on or understand, unlike most of his other books.

A nice intro
A nice and comprehensive introduction to Buddhism from a Guy who tried the main traditions (Zen, Tibetan and Theravada). Very easy but never superficial reading, complete with glossary and commented bibliography. I found the first couple of chapters a bit slow, but then again this is really intended to be a first book and this reader has read more than a few on the subject. I also wish that Mr Claxton, drawing from his sincretic experience, had extended his comparison of the branches of Buddhism at the end of the book, which is very interesting but too short. Anyway, he delivers what he promises. It is a perfect gift to a friend who is attracted to Buddhism but is clueless.

Buddhism without Asian adornments.
If you're looking for a book that clearly explains Buddhism without the trappings -- robes, lotus postures, beliefs about reincarnation, talk of cherry blossoms -- The Heart of Buddhism is the book for you. Guy Claxton is an intelligent writer and the writing is compact, condensed; he says a lot in every paragraph. And the writing is straightforward and easy to follow. If reincarnation exists and if Buddha was reincarnated in some modern, English-speaking country, how would he communicate his message? I think it would be very much the way Claxton has done it in this book.

Claxton clearly explains how our own general agitation and unease and even our self-centeredness has come about -- how it is really inevitable given our approach -- and how it can be alleviated. An interesting idea I got from this book is that a third of our unhappiness is caused by external circumstances. Two thirds is self-created, and that's what Buddhism is designed to cure.

Why is Buddhism becoming more popular? Claxton wrote, 'It is THE 'religion' for a secular age, concerning itself centrally with improving the quality of everyday life, requiring no adherence to obscure or magical beliefs, and offering a penetrating analysis of the condition -- or lack of it -- that we find ourselves in, as well as a powerful and proven set of specific techniques for increasing happiness, kindliness and peace in people's lives.'

He goes on: 'Buddhism is really a deep do-it-yourself kit of ideas and practices for changing in the directions that most people would like: more openness, less defensiveness; more tolerance, less irritation; more ease, less worry; more generosity, less selfishness; more naturalness, less self-consciousness; more equanimity, less frustration.'

In this book you get a thorough understanding of the Four Noble Truths (written from an understanding of their meaning rather than translating an Asian understanding into English), a clear explanation of the Noble Eightfold Path and the Five Precepts. Claxton describes the different forms of Buddhist meditation and how they work. There is a great chapter near the end of the book on the benefits of Buddhist practice.

On page 168 is a spreadsheet showing a 'brand comparison' of the five most popular kinds of Buddhism (Zen, Tibetan, etc.) which rates each for its emphasis on ten different things like 'moral discipline' and 'reverence for lineage.'

Buddhism is self-help at its finest. I'm the author of the book, Self-Help Stuff That Works, and I can tell you this with authority: Buddhism is one of the finest set of practical self-help tools available on the planet, and Claxton clearly explains how these tools can be used by Westerners. I recommend it highly.

Recommended for students of Buddhist philosophy & practice.
Buddhism is principally concerned with improving the quality of everyday life. It requires no adherence to obscure beliefs or magical thinking. It offers a penetrating diagnosis of the human condition and a proven set oftechniques for overcoming the daily rigors of modern life. Guy Claxton'sThe Heart Of Buddhism: Practical Wisdom For An Agitated World explains whatBuddhism is aptly appropriate for any personal, social or global situationtoday, and goes on to describe how we can each help ourselves individual,with a teacher, in a group, or on our own, through a Buddhist approach tounderstanding, meditation, discipline and communication. The Heart OfBuddhism is highly recommended reading for students of Buddhist philosophyand practice.

Great beginners book
This was my first "buddhist" book. I just decided to try this out.. and it paid off. A great book written for todays westerners. The book was very easy to read, free from all the "mumbo-jumbo" Conceptspresented with situation from every day western life. Quite enjoyable.Great for beginners. ... Read more

Product Description
Born out of a decade of discussion and collaboration between an international management consultant and the head of state and spiritual leader of Tibet, "The Leader's Way" is an inspiring manifesto for leading change which can have an impact at every level. To deal with the world's economic and environmental problems requires a different kind of leadership which see things as they really are and understands the interconnectedness between companies and countries and the world as a whole. "The Leader's Way" contains not only fascinating anecdotes from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, including his meetings with Mao, but also a timely and powerful focus on the importance of combining an economic system with moral values. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Succinct read with great insight
This book is very easy to read and at the same time express a wealth of information and knowledge both about buddhist and business principles.

The book is not about buddhism but explains how some philosophies can be applied to improve business practices. It also does not try to trick you into becoming a buddhist.

It outlines some handy meditation techniques to help people cope with the daily stress of working or running a business. I have found these very useful to help put issues in perspective.

The business side is limited to how buddhism can improve business practices. There is some discussion about sustainable innovation (eg micro-lending) but this is the extent of discussion about business.

I didn't give it five stars because I don't think you can ever really give something a perfect score.

The Buddhist way to do business
The Dalai Lama is a monk and a spiritual leader who has both feet planted firmly in the real world. Not content with being one of the world's most recognizable religious figures, he advocates for social and economic change through the application of Buddhist principles. His collaboration and 10 years of conversation with management consultant Laurens van den Muyzenberg - clearly reported here - offer a blueprint for being a better leader and a more satisfied person, and for contributing to solving world problems through integrity, respect and sensitivity toward others. In this book, the Dalai Lama uses wise practicality to teach conscious leadership and to urge people to follow their instincts for good. getAbstract recommends these teachings to those who are interested in how spiritual concepts apply to leadership and business.

Management Consultant Meets the Monk!
Let it be clear at the outset that this book is not about Buddhism as a religion. Dalai Lama, in all his talks and writings, has made it abundantly clear that his observations are meant to help people lead a good and responsible life and that people who do not believe in any religion can also lead a good and responsible life. His message of kindness and self-responsibility is universal.

Born out of decade of dialogue between HH the Dalai Lama and an international management consultant, Laurens Van Den Muyzenberg, Leader's Way aims 'to enable readers and leaders to understand more clearly what happens in their minds and in the minds of others, particularly in the context of leadership'(p.3). The book starts with the insightful premise that a leader's ability to make right decisions depends upon what the Dalai Lama calls "a calm, collected, and concentrated mind."

The entire message of the book can be summed up in two phrases: Right View and Right Conduct. If your conduct is based on right view, your decisions as a leader will be more effective and satisfying. What is right view? Right view in part has to do with our intentions and motivations underlying our actions. When we are motivated by the intention to avoid harm and to help increase the well-being of others, our decisions contribute to the happiness and prosperity of all involved.

When these twains of right view and right conduct are applied to the world economy and marketplace, we are able to create what Laurens Muyzenberg calls "responsible free-market economy."

Highly recommended to those who are looking for a mindful way to lead and manage organizations in a world plagued by greed, hatred, and self-centeredness.

Peace and Harmony!

Dr. Satinder Dhiman
Associate Dean, School of Business
Professor and Chair, MBA Program
Woodbury University, Burbank, California

Co-author: The Workplace and Spirituality: New Perspectives on Research and Practice (2009). Skylight Paths Publishing.
... Read more

Product Description
You-re no idiot, of course. You know many people have turned to Buddhism as an alternative to organized religion-but you-re mistaken if you believe that all Buddhists live a monklike existence.Don-t wait until your next life to experience Zen! The Pocket Idiot-s Guide- to Buddhism reveals the essence of Buddhist thought from its inception in the Far East to its growing devotees in the West. In this Pocket Idiot-s Guide-, you get:--The life of Siddhartha-better known as the Buddha-the founder of Buddhism.--The basic Buddhist belief system, including the Three Marks of Existence, the Four Noble Truths, and the Eightfold Path.--Fully explained concepts such as Zen, karma, dharma, and sutras.--The history of the various Buddhist sects and their important influence. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Buddhism Colonized
The format and layout of this book is well done, and it is a descent quick reference guide for terms. What I disliked about this book (starting on page 3 "The Vedic Religion") is that the author goes out of his way to link Indian accomplishments to fanciful European or non Indian influences without any citation or even a plausible theory. This causes the non novice practitioner of Buddhism to question even the most basic facts presented by the author.Max Mueller, Thomas McCully Aryan invasion theory was based on pseudo science and racism, and has been disproven by archeological evidence. why is it being present in this book as fact? The Vedas never even mentionsan Aryan homeland. If I were an invader I think I would make sure my history and origin was keep alive. Buddhism can be claimed by all for the enlightenment of the self it does not need to be stolen. Respect the ingenuity and creativity of others.

This Guide is not for Dummies
Having recently been disappointed by Oxford University Press's "Buddhism: a Very Short Introduction," I wanted to find a short-but-worthwhile text on Buddhism.Not being a fan of "Idiot's Guides," I was hesitant to buy this book.I'm glad I did.

The "Pocket Idiot's Guide" gives a brief history of Buddhism, reviews the major schools of Buddhism (Theravada, Mahayana, Tibetan, and Pure Land), and tries to place Buddhism in context in the modern world.It does a good job of each.

One thing the book doesn't do, is explain what the heck Nirvana is.(The Oxford University Press book didn't either).Apparently nobody knows exactly what Nirvana is, but Buddhists are sure that we'll like it.

The uncertainty about Nirvana would tend to make me reluctant to build up too much good Karma.If you don't have enough good Karma, you keep getting reborn, and at least you know what you're in for.If you get too much good Karma, you attain Nirvana, something almost totally unknown.If you don't know where you're going, you might not like it when you get there.

A word for the wise: not for idiots
In my search for a deeper understanding of this religion, I picked up this book a few weeks ago, since I have very limited knowledge about it. Without intending to make of it my perennial reference book about the Buddha and his teachings, I find it (as most titles in the series) extremely useful. It walks you through the essentials in a logical manner that results easy to follow and to assimilate. Highly recommended for starters!

Not as Idiotic as the Title Implies
Despite its title and misleading cover blurbs (there are no "Zen-ful tips" as the cover says), this is actually a good overview of the many different schools of Buddhism.This is not a book of Buddhist teachings but a historical survey of Buddhism from its beginnings to the present day.It does go into some of the doctrinal differences between some of the Buddhist schools, but the primary value of this book is in providing a framework for understanding Buddhism in all its varied forms. ... Read more

Product Description
The Hwa Yen school of Mahayana Buddhism bloomed in China in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. Today many scholars regard its doctrines of Emptiness, Totality, and Mind-Only as the crown of Buddhist thought and as a useful and unique philosophical system and explanation of man, world, and life as intuitively experienced in Zen practice.For the first time in any Western language Garma Chang explains and exemplifies these doctrines with references to both oriental masters and Western philosophers. The Buddha's mystical experience of infinity and totality provides the framework for this objective revelation of the three pervasive and interlocking concepts upon which any study of Mahayana philosophy must depend. Following an introductory section describing the essential differences between Judeo-Christian and Buddhist philosophy, Professor Chang provides an extensive, expertly developed section on the philosophical foundations of Hwa Yen Buddhism dealing with the core concept of True Voidness, the philosophy of Totality, and the doctrine of Mind-Only. A concluding section includes selections of Hwa Yen readings and biographies of the patriarchs, as well as a glossary and list of Chinese terms. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A justifiably classic "Classic."
Chang has done something really important and necessary in writing this concise and comprehensible overview of Hwa-Yen philosophy. I'd recommend this to any student who wishes to cultivate a deeper understanding of the Avatamsaka Sutra and the elements of Mahayana thought that culminates in Hwa-Yen.

Don't skip this one...
The first reviewer says skip this and go to Thomas Cleary.I would assume that means "Entry into the Inconceivable".I have both actually, and I like "The Buddhist Teaching of Totality" better.

To me, the Cleary approach seems to be just to pick you up and dump you right into the middle of things.By page 24, you're already into the four dharmadatu's.These are very subtle concepts that require serious preparation to understand deeply.They may be interesting doctrines if you're into that kind of thing, but I personally like to see how all the pieces fit together.In that sense, I'm totally lost.The Garma Chang book covers a lot more basics before going into the heavy stuff.The pace may be slower, but in the end, I have a much clearer picture.And after that, the Cleary book becomes much more palatable.

Another reviewer mentioned that Garma Chang seems to think he knows everything.I don't know, but from the writing, it's clear that he has a great deal of personal experience on the subject at hand.His discussion on emptyness, for example, is particularly subtle and insightful.Thomas Cleary, on the other hand, doesn't seem to show much opinion of his own.Much of the "Entry into the Inconceivable" text is translated from Chinese works.Same goes for his translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra itself as well.Even the introduction is paraphrasing of Chinese text.Not that translation is not useful of course...

A bonus included in the Garma Chang book is an almost complete translation of "The Great Vows of Samantabhadra".It is important because it's supposed to give one a good feel for what the complete Avatamsaka is like.It is the last part of the Forty Hwa Yen and is often treated as a separate sutra on its own.(It's also classified as one of the Five Sutras of Pure Land)And it's not in Cleary's English translation of Avatamsaka Sutra, which is strictly a translation of Eighty Hwa Yen.

In any case, I'd probably get both books.They serve different purposes.Seems to me that the person who says to skip this one is treating the meaning of the books as self-existent and real and therefore their relative merit should be completely self-evident.We all know that is not true right?

Good Intro, though sectarian
The Hwa Yen school, which drew chiefly from the Avatamsaka Sutra (translated by Cleary), emphasizes Dharma from the perspective of realization, or enlightened mind.Like the Lotus Sutra, The Avatamsaka Sutra is equally an evocation of a state of mind as a presentation of information.The Hwa Yen thinkers of Sung China used this as their starting point to paint a dazzling portrait of our universe filled with mind-blowing images and rich ideas.

This is a pretty good introduction to Hwa Yen Buddhism, although the reader will have to wade through a fair amount of unapologetic sectarianism.Hwa Yen, we learn, is the "highest" and "most advanced" form of Buddhism, and Chang clearly considers himself to have full knowledge of what Buddha "really meant" in his teachings.Despite this sometimes tedious lack of modesty, the book is a good overview of the history and doctrine of this school.Given the unfortunate paucity of material on this intriguing movement, that is a welcome addition.

An authoritative study by an experienced Buddhist
For an easy ride, visit Disneyland. C.C. Chang's study of the Hua Yen is a demanding work, because it presuposes that the reader wishes to find such insight - through practice. The Hua Yen Ching is said to have been expounded immediately after the Buddha's own enlightenment. It is one of the few sutras that actually endeavour to hint about the enlightened state itself- positively, rather than obliquely, by referring to it in relation to what it is not (viz. asrava, klesa defilements, trsna, dualism) - the 'neither-nor' aspect. Hua Yen deals with the 'mutually inclusive' dimension(s) of totality. Beware! Too many Western writings on Hua Yen (Kegon) jump straight into shih-shih wu ai - the 'non-obstruction between thing-events.' But actually, without insight into li-shih wu ai, seeing 'form' as grounded in the kung or 'void' aspect, nobody knows anything about shih-shih wu ai. C.C. Chang had the best Chinese and Tibetan teachers. He writes with authority - because he writes with eperiential insight into what the Hua Yen teaches. I've savoured Chang's work for 25 years, yet it remnains as inspiring and stimulating, as the day I first saw it. A lifelong study this. Find the meaning in your own experience. Candy is for the kids! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Second series not availlable
It is not decent to review D.T.Suzuky, the major authority in Buddhism in the west.
Nobody helped more than he did the introduction of buddhism in our culture. Nobody comes close to him, before and after his writtings. (some close 100 years old)
It is only a shame the SECOND series of the "Essays in Zen Buddhism" is not available for a long time.
The first series is available but hard to find. ... Read more

Product Description
For millennia seekers of truth have found God in a handful of sacred texts. Now God's Breath gathers together selections from seven of the world's major wisdom traditions. The title comes from a Zen saying, "To understand God is to listen. Listen to Jesus and Muhammad and Buddha, but don't get caught up in the names. Listen beyond them; listen to God's breath." Elegantly presented with detailed woodcuts and enlightening introductions by noted scholars, leading thinkers, writers and spiritual teachers including Huston Smith, Karen Armstrong, Reynolds Price, Stephen Mitchell, Marcus Borg, Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung, the Dalai Lama, and others, the selections include excerpts from the Book of Genesis, the Tao Te Ching, the Book of Rumi, the Gospel of John, the Bhagavad Gita, the Qur'an, and the Tibetan Book of the Dead. "A valuable compendium of sacred texts. . . . This is an essential companion for students of world religions." - Publishers Weekly ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Knowledge Growth
I often have found that religion, instead of talking about how much we have in common with each other, serves to divide us (or at least that is what I feel is preached to too many).That said, this book was very interesting in that it helped me understand some of the central texts revered by others.I only read about 60% - 75% of it though.I stopped reading when one of the chapters in the book made it glowingly clear to me where the hatred of those who are not "us" stems from in one religion.I hoped this book would help me see our unions, life already shows us too much of our differences.The book itself, outside of what I got out of it, is very educational.

new thoughts
Being not from a very religious background I purchased this book, I guess looking for something. Believing that no one religion is the "right" choice I chose this sampling if you will, of each. Reading this book slowley so as to connect with each phrase and idea, to understand the meaning of all the words of all the religious concepts and their origins. Is to see that they are so similar, almost identical in so, so many ways. I have a very demanding and at times very violent job, I have seen more senceless death and pain, than I will ever forget. Basically I am not, nor I have been considered a saint. This book changed the way I look at people and think about people, all people, in such a refreshing manner. Although violence is an every day part of my life, I have no enemy, I hold no grudge. After a "battle" I am humbled, and pray for the fallen, not because of what I'll do, but because they don't know. I have such peace of mind although dailey life is filled with drama. Read this book, read it slow, you will feel these words reach down and open your eyes. ... Read more

Product Description
From the first century, when Buddhism entered China, the foreign religion shaped Chinese philosophy, beliefs, and ritual. At the same time, Buddhism had a profound effect on the material world of the Chinese. This wide-ranging study shows that Buddhism brought with it a vast array of objects big and small--relics treasured as parts of the body of the Buddha, prayer beads, and monastic clothing--as well as new ideas about what objects could do and how they should be treated. Kieschnick argues that even some everyday objects not ordinarily associated with Buddhism--bridges, tea, and the chair--on closer inspection turn out to have been intimately tied to Buddhist ideas and practices. Long after Buddhism ceased to be a major force in India, it continued to influence the development of material culture in China, as it does to the present day.

At first glance, this seems surprising. Many Buddhist scriptures and thinkers rejected the material world or even denied its existence with great enthusiasm and sophistication. Others, however, from Buddhist philosophers to ordinary devotees, embraced objects as a means of expressing religious sentiments and doctrines. What was a sad sign of compromise and decline for some was seen as strength and versatility by others. Yielding rich insights through its innovative analysis of particular types of objects, this briskly written book is the first to systematically examine the ambivalent relationship, in the Chinese context, between Buddhism and material culture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Serious scholarship here.
Well-rounded and thorough, with a very readable background as well, it lacks serious photographs to complement the text. ... Read more

Product Description
With over 2,000 wide-ranging entries, this dictionary is the most up-to-date and comprehensive reference of its kind. Written by a leading expert in the field and incorporating research by regional specialists, this dictionary covers both historical and contemporary issues in Buddhism and includes all Buddhist schools and cultures.Elegantly illustrated with line drawings of religious structures, iconography, and ritual objects, the Dictionary of Buddhism includes entries on the history and doctrines of the major Buddhist schools, information on the spread of Buddhism in Asia and the West, and coverage of issues of contemporary concern such as human rights, abortion, euthanasia, and the role of women in Buddhist teachings. An ultimate reference, the dictionary also contains appendices that include a chronology of important dates, a guide to canonical scriptures, and a pronunciation guide for difficult names and terms. Beliefs, doctrines, major teachers and scholars, place names, and artifacts are all covered in a clear and concise style making the Dictionary of Buddhism an invaluable resource for students and practitioners alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

review
Book arrived promptly as promised.Excellent condition.Excellent packaging.A thoroughly satisfactory transaction.Five stars to the vendor and my thanks!

A"mini" English Dictionary of Buddhism for every library
I am of the opinion that this contemporary dictionary is the yet the most concise, comprehensive, updated and historically accurate work about Buddhism written in English.

At first impression, this dictionary may appear to be a bookfully dedicated to a religious topic and written with an intention to reach a limited audience.

On close inspection,however, I am convinced that the author has done a marvelous job in this well researched work to qualify this dictionary as a must-have reference book and mini English dictionary on Buddhism for Buddhist readers, academics, students and researchers in Asian studies.

The book is concisely written and could be read as a little encyclopedia with topics arranged in alphabetical order.

The author has not only successfully dealt with a subject which may otherwise appeal only to interested readers with a religious, spiritual and philosophical background. But interestingly, the author has also nicely done it from a secular and historically accurately perspective for the layman who wishes to acquire more knowledge about Buddhism.

I have used this book for more than 1 year and have managed to find every Buddhist terminologies, historical characters, notes on practices, ceremonies,listed in English which I have encountered in other English and Chinese books on Buddhism.

This dictionary could be used as an INDEX and starting point to studies and readings into more detailed areas of Buddhism.

The book also a very international outlook as even Buddhist societies in America and United Kingdom and their brief history was entered into the 2000+ entries.

To add and make things more interesting to the average readers, the dictionary include concise history of the development of Buddhism in the countries which Buddhism is widely practised or has left its footprints.

Interested readers could find themselves read this book like a mini encyclopedia reference written in English in alphabetical order. Just to let off a secret, section "Q" has only 2 rather meaningless entries and cross references to other topic but it took only 1 page as a formality.

There is also a wealth of commentaries by the author in the book from what I would see as from a historical researcher's perspective.

I strongly believe that the author has done painstaking and extensive if not exhaustive research before putting every entries into his work.

Finally,this book could be easily updated and expanded into an encyclopedia comprising several volumes if most of the mainstream Buddhist sutra are to be included (in English) with interpretation. If so, this would be a challenging task for any author, an in English.

Good for secular reference
From the viewpoint of a Buddhist practitioner, some of the entries were disappointing. For example, the entries for Ksitigarbha and Kuan Yin were not as good as the entries in Shambala Dictionary. Oxford is obviously more updated and includes terms that Shambala doesn't. This is the only advantage it has over the Shambala dictionary (I'd love to see how Shambala would present them).If you're looking for secular reference information the Oxford dictionary is suitable.If you're looking for non-secular information that is commonly agreed upon by most Buddhist practitioners, Shambala is a better choice.

Another good Buddhist dictionary
For many years, "The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen" has been the best Buddhist dictionary in English. It now has a worthy competitor in Damien Keown's "Dictionary of Buddhism."

Keown's dictionary includes over 2,000 entries, as compared with the Shambhala dictionary's 1,500+, and is more up-to-date. Keown includes long and helpful entries on the history of Buddhism in particular places (e.g., Sri Lanka, Japan, Britain) and entries for issues like abortion, cloning, diet, and reincarnation. And Keown has more extensive coverage than Shambhala of Western Buddhism (including entries on, e.g., Alan Watts, Christmas Humphreys, the Buddhist Churches of America, and Naropa University).

But the coverage of Zen isn't as extensive in Keown as in Shambhala. E.g., Keown doesn't include entries for oryoki, rakusu, mokugyo, or tenzo--all in Shambhala. And Keown includes only the more prominent Zen teachers. E.g., there are no entries for two of Dogen's teachers (Myozen and T'ien-t'ung Ju-ching) or one of Hui-neng's two main successors (Ch'ing-yuan)--all in Shambhala. The Shambhala dictionary also includes a Ch'an/Zen lineage chart.

Keown includes many more cross-listings than Shambhala from English terms to their Sanskrit equivalents (e.g., if you look up "emptiness" in Shambhala, you'll find nothing, not even a cross-listing to the entry for "sunyata"; in Keown there's a cross-listing). Keown also includes a helpful chronology of important events in Buddhist history and a listing of the major Buddhist scriptures in the Pali, Chinese, and Tibetan canons. Keown's pronunciation guide is not nearly as helpful as Shambhala's and offers no help at all for Chinese terms.

Overall, I think the Keown dictionary is a bit better, but if you're particularly interested in Zen, you may want the Shambhala dictionary instead or in addition. Both are very good dictionaries, but I'm still wishing for one that combines the virtues of each and is even more comprehensive than either.

2,000 brief yet illuminated entries
Compiled and edited Damien Keown (Senior Lecturer in Indian Religion, Department of Historical and Cultural Studies, Goldsmiths College, University of London), the Dictionary Of Buddhism is a straightforward, alphabetically arranged, "user friendly" reference filled cover to cover with succinct entries regarding people, places, religious terms, figures of history, meditative states, English translations of terms occurring in connection with Buddhism (such as "upasika", a female lay Buddhist). The 2,000 brief yet illuminated entries make Dictionary Of Buddhism a highly recommended consulting resource for studying about this ancient and honorable religion -- and an essential part of any personal, academic, or community library Buddhist Studies reference and resource collection. ... Read more

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In this updated revised second edition of Dharma Family Treasures, Sandy Eastoak combines previous essays by lay and ordained Buddhist practitioners, children, spiritual teachers, young adults, educators, parents, writers and poets, including Diane Di Prima, Barbara Gates, and Thich Nhat Hanh, with nine new essays by Robert Aitken, Richard Nelson, Jin Harrison, Sandy Eastoak, and others. This revised edition also includes a new section containing playful and educational children's Buddhist songs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Wonderful resource
I'm so pleased with this book.It's a great resource for stories and ideas for sharing Buddhism with children.My favorite was the detailed Lovingkindness meditation to share at bedtime, a lovely practice among many in the book.

Valuable spiritual resource for Buddhist families.
This book includes a wide range of essays by lay people and ordained Zen Buddhist practitioners, poets, writers and children.It guides parents on how to nurture their own and their children's spirituality especially onmindfulness in everyday life.It's a great book while the next editioncould include less stories from parents that may be very similar. ... Read more

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Upon reaching Japan, Buddhism, which was founded in India two thousand years ago, collided with an island civilization with its own firmly entrenched cultural and even religious infrastructure. The result, as the Japanese embraced this new, foreign-born religion, was a centuries long "chemical reaction" between religion and culture. This book, written by one of Japan's most outstanding scholars on Buddhism, traces that journey from the beginning through our own time. Japanese Buddhism examines how the religion shaped the people-with their own rich history-even as the people shaped the religion, with the result that Japanese Buddhism is unique in the world today. Delving deeply into the interplay between Buddhism and Japanese poetry, literature and even politics, this book is an invaluable addition to our understanding of Japan, Buddhism and the complex relationship between the two. ... Read more

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Very well written- simple yet captivating
When I've searched for a general introduction for the subject of Japanese Buddhism, I wanted to find a readable, fluent in style and information kind of a book. Among the first results I've found was Tamura's book. After I've looked at the table of content and saw the full scale of this impressive overlook into the subject, I decided to purchase it with no hesitation.I found the historical details and the philosophical explanations to be very clear, especially when comparing various Buddhist sects as "pure land", " Ten Dai" ,"shingon" and even "future Buddhism".
For me, the book was a "must" as I was starting writing my seminar on Japanese Buddhism, and I found it captivating not only in style, but also in the depth of the explanations it gave.

Historical view of Japanese Buddhism
I wish I had this book in college going for a degree in Asian Humanities.The historic facts were well researched and yet, plainly written for academic understanding.Well done. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

Chosen people myth prevents rational solution to the ethnic problem
During the 19th century, alarmed by the success of the Anglican mission in converting a large number of Sinhala Buddhists to Christianity, an Englishman named Olcott went to Sri Lanka.He was the head of the London Buddhist Society.He hired a Sinhala Christian convert named Simon to publish pamphlets in Sinhala to discourage the Sinhala people from converting to Christianity.Simon himself converted back to Buddhism, changed his name to Anagarika Dharmapla and become an energetic Buddhist activist.

Anagarika Dharmapala created a myth that the Sinhala people and the island of Sri Lanka were chosen by Lord Buddha to preserve the true form of Buddhism (Theravada Buddhism).At the present time, this myth is deeply rooted among the Sinhalese who now view the minorities as a stumbling block to their holy mission of preserving Buddhism.

They overlook the historical fact that the island has been multi-ethnic for thousands of years and the Tamils had their own country in the north and east of the island until 1833, when their country was joined with the Sinhala countries to the south and west by the British for their administrative convenience.

This book describes the history and effects of Sinhala-Buddhist chauvanism in the island.Note that this book is banned in Sri Lanka.

Not a Balanced Book
All religions (or the most popular/practiced ones) preach about non-violence right? Or is the author only aware of Buddhism, and not about his own religion? A country has to fight a terrorist organization to save the countrymen.

I'm saying that this book is not a balanced and it forgets about the ruthless terrosit orgaganization LTTE. (Now named a terrorist organization in most countries of europe and in US, whether the author likes it or not). The author has attached the word buddhism so that it will get a nice catchy name to it (and will pop up in when you search for buddhism, a book in reality has nothing to do with buddhism) :-)

From the recorded history of Sri Lanka (2500+) have any one ever heard of it assaulting another country? No it has always been the south Indian kingdoms (in certain periods, which had war mongering kings) who always invaded this tiny beautiful island. But in most occasions the ancient kings of lanka were successful in defending the country.

Now let's move on to the real facts shall we? The author and some others say that it is the government back Buddhists who are killing the Tamils:-) What a joke....

Who killed all of the prominent Tamil leaders? (from the day the conflict began up to now, the latest addition being Hon Lakshman Kadiragamar), it's the Tamil Terrorist Organization LTTE (who claim a mythical Tamil state which covers a 2/3 of the total cost of Sri Lanka)

Who drove out the Sinhala's, Muslims and moderate Tamils from the north and east (in the east we still have Sinhala, Tamil and Muslims in equal proportions), any guesses? It's the LTTE (ahmmm which the author is not aware of)

OK now let's look at the other side. If Sinhala's and the Buddhists are cruel then how come most of the Tamil people who fled the war torn north are now living with Sinhala's in the south (specially in Colombo, Nuwaraeliya etc)? Hmmm ... Seems like they are afraid of the LTTE, who take the Tamil peoples children by force and make them child soldiers (while the children of the leaders of LTTE are having fun in Europe, or are not involved in war). The LTTE also requests ransoms from most of the tamil people to oil their war machine (if the people do not provide the requested sum then they are killed).

Who killed Sil observing Buddhists at the sacred Sri Maha Bodi, who bombed the sacred temple of tooth (which is much respected throughout the world of Buddhists?).. again it is the LTTE.

Who killed presidents and would be presidents like Ranasingha Premadasa, Lalith Athulathmudali, Gamnini Dissanayaka etc.. LTTE

Yes I agree there was a sad occasion in 1983 where some Tamil people were killed in the south and some Sinhala people were killed in the north by extremists on both sides (mostly due to the poor news distribution and people acting on hear-say news). But in the recent years most Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala people have put the past things behind are now working together in harmony. U just have to listen to the news (be it CNN, BBC, Aljazeera) and you will see many interviews with Tamils, Muslims and Sinhala's who are fed up with the LTTE (a group now seems to have connections with other terrorist groups in the world, Just take a look at Jane's Intelligence reports).

One more thing, there are two main problems in Sri Lanka. The ruthless terrorist group LTTE (who do not want a political solution except for a separate state), and poor distribution of resources for the rural parts (be it in north, east, south, west or the center of the island) of Sri Lanka (since most resources are concentrated in Colombo). The current government (2007) seems to be promising because it has started on major infrastructure projects for those rural areas and are encouraging entrepreneurs/companies to go to these regions and invest on new industries. Let's see if the promising trend continues ......

Buddhism Betrayed
All religions are perverted by some of its followers, be it the Islamic extremists in the mid-east, or the Christian and Hindu Fundamentalists in other places. This is indeed regrettable, because Religions in general provide a moral anchor for the majority of people on this earth, to live good lives.

Buddhism, one of the greatest philosophies of all times, has stayed clear of this type of fundamentalist extremism, except in Sri Lanka. This book describes in clear detail how this great religion has been perverted in Sri Lanka.

Buddhists in Sri Lanka believe that the entire island nation belongs to the Buddhists (divinely ordained, according to some) and that people of other persuasions have no place there. This has led to a `Buddhist-Action' movement, supported by a Buddhist dominated parliament to enact laws to this end.

Buddhism is enshrined in the Sri Lanka Constitution as the State Religion. Although other religions are allowed religious `freedom', this is in practice marginal at best.

According to the Sri Lankan government's own published data, more than 64,000 Hindus, Muslims and Christians have been killed by the government forces controlled by the Buddhists, for seeking religious equality. Thousands of Churches, Hindu Temples and Muslim Mosques have been burnt, bombed or otherwise destroyed by the Sri Lankan armed forces.

All this is contrary to the worldwide perception of Buddhism as a tolerant and pacifist religion. Indeed Buddhism, as practiced in other countries such as Thailand, Myanmar and in parts of China, is 'Tolerant' and 'Pacifist'. I have personally experienced this in many places and love the way Buddhism is practiced in most places.

In Sri Lanka, however, mobs instigated by Buddhist fanatics kill non-Buddhists in the name of Buddhism. This book provides an accurate description of Buddhism as practiced in Sri Lanka.

Dalai Lama, the greatest and most recognized Buddhist of our times, is a persona-non-grata in Sri Lanka, and is refused entry to the country. Buddhist leaders in other countries have refused to be associated with Buddhist associations in Sri Lanka.

This is a must read for all interested in Buddhism.

This book compleatly misleads people....
I have red this book and I think this book compleatly mislead people about Buddhism and Sri Lankan comunity. For a person who wants to find out more about Sri Lanka and Buddhism (The truth I mean) there are lots of books. I think that the Tamils who started the war and whole word knows it. Buddhists are normally peaceful people and Tamil Tigers and people who support them like this one hate Buddhists.....Please get a life.... ... Read more