Showing titles in Zen

In this new collection of 33 stories, one of Korea's foremost Seon (Zen) masters introduces the richness and depth of Korea's Buddhist tradition. With humor and insight, Seon Master Daehaeng shows us our inherent potential and demonstrates how we can face the challenges of life with wisdom and vigor.

There is a famous Zen story about a disciple, Riko, who once asked his master, Nansen, to explain to him the old Zen koan of the goose in the bottle. Namely, if a man puts a gosling into a bottle and feeds the gosling through the bottle's neck until it grows and becomes a goose - and then there is simply no more room inside the bottle - how can the man get it out without killing the goose or breaking the bottle? In response, Nansen shouts, "Riko!" and gives a great clap with his hands.

These three sutras are the most important texts for the Chan (Chinese) and Zen (Japanese) Buddhist traditions, though they are very different in character and provenance. The Diamond Sutra (Vajracheddikā Prajña Pārāmitā Sutra in Sanskrit) has the distinction of being 'the earliest complete survival of a dated (11 May 868) printed book’. It was found in the Dunhuang Caves in China in 1900. The title, Diamond Cutter, outlines its purpose, which is to cut through ignorance to attain to perfect wisdom or ultimate reality.

In this extraordinary celebration of spirituality, The Energy of Prayer demonstrates the relevance of prayer in our daily lives. Thich Nhat Hanh reveals how the energy of prayer and meditation allow us to reconnect with our higher selves while satisfying our basic need to connect with the world as a whole. With a generous spirit that acknowledges the many different types and functions of prayer, The Energy of Prayer provides a guide for deepening our spiritual practice through the use of prayer.

Best-selling author Deepak Chopra brings the Buddha back to life in this gripping account of the young prince who abandoned his inheritance to discover his true calling. This iconic journey changed the world forever, and the truths revealed continue to influence every corner of the globe today.

Leading Buddhist scholar Sam van Schaik explores the history and essence of Zen, based on a new translation of one of the earliest surviving collections of teachings by Zen masters. These teachings, titled The Masters and Students of the Lanka, were discovered in a sealed cave on the old Silk Road, in modern Gansu, China, in the early twentieth century. All more than a thousand years old, the manuscripts have sometimes been called the Buddhist Dead Sea Scrolls, and their translation has opened a new window onto the history of Buddhism.

In this long-overdue book from one of the most influential spiritual teachers of the last century, Shunryū Suzuki Roshi shares simple, warmhearted teachings on a practice that is fundamentally about becoming yourself. In his inimitable style, filled with humor and insight, Becoming Yourself speaks directly to the newest beginners while also serving as a touchstone and a continual source of inspiration for even the most experienced practitioners and Zen teachers.

The Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra is among the best known of all the Buddhist scriptures. Chanted daily by many Zen students, it is also studied extensively in the Tibetan tradition, and it has been regarded with interest more recently in the West in various fields of study - from philosophy to quantum physics. In just 35 lines, it expresses the truth of impermanence and the release from suffering that results from the understanding of that truth with a breathtaking economy of language.

What is the essence of Zen meditation? Why is it considered one of the most celebrated spiritual practices of all time? What are the basic steps of its practice? What is the essence of the revolutionary philosophy behind it? And how can its regular practice allow you to conquer spiritual progress and inner peace starting today? Zen Meditation in Easy Steps answers these and other profound questions, presenting the basic teachings of Zen Buddhism. With a bonus selection of Zen spiritual tales, this beginner’s guide contains the basic steps of Zen meditation.

We can restore our inherent connection to nature, each other, our ancestors, and ourselves, and remember our fundamental gift of belonging. With our world experiencing the deep effects of loneliness, environmental detachment, and digital overload, this pocket-sized How To book reminds us of our crucial need to connect to ourselves, our ancestors, and our planet. Written with characteristic simplicity and kindness, these wise meditations teach us how to remember, at any time, our fundamental gift of belonging.

The simple, refreshing meditations of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh give us the tools to cultivate concentration. Practicing mindfulness brings concentration, and concentration brings insight and understanding. With our world experiencing the deep effects of loneliness, digital overload, and a proliferation of potential distractions, this How To book reminds us of the value of developing our concentration, so we can let go of misperceptions and cultivate the clarity of mind that is the basis for understanding ourselves, each other, and the world.

The Gay Science (The Joyful Wisdom) is one of Nietzsche's greatest books. His wonderfully fertile mind roams over mankind, his thoughts, his emotions, his behaviour and his weaknesses with remarkable clarity, with insight - but also with humour!In this work are 383 separate paragraphs, some short, some long, but all singular observations - the epitome of his famous aphoristic style. 'Morality is the herd instinct in the individual.'

Over a decade ago, when Writing Down the Bones first appeared, Natalie Goldberg started a revolution in the way we practice writing. Now, for the first time, Goldberg reads her classic work, while offering new commentary about the creative, spiritual, and practical dimensions of writing. This collector's edition also includes an exclusive interview with the author.

Climbing is a sport of perception, and our level of attainment is a matter of mind as much as body.

By philosopher, essayist and lifelong climber Francis Sanzaro, The Zen of Climbing explores the fundamentals of successful climbing, delving into psychology, neuroscience, philosophy and Taoism. Awareness, Sanzaro argues, is the alchemy of climbing, allowing us to merge mental and physical attributes in one embodied whole. This compact volume, by the author of the classic The Boulder: A Philosophy of Bouldering, puts the climber’s mind at the forefront of practice.

Relax and find happiness amid the swirl of the modern world with this internationally best-selling guide to simplifying your life by a Japanese monk who embodies the wisdom of Zen.

Through decades of martial arts and meditation practice, Peter Ralston discovered a curious and paradoxical fact: that true awareness arises from a state of not knowing. Even the most sincere investigation of self and spirit, he says, is often sabotaged by our tendency to grab too quickly for answers and ideas as we retreat to the safety of the known.

At the time of his murder trial, Jarvis Jay Masters was in solitary confinement and spent 22 years in a five-foot-by-11-foot cell. This is where The Buddhist on Death Row takes off. With uncanny clarity, David Sheff describes Masters’ path to enlightenment - from being sullen and violent to discovering how easy and how hard it is to just sit and breathe, how those minutes spawn heightened perception and deepened compassion, the right way to remember one’s pain, and much more.

Zen Master Dogen wrote the Fukanzazengi (Principles of Seated Meditation) in 1227 upon his return to Japan from China. More than just a treatise on the merits of meditation, the Fukanzazengi invites us to go deeper into our own meditation practice and experience the same depth of realization as the great Zen masters of the past. This commentary on this classic 13th century text attempts to make more accessible what Master Dogen calls the “inexpressible heart” of Zen.

The observations and insights of the Buddha are practical and eminently down to earth, dealing exclusively with awareness in the here and now. Buddhism Plain and Simple offers listeners these fundamental teachings, stripped of cultural trappings that have accumulated around Buddhism over the past 25 centuries.

This is the story of how a meditation practice gave Henry Shukman a context for integrating a sudden spiritual awakening into his life and how his depression and anxiety were gradually healed through this practice. In sharing how he grew into a Zen teacher, Shukman demystifies Zen training, casting its profound insights in simple, lucid language. Along the way, One Blade of Grass guides listeners on a journey of their own, into the hidden treasures that contemplative practice can reveal to any of us.