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We all want to find happiness and be free from suffering. Happiness comes from positive mental states and actions, and suffering from the opposite. The twelve-part process of dependent arising shows how actions underlain by ignorance propel us from one rebirth into another, keeping us trapped in suffering, and how through understanding reality correctly we can break this cycle. The four noble truths, the twelve links of dependent arising, and the two truths regarding conventional and ultimate re...

This is a study and first complete English translation of the Vajra Rosary Tantra (Skt. Vajramala, Tib. rdo rje phreng ba), one of the key Explanatory Tantras of the Secret Community (Skt. Guhyasamaja) and other Tantric systems. The text describes how, after the prerequisite preparations and realizations of the bodhisattva path, through further intense, lengthy, and subtle practices of meditation and other activities, one can become a completely enlightened buddha. The Tantra contains a detailed...

Buddhist teacher and anthropologists Joan Halifax delves into - the shadow side of being, found in the root truths of Native religions, the fecundity of nature, and the stillness of meditation.

Beloved Buddhist nun Ayya Khema expertly guides the reader through ten meditations on generating loving-kindness and cultivating the fifteen wholesome qualities necessary for igniting compassion and boundless love. Having escaped Nazi Germany in 1938, Ayya Khema has singularly profound perspective on creating peace, unconditional love, and compassion. She gently teaches that inner peace is not necessarily natural or innate. Instead, peace should be considered a skill that needs intentional prac...

The Seventh Dalai Lama was one of the most beloved Buddhist masters. He had an outrageous sense of humor, which found its way into his spiritual compositions. His popular Gems of Wisdom contains spontaneous verses employing earthy metaphors to illustrate key points. He uses metaphors like farts, body odor, slimy monsters, and mindless lunatics to present the teachings. Simple yet direct, his language captures the spirituality of his vision while avoiding religiosity. Here are Buddha's teachings...

In this fascinating collection of articles, Sogyal Rinpoche, author of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, draws on his experience of twenty-five years of teaching in the West. In The Future of Buddhism, he reflects on some of the vital issues facing Buddhism in the modern world, issues such as adaptation, training, integration and the support of the sangha. He highlights the role of mind in health in The Spiritual Heart of Tibetan Medicine, delving into the practices of 'lojong' - training...

In religious studies, theory and method research has long been embroiled in a polarized debate over scientific versus theological perspectives. Ronald L. Grimes shows that this debate has stagnated, due in part to a manner of theorizing too far removed from the study of actual religious practices. A worthwhile theory, according to Grimes, must be practice-oriented, and practices are most effectively studied by field research methods. The Craft of Ritual Studies melds together a systematic theo...

Zen and psychedelic exploration share a common concern: the liberation of the mind. Through numerous essays and interviews by such luminaries as Terrence McKenna, Charles Tart, Jack Kornfield, as well as visionary art by Odilon Redon, Mark Rothko, Alex Grey, and more, Zig Zag Zen is a provocative and thoughtful exploration of inner states and transformation.

Gratitude The Key to a Happy Mind"Do this simple thing every day; wake up, be grateful, be kind and help others. If you do this, your life will be filled with joy." -His Holiness, The 14th Dalai Lama Follow the advice of Buddhist leader Thich Nhat Hanh, "With all I have experienced in my own life, the power of gratitude stands above everything else. In your mindfulness practice, use gratitude until it becomes your way of life." In this book discover how gratitude is your key to a happy mind. B...