Download or read book What Makes You Not a Buddhist written by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2008-08-12 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: So you think you're a Buddhist? Think again. Tibetan Buddhist master Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, one of the most creative and innovative lamas teaching today, throws down the gauntlet to the Buddhist world, challenging common misconceptions, stereotypes, and fantasies. With wit and irony, Khysentse urges readers to move beyond the superficial trappings of Buddhism—beyond the romance with beads, incense, or exotic robes—straight to the heart of what the Buddha taught.
Download or read book What Makes You Not a Buddhist written by Jamyang Khyentse and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2007 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dzongsar Khyentse is one of the most creative and innovative young Tibetan Buddhist lamas teaching today. The director of two feature films with Buddhist themes (the international sensation The Cup and Travelers and Magicians), this provocative teacher, artist, and poet is widely known and admired by Western Buddhists. Moving away from conventional presentations of Buddhist teachings, Khyentse challenges readers to make sure they know what they're talking about before they claim to be Buddhist. With wit and irony, Khyentse urges readers to move beyond the superficial trappings of Buddhism--beyond a romance with beads, incense, and exotic people in robes--straight to the heart of what the Buddha taught. In essence, this book explains what a Buddhist really is, namely, someone who deeply understands the truth of impermanence and how our emotions can trap us in cycles of suffering. Khyentse presents the fundamental tenets of Buddhism in simple language, using examples we can all relate to.
Download or read book Why I Am Not a Buddhist written by Evan Thompson and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-28 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A provocative essay challenging the idea of Buddhist exceptionalism, from one of the world's most widely respected philosophers and writers on Buddhism and science. Buddhism has become a uniquely favored religion in our modern age. A burgeoning number of books extol the scientifically proven benefits of meditation and mindfulness for everything ranging from business to romance. There are conferences, courses, and celebrities promoting the notion that Buddhism is spirituality for the rational; compatible with cutting-edge science; indeed, "a science of the mind." In this provocative book, Evan Thompson argues that this representation of Buddhism is false. In lucid and entertaining prose, Thompson dives deep into both Western and Buddhist philosophy to explain how the goals of science and religion are fundamentally different. Efforts to seek their unification are wrongheaded and promote mistaken ideas of both. He suggests cosmopolitanism instead, a worldview with deep roots in both Eastern and Western traditions. Smart, sympathetic, and intellectually ambitious, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in Buddhism's place in our world today."--Provided by publisher.
Download or read book Not for Happiness written by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2012-10-16 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of What Makes You Not a Buddhist comes a fresh look at the foundations of Tibetan Buddhist practice, with practical advice and guidance for the modern practitioner Do you practice meditation because you want to feel good? Or to help you relax and be “happy”? Then frankly, according to Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, you are far better off having a full-body massage than trying to practice the Dharma. Genuine spiritual practice, not least the Ngöndro preliminaries, will not bring the kind of comfort and ease most worldly people crave. Quite the opposite, in fact. But if your ultimate goal is enlightenment, Ngöndro practice is a must, and Not for Happiness your perfect guide, as it contains everything an aspiring practitioner needs to get started, including advice about: • Developing “renunciation mind” • Discipline, meditation and wisdom • Using your imagination in visualization practice • Why you need a guru
Download or read book Why I Am a Buddhist written by Stephen T. Asma and published by Hampton Roads Publishing. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Profound and amusing, this book provides a viable approach to answering the perennial questions: Who am I? Why am I here? How can I live a meaningful life? For Asma, the answers are to be found in Buddhism. There have been a lot of books that have made the case for Buddhism. What makes this book fresh and exciting is Asma’s iconoclasm, irreverence, and hardheaded approach to the subject. He is distressed that much of what passes for Buddhism is really little more than “New Age mush.” He asserts that it is time to “take the California out of Buddhism.” He presents a spiritual practice that does not require a belief in creeds or dogma. It is a practice that is psychologically sound, intellectually credible, and esthetically appealing. It is a practice that does not require a diet of brown rice, burning incense, and putting both your mind and your culture in deep storage. In seven chapters, Asma builds the case for a spiritual practice that is authentic, and inclusive. This is Buddhism for everyone, especially for people who are uncomfortable with religion but yearn for a spiritual practice.
Download or read book Why Buddhism is True written by Robert Wright and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-08-08 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From one of America’s most brilliant writers, a New York Times bestselling journey through psychology, philosophy, and lots of meditation to show how Buddhism holds the key to moral clarity and enduring happiness. At the heart of Buddhism is a simple claim: The reason we suffer—and the reason we make other people suffer—is that we don’t see the world clearly. At the heart of Buddhist meditative practice is a radical promise: We can learn to see the world, including ourselves, more clearly and so gain a deep and morally valid happiness. In this “sublime” (The New Yorker), pathbreaking book, Robert Wright shows how taking this promise seriously can change your life—how it can loosen the grip of anxiety, regret, and hatred, and how it can deepen your appreciation of beauty and of other people. He also shows why this transformation works, drawing on the latest in neuroscience and psychology, and armed with an acute understanding of human evolution. This book is the culmination of a personal journey that began with Wright’s landmark book on evolutionary psychology, The Moral Animal, and deepened as he immersed himself in meditative practice and conversed with some of the world’s most skilled meditators. The result is a story that is “provocative, informative and...deeply rewarding” (The New York Times Book Review), and as entertaining as it is illuminating. Written with the wit, clarity, and grace for which Wright is famous, Why Buddhism Is True lays the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age and shows how, in a time of technological distraction and social division, we can save ourselves from ourselves, both as individuals and as a species.
Download or read book You Are Not Here and Other Works of Buddhist Fiction written by Keith Kachtick and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-04-24 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2004's Nixon Under the Bodhi Tree and Other Works of Buddhist Fiction was hailed as "a milestone" and "an embarrassment of literary riches." Its sequel proves that this new genre is here to stay. Edited by Keith Kachtick-the author of Hungry Ghost: A Novel (A New York Times Notable Book)-You Are Not Here and Other Works of Buddhist Fiction offers even more sparkling and transcendent work from some of fiction's famous names, alongside names you've never heard before-but surely will again. Book jacket.
Download or read book What the Buddha Never Taught written by Tim Ward and published by Changemakers Books. This book was released on 2013-08-30 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is still a place in the jungles of Thailand, where you can leave it all behind... A cult classic and bestseller in the 1990s, What the Buddha Never Taught is a humorous “behind the robes” account of life inside one of the strictest jungle monasteries in Southeast Asia. In Pahnanachat, the monks keep the 227 rules laid down by the Buddha, including refraining from all killing. But how does a foreign monk cope with cobra in the outhouse, or the temptation of a Mars Bar in his begging bowl? Find out, in this newly reincarnated 20th anniversary edition, with a new introduction by the author and a new foreword by Wade Davis. ,
Download or read book Radical written by David Platt and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2010-05-04 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times bestseller What is Jesus worth to you? It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily... But who do you know who lives like that? Do you? In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple--then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a "successful" suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus. Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment -- a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring.
Download or read book You Don t Have to Be Buddhist to Know Nothing written by Joan Konner and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2012-08-31 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this sound-bite history of the concept of nothing, distinguished journalist Konner, author of the bestselling "The Atheist's Bible," has created a unique anthology devoted to, well, nothing.
Download or read book The Four Noble Truths of Love written by Susan Piver and published by Lionheart Press, a division of the Open Heart Project. This book was released on 2018-06-01 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Susan Piver consistently offers what so many of us seek: A generous, caring, loving teacher, someone with an open heart and a clear mind, eager to help us find our own way forward." —Seth Godin, author of Linchpin Broken hearts, resentment, affairs, divorce. Why is it so hard to make relationships work? New York Times bestselling author and mindfulness expert Susan Piver applies classic Buddhist wisdom to modern romance, including her own long-term relationship, to show that ancient philosophies have timeless—and unexpected—wisdom on how to love. The Four Noble Truths of Love will challenge the expectations you have about dating, sex, and romance, liberating you from the habits, traumas, and expectations that have been holding back your relationships. This mindful approach toward love will help you open your heart fearlessly, deepen communications with your partner, increase your compassion and resilience, and lead you toward a path of true happiness. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain: expansive, real love for yourself and others.
Download or read book Living Is Dying written by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2020-03-31 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An insightful collection of teachings about death and dying to help face life's greatest mystery calmly and with equanimity. Lifetimes of effort go into organizing, designing, and structuring every aspect of our lives, but how many people are willing to contemplate the inevitability of death? Although dying is an essential part of life, it is an uncomfortable topic that most people avoid. With no idea what will happen when we die and a strong desire to sidestep the conversation, we make all kinds of assumptions. Living Is Dying collects teachings about death and the bardos that have been passed down through a long lineage of brilliant Buddhist masters, each of whom went to great lengths to examine the process in minute detail. Renowned author and teacher Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse responds to the most common questions he's been asked about death and dying--exploring how one prepares for death, what to say to a loved one who is dying, and prayers and practices to use as a handhold when approaching the unknown territory of death. Whether you are facing death today or decades from now, preparing for it can help to allay your worst fears and help you appreciate what it means to be truly alive.
Download or read book The Making of Buddhist Modernism written by David L. McMahan and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008-11-14 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A great deal of Buddhist literature and scholarly writing about Buddhism of the past 150 years reflects, and indeed constructs, a historically unique modern Buddhism, even while purporting to represent ancient tradition, timeless teaching, or the "essentials" of Buddhism. This literature, Asian as well as Western, weaves together the strands of different traditions to create a novel hybrid that brings Buddhism into alignment with many of the ideologies and sensibilities of the post-Enlightenment West. In this book, David McMahan charts the development of this "Buddhist modernism." McMahan examines and analyzes a wide range of popular and scholarly writings produced by Buddhists around the globe. He focuses on ideological and imaginative encounters between Buddhism and modernity, for example in the realms of science, mythology, literature, art, psychology, and religious pluralism. He shows how certain themes cut across cultural and geographical contexts, and how this form of Buddhism has been created by multiple agents in a variety of times and places. His position is critical but empathetic: while he presents Buddhist modernism as a construction of numerous parties with varying interests, he does not reduce it to a mistake, a misrepresentation, or fabrication. Rather, he presents it as a complex historical process constituted by a variety of responses -- sometimes trivial, often profound -- to some of the most important concerns of the modern era.
Download or read book I Am Not a Buddhist written by Charity Seraphina Fields and published by Charity Seraphina Fields. This book was released on 2012 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Albert Einstein once said that Buddhism has all the markings of a cosmic religion. This engaging little book paints Buddhism as the way of the world to come but yet explains patiently why it is all right to fail at trying to become a Buddhist. With lucid style and characteristic wit, Ms Fields deftly interweaves the past, the present and the future, science and spirituality, the East and the West, earth and space, and prose and poetry to produce a rich tapestry studded not only with gems of stupefying similes and mesmerising metaphors, but also drenched with the distilled wisdom of the ages infused with original inspirational insight. Buddhism is a religion for wealthy intellectuals, according to Fields. But read this beautifully crafted book to find out just who might be one.
Download or read book The Accidental Buddhist written by Dinty W. Moore and published by Algonquin Books. This book was released on 1997-01-10 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE ACCIDENTAL BUDDHIST is the funny, provocative story of how Dinty Moore went looking for the faith he'd lost in what might seem the most unlikely of places: the ancient Eastern tradition of Buddhism. Moore demystifies and explains the contradictions and concepts of this most mystic-seeming of religious traditions. This plain-spoken, insightful look at the dharma in America will fascinate anyone curious about the wisdom of other cultures and other religions. "Sure of foot in complex terrain, and packing a blessedly down-to-earth sense of humor, Dinty Moore is the perfect scout for the new frontiers of American Buddhism."--Rodger Kamenetz, author of THE JEW IN THE LOTUS and STALKING ELIJAH.
Download or read book The Buddha Pill written by Miguel Farias and published by Watkins Media Limited. This book was released on 2019-02-19 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Millions of people meditate daily but can meditative practices really make us ‘better’ people? In The Buddha Pill, pioneering psychologists Dr Miguel Farias and Catherine Wikholm put meditation and mindfulness under the microscope. Separating fact from fiction, they reveal what scientific research – including their groundbreaking study on yoga and meditation with prisoners – tells us about the benefits and limitations of these techniques for improving our lives. As well as illuminating the potential, the authors argue that these practices may have unexpected consequences, and that peace and happiness may not always be the end result. Offering a compelling examination of research on transcendental meditation to recent brain-imaging studies on the effects of mindfulness and yoga, and with fascinating contributions from spiritual teachers and therapists, Farias and Wikholm weave together a unique story about the science and the delusions of personal change.
Download or read book Be the Refuge written by Chenxing Han and published by North Atlantic Books. This book was released on 2021-01-26 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A must-read for modern sanghas--Asian American Buddhists in their own words, on their own terms. Despite the fact that two thirds of U.S. Buddhists identify as Asian American, mainstream perceptions about what it means to be Buddhist in America often whitewash and invisibilize the diverse, inclusive, and intersectional communities that lie at the heart of American Buddhism. Be the Refuge is both critique and celebration, calling out the erasure of Asian American Buddhists while uplifting the complexity and nuance of their authentic stories and vital, thriving communities. Drawn from in-depth interviews with a pan-ethnic, pan-Buddhist group, Be the Refuge is the first book to center young Asian American Buddhists' own voices. With insights from multi-generational, second-generation, convert, and socially engaged Asian American Buddhists, Be the Refuge includes the stories of trailblazers, bridge-builders, integrators, and refuge-makers who hail from a wide range of cultural and religious backgrounds. Championing nuanced representation over stale stereotypes, Han and the 89 interviewees in Be the Refuge push back against false narratives like the Oriental monk, the superstitious immigrant, and the banana Buddhist--typecasting that collapses the multivocality of Asian American Buddhists into tired, essentialized tropes. Encouraging frank conversations about race, representation, and inclusivity among Buddhists of all backgrounds, Be the Refuge embodies the spirit of interconnection that glows at the heart of American Buddhism.
