This is the perfect beginner's guide to Buddhism. Organised in an easy to use Question and Answer format, Manuel answers the many common questions people have about Buddhism, such as:
- "Do you have a book like the Bible or Koran?"
- "What do Buddhists believe?"
- "Are there core teachings?"
- "Do you believe in a god?"
- "Do some people have good karma and some bad?
This is a distinctly western take on the ancient tradition and practice of Zen Buddhism. Drawn from the archives of major Zen centres in America and interviews with some of the most seminal figures of American Zen, including Philip Kapleau, Bernie Glassman and Walter Nowick.
With hard-won wisdom and refreshing insight, Thich Nhat Hanh confronts a subject that has been contemplated by Buddhist monks and nuns for twenty-five-hundred years
These are Zen meditations for modern times -- cold comfort, maybe, for some of us who might want platitudes and the promise of peacefulness being handed to us on a silver platter. Because, as Shaw points out, conflict is a part of life. Zen Buddhism was even founded in conflict. No one can give anyone else peace. Peace comes to those who seek it -- in the moment and for the moment only.
Nirvana is not to be found in the fulfillment of endless desires, the analysis of profound thoughts, or even hours, days, or years of meditative contemplation. In fact, it is the very act of seeking to obtain happiness, peace, and enlightenment that keeps them out of reach.
This book offers short, stand-alone readings designed to help us cultivate compassion and awareness amid the challenges of daily living. More than a collection of thoughts for the day, Comfortable with Uncertainty offers a progressive program of spiritual study, leading the reader through essential concepts, themes, and practices on the Buddhist path.
Freedom from suffering is not only possible, but the means for achieving it are immediately within our grasp--literally as close to us as our own breath.