Philosophy and Religion

Are we able to say that life is governed by a group of conscious people? Where are they? Who are they? We see exactly the opposite: that life is governed by those who are the least conscious, by those who are most asleep. Provocative ideas such as these have attracted generations of thoughtful people to the methods of self-study and inner work devised by Gurdjieff, one of the most radical spirit

A fresh English translation laid out facing the original Sanskrit for easy reference and accompanied by a wealth of essential ancillary materials that make this book a complete course on the Bhagavad-Gita in a single volume.

These pithy and powerful readings provide a perfect introduction to the teachings of Zen master Dogen—and will inspire spiritual practice in people of all traditions   Eihei Dogen (1200–1253), founder of the Soto School of Zen Buddhism, is one of the greatest religious, philosophical, and literary geniuses of Japan. His writings have been studied by Zen students for centuries,

A revolutionary new approach to meditation: a mindfulness of thinking that accepts and investigates the thoughts that arise as you meditate--from the author of Unlearning Meditation.      In most forms of meditation, the meditator is instructed to let go of thoughts as they arise. As a result, thinking is often taken, unnecessarily, to be something misguided or evil. This

If you want to find inner peace and wisdom, you don’t need to move to an ashram or monastery. Your life, just as it is, is the perfect place to be. Here Jack Kornfield, one of America’s most respected Buddhist teachers, shares this and other key lessons gleaned from more than forty years of committed study and practice.

Just as she's done in her previous books, Cynthia Bourgeault asks us to take a look at an idea from traditional Christianity—this time the formula of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—as though we're looking at it for the first time. And as usual, she reveals it to be something we hadn't expected at all. She finds in the idea of the Holy Trinity a striking vision of the nature of reality. W

Welcoming Flowers is a pointed critique of the Buddhism chapter of Pope John Paul II’s 1994 best seller, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, written by the highly respected Buddhist teacher Thinley Norbu.

How to meditate—a concise, pocket-size guide that tells you everything you need to know, from the best-selling author of The Buddha Walks into a Bar...      This is the ultimate go-to guide for learning how to meditate. It contains all the instructions you'll need to get started in a remarkably short space, but it also shows you how to make meditation practice a pe

A psychologist and longtime practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism shows how emotions relate to spiritual practice--that our feeling life is truly at the heart of our awakening.

A guide to personal discipline and social ethics from a classical Sanskrit scholar, designed for the modern yoga practitioner.   In today´s complex world, how is it possible to truly live as a yogi? Traditional yoga theory offers fresh, insightful solutions to today´s practical lifestyle concerns, ranging from environmentalism to personal health and wellness. Tuning into classic yoga philos

He went from being the worst kind of malevolent sorcerer to a devoted and ascetic Buddhist practitioner to a completely enlightened being all in a single lifetime.

Teachings on the practice of things-as-they-are, through commentaries on a legendary Chinese Zen figure. The joy of “suchness”—the ultimate and true nature inherent in all appearance—shines through the teachings attributed to Dongshan Liangjie (807–869), the legendary founder of the Caodong lineage of Chan Buddhism (the predecessor of Soto Zen). Taigen Dan Leighton looks at the

A popular American Buddhist teacher explores the creative relationship between faith and doubt, knowing and not-knowing, and shows how an awakened life results from living from the place in between. Faith is a thorny subject these days.  Its negative expressions cause many to dismiss it out of hand--but Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel urges us to reconsider, for faith is really nothing but our natu

The classic guide to enlightened living that first presented the Buddhist path of the warrior to Western readers—with a new foreword and cover presentation. There is a basic human wisdom that can help solve the world´s problems. It doesn´t belong to any one culture or region or religious tradition—though it can be found in many of them throughout history. It´s what Chögyam Trung

A new, four-stage approach to the popular Buddhist practice known as loving-kindness meditation, with the aim of finding unconditional love in our own hearts, in our relationships, and in our perception of the world around us.      The unconditional love that we all long for—in our own lives and in the world around us—can be awakened effectively with this uni

A bold and provocative work from the late preeminent feminist scholar, which challenges men and women alike to free themselves from attachment to gender.  At the heart of Buddhism is the notion of egolessness—“forgetting the self”—as the path to awakening. In fact, attachment to views of any kind only leads to more suffering for ourselves and others. And what has a greater hold o

Taoism isn’t a spiritual extracurricular activity, it’s an integral practice for living all of life to the fullest. The modern Taoist adept Eva Wong is your guide to living well according to the wisdom of this ancient system.

This unique introduction to Zen teaching and practice takes the remarkably accessible form of question-and-answer—making it a most useful reference for looking things up.

Meditators relax An esteemed modern Tibetan Buddhist teacher presents a system of meditation instructions he devised especially for those affected by the too-fast-paced Western world (i.e., most all of us)--to help them relax, as a way of deepening their meditation practice.

Short and accessible teachings from one of America's pioneer woman Zen teachers. Zenkei Blanche Hartman is an American Zen legend. A teacher in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki, author of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, she was the first female abbot of an American Zen center. She is greatly revered, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she has lived and taught for many years. This, her long-a