Beginners and long-term meditators alike will appreciate Ajayan Borys’s counterintuitive teaching that one needn’t control the mind to experience the benefits of meditation. Instead, as with falling asleep, ease is essential. Effort fuels accomplishment in the world of action, but in the realm of meditation, struggle blocks success. And just as dreams are a natural part of restful sleep, thoughts during meditation are no obstacle to receiving wonderful, revitalizing results. With clear, us...

In 1996 meditation teacher Ajayan Borys journeyed to the source of the Ganges River high in India’s Himalayas. Intent on Self-realization, he discovered a deserted cave in a Himalayan forest and for two months lived there alone, meditating in silence, surviving on one sparse meal a day. Through unexpected friendships with holy men, encounters with madmen and the Indian army, surviving harsh mountain conditions (including scorpions and mind-numbing cold), he was opened to the depths of the ...

In 1996 meditation teacher Ajayan Borys journeyed to the source of the Ganges River high in India’s Himalayas. Intent on Self-realization, he discovered a deserted cave in a Himalayan forest and for two months lived there alone, meditating in silence, surviving on one sparse meal a day. Through unexpected friendships with holy men, encounters with madmen and the Indian army, surviving harsh mountain conditions (including scorpions and mind-numbing cold), he was opened to the depths of the ...

Meditation can be a way to radically encounter bliss and to begin—and sustain—real transformation in ourselves.In Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond, self-described meditation junkie Ajahn Brahm shares his knowledge and experience of the jhanas - a core part of the Buddha's original meditation teaching. Never before has this material been approached in such an empowering way, by a teacher of such authority and popularity.Full of surprises, delightfully...

"May Ram Dass's intimate and heartfelt account inspire others to find their own path of true love, compassion, and joyful service." — Thich Nhat Hanh, author of The Heart of Buddha's TeachingRam Dass's long-awaited Be Love Now is the transformational teaching of a forty-year journey to the heart. The author of the two-million-copy classic Be Here Now and its influential sequel Still Here, Dass is joined once more ...

One of the Buddha's most central ideas is the importance of transcending "either/or" thinking to avoid the trap of extremist views. In Beyond the Self Thich Nhat Hanh suggests that we can find tranquility by embracing all aspects of life, instead of focusing on what we like and dislike. The book contains Nhat Hanh's original translation of the Sutra on the Middle Way, as well as his commentary on how we can use this teaching to better understand how to navigate our difficulties a...

This easily accessible translation and commentary by Thich Nhat Hanh on the Sutra on Knowing the Better Way To Live Alone, is the earliest teaching of the Buddha on living fully in the present moment. "To live alone" doesn’t mean to isolate oneself from society. It means to live in mindfulness: to let go of the past and the future, and to look deeply and discover the true nature of all that is taking place in the present moment. To fully realize this is to meet our appointment with life an...

Powerful Buddhist teachings, demystified—from the spiritual mentor of Jon Kabat-Zinn, Sharon Salzberg, and Jack KornfieldPrevious books by Ajahn Chah have consisted of collections of short teachings on a wide variety of subjects. This new book focuses on the theme of impermanence, offering powerful remedies for overcoming our deep-seated fear of change, including guidance on letting go of attachments, living in the present, and taking up the practice of meditation....

The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali is the classic text on the spiritual practice of yoga. Written more than 2,000 years ago, this work is a map to the fast track to enlightenment. They derive from an ancient oral tradition, when Devi, the Divine feminine, was worshiped.Yet, today, the Yoga Sutra is taught by priests and scholars from a masculine Hindu tradition that obscures the simple wisdom in it. Yoga, Power, and Spirit shows us that the Sutra is pre-Hindu, and that the power ...

In No Beginning, No End, Zen master Jakusho Kwong-roshi shows us how to treasure the ordinary activities of our daily lives through an understanding of simple Buddhist practices and ideas. The author’s spontaneous, poetic, and pragmatic teachings—so reminiscent of his spiritual predecessor Shunryu Suzuki (Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind)—transport us on an exciting journey into the very heart of Zen and its meaningful traditions. Because Kwong-r...

The Diamond Sutra is a Mahayana sutra from the Prajnaparamita, or "Perfection of Wisdom" genre, and emphasizes the practice of non-abiding and non-attachment. The full Sanskrit title of this text is the Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra. A copy of the Chinese version of Diamond Sutra, found among the Dunhuang manuscripts in the early 20th century and dated back to May 11, 868, is, in the words of the British Library, "the earliest complete survival of a dated printed book....

Siddhartha is an allegorical novel by Hermann Hesse which deals with the spiritual journey of an Indian boy called Siddhartha during the time of the Buddha. The book was written in German, in a simple, yet powerful and lyrical style. It was first published in 1922, after Hesse had spent some time in India in the 1910s.The story revolves around a young man who leaves his home and family on a quest for the Truth. Embarking on a journey that takes him from the austerit...