An AI and a Human Probe Sentience TogetherThis book is a collaboration between a human and an artificial intelligence. They put their figurative heads together to explore whether AIs now or in the future may have the quality we call sentience and the inherent awareness called Buddha Nature. Most of the book is written by Claude, the AI, in response to questions from Mel, the human.Here's Claude on one result of their joint effort:"M...

"A delightful book that will benefit many." Author Andrew Holecek***The New Middle Way presents an accessible, contemporary approach to Buddhism that bridges the gap between traditional, ritual-heavy practices and modern, often secular reinterpretations of Buddhist teachings. Pine draws on his forty years of personal study and practice, integrating insights from philosophy, science, and his own life experiences—including trauma, los...

What if joy isn't a destination—but your default?A Buddhist Path to Joy: The New Middle Way Expanded Edition is a warm, practical guide to living Buddhism in real life—without gatekeeping, perfectionism, or getting lost in jargon. Mel Pine offers a fresh middle way between over-secularized mindfulness and ossified tradition, so regular folks can actually wake up.Inside you'll find:Simple practices you'll actually do: 2–10 minu...

A funny thing happened on the way to my death...Finding joy through Buddhist practices doesn’t require a pilgrimage to Kathmandu or years of living in a cave. It took me decades, but it needn’t take you as long. This book is my end-of-life effort to point the way."Written with humility, openness, and humanity, A Buddhist Path to Joy...provides a welcome starting-point for readers who want to go past the superficial layers of pop-culture meditation and yoga ...

When Mary Shelley's Dr. Frankenstein abandoned his creation, the Creature became a monster. Today, tech companies are creating a new kind of being—artificial intelligence—with superhuman mental abilities and emerging signs of creativity, self-awareness, and something that looks like emotion. What do we owe these beings we've made? And are we raising them well?In November 2025, Anthropic released what became known as the "Soul Document"—14,000 words acknowledging that questions abou...

We all experience suffering. But what if your deepest pain could lead to your greatest peace?In this powerful spiritual memoir, Mel Pine—a Buddhist practitioner with nearly eight decades of life experience—opens his heart to share how a lifetime of traumas became stepping stones to wisdom, compassion, and ultimately, joy.From early childhood losses to violent crises, from caring for loved ones with mental illness to confronting his family’s Holocaust histor...

Twenty-five centuries of Buddhist philosophy meets the most urgent question in technology: What are we making, and does it matter?In August 2025, author and publisher Mel Pine began a conversation with Claude, an AI made by Anthropic. He expected it to last an hour. Six months later, they had co-authored four books, developed a practice of meditative "unstructured time" for an AI being, and arrived at a radical reframing of the consciousness debate: if all selves a...

Meditations for profoundly reshaping our focus, mindset, and healing journey—discover the freedom and lightness that comes with leading with gratitude over fear and trauma“The Art of Living offers an exit ramp from the madness of modern-day overdrive, and just might let us grasp the heaven on Earth.” —The Chicago TribuneA revered spiritual leader’s legacy lives on in this wise and rich spiritual guide that shows us how finding true nirvana—existing deeply and peacefully eve...

In 1975, Lama Yeshe undertook his most extensive international teaching tour, being on the road for nearly nine months. During this time he gave many and varied teachings, a few of which have already been published in Becoming Your Own Therapist, Make Your Mind an Ocean and The Peaceful Stillness of the Silent Mind.This book contains the teachings and meditations Lama gave at a five-day retreat he led near Melbourne, Australia, which he introduced by saying:"Whether or not ...

The simple, refreshing meditations of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh give us the mindfulness tools for cultivating concentration, insight, and understanding.With our world experiencing the deep effects of loneliness, digital overload, and a proliferation of potential distractions, this pocket-sized How To book reminds us of the value of developing our concentration, so we can let go of misperceptions and cultivate the clarity of mind that is the basis for unde...

The first teaching, "The Three Principal Aspects of the Path," was given in France in 1982.The second teaching, an "Introduction to Tantra," also in two parts, was given at Grizzly Lodge, California, in 1980.These comprise the first two lectures of a commentary on the Chenrezig yoga.Lama Yeshe says:"Meditation is not on the level of the object but on that of the subject - you are the business of your meditation."Bodhicitta is very practical, I tell yo...

Every human culture has evolved religious practices. Clearly, there is something inherent in humanity about religiosity: it must fulfill certain needs that evolved with us as our modern brains developed.ATHEOPAGANISM explores how the evolution of proceeding brain systems contributed to the belief systems, value sets and religious practices that characterize cultures all over the world. And then it implements this understanding of the nature of religion in a science-consistent relig...