Zen poems of everyday awakening.A fresh translation of short poems by the Japanese Zen poet Ryokan that reads well as modern American poetry, accompanied by an introduction and commentaries on the poems from the translators. Most of the existing translations are stiff, or sentimental, or awkward as poems in English. This effort is comparable to Gary Snyder’s Han-Shan poems, or Thomas Merton’s Chuang-Tzu.One of the greatest poets of the Edo period a...

Authored by Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha is one of the most influential spiritual works of the twentieth century. It is the story of a young man who decides to leave his wife and kids and embark on a journey of suffering and rejection to finally find peace within and attain salvation.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 austerities of renunciation to the profligacy of wealth. That leads hi...

Learn the art of mindfulness meditation alongside Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in this first illustrated, pocket-sized guide from the Mindfulness Essentials series.Thich Nhat Hanh offers clear guide and inspiration for anyone wanting to explore mindfulness meditation. In short, single-paragraph chapters, the “father of mindfulness” shares detailed instructions, guided breathing exercises and visualizations, as well as his own personal stories and insights.Thi...

Because words can no more hold the truth than a net can hold water, we use koans. Koans are sayings, or doings, of Zen masters, the patriarchs and Buddha. Take for example the koan: The Sound of One Hand clapping. In its entirety it reads: "You know the sound of two hands clapping. What is the sound of one hand clapping?" The obvious, intellectual answer is, No sound at all! But then what is this No sound? In other words, is it just silence?If one is to work on this koan, indeed on ...

"It has stayed with me for the last 30 years, a classic portraying Zen mind to our linear thinking." —Phil Jackson, Head Coach of the Chicago Bulls and author of Sacred HoopsZen Flesh, Zen Bones offers a collection of accessible, primary Zen sources so that readers can contemplate the meaning of Zen for themselves. Within the pages, readers will find:101 Zen Stories, a collection of tales that recount actual experiences of Chinese an...

Meditation is a very simple phenomenon and is brought about in this book. This book describes the science and methods of the human mechanism to achieve meditativeness. The book highlights as to how important it is for a person to achieve their utmost natural state of being.

For the true bibliophile and design-savvy book lover, here is the next set of Penguin's celebrated Great Ideas series by some of history's most innovative thinkers. Acclaimed for their striking and elegant package, each volume features a unique type-driven design that highlights the bookmaker's art. Offering great literature and great design at great prices, this series is ideal for readers who want to explore and savor the Great Ideas that have shaped our world.

THE BESTSELLING POCKET GUIDE: Transform suffering and cultivate happiness with inspiration and mindfulness tools from Zen icon Thich Nhat Hanh.In inspiring passages and simple exercises, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh teaches us what he calls “the art of suffering.” He gives us teachings and tools for transforming suffering as well as ways to touch moments of happiness and smile even while suffering is still there.Written with characteristic simplicity and wisd...

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 ...

A poetry collection honoring the haiku—complete with poet biographies, translator commentary, and Japanese artworkThis celebration of what is perhaps the most influential of all poetic forms takes haiku back to its Japanese roots. Beginning with poems by the seventeenth and eighteenth-century masters Basho, Busson, and Issa, the anthology goes all the way up to the late twentieth century to provide a survey of haiku through the centuries, in all its minimalist glor...

Part poetry, part paradox, always stirring and profound, Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching has been inspiring readers since it was written over two thousand years ago. This masterpiece is also one of the most frequently translated books in all of history, in part because the multiple meanings of the Chinese characters make it impossible to translate into a Western language in a strictly literal way. For this reason, many translations are either too loosely interpretive or are too overloaded ...

Everybody loves Novice to Master! As you'll see in the glowing endorsements and reviews included below, this modern spiritual classic has been embraced by readers of all types.In his singularly humorous and biitingly direct way, Zen abbot Soko Morinaga tells the story of his rigorous training at a Japanese Zen temple, his spiritual growth and his interactions with his students and others. Morinaga's voice is uniquely tuned to the truth of the condition of the human mind an...