Buddhism is one of the fastest growing religions in the world today -and THE BUDDHIST HANDBOOK is the best introduction to the teachings of Buddhism, the main schools, the Buddhist world-view, leading Buddhist teachers, Buddhist festivals and meditation. 'There is a great need to come to terms with Buddhism AS A WHOLE. John Snelling's book is an admirable attempt to do just that. ' GOLDEN DRUM 'A clear, up-to-date survey. ' CATHOLIC HERALD

'Without doubt JBS, as many know him, is one of the world's most eminent explorers'Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Bt. OBEFor over 60 years John Blashford-Snell has been exploring some of the planet's most remote, inaccessible and dangerous places; his name is known globally for his daring adventures and intrepid journeys of discovery. Now, well into his eighties (and still planning future trips), he has gathered together in a single volume a collection of tales from Africa, Asia and ...

The only state born as a result of the Civil War, West Virginia was the most divided state in the nation. About forty thousand of its residents served in the combatant forces about twenty thousand on each side.The Mountain State also saw its fair share of battles, skirmishes, raids, and guerrilla warfare, with places like Harpers Ferry, Philippi, and Rich Mountain becoming household names in 1861. When the Commonwealth of Virginia seceded from the Union on April 17...

'A great book for anyone who wants to vicariously travel like an old-fashioned adventurer and seeks to understand how far we have come in developing a protective attitude to wildlife' New York Times'A marvellous book . . . unputdownable . . . utterly engaging' Daily TelegraphIn 1954, a young television presenter named David Attenborough was offered the opportunity of a lifetime - to travel...

Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction introduces the reader to the teachings of the Buddha and to the workings of Buddhism in daily life. Damien Keown looks at the distinctive features of Buddhism, examining who the Buddha was and what his teachings were. By considering how Buddhist thought has developed over the centuries, Keown considers how contemporary dilemmas can be faced from a Buddhist perspective. In this new edition Keown provides new perspectives on Buddhist thought, incl...

Ben Fogle's life to date has been action-packed to say the least. He has rowed across the Atlantic, walked to the South Pole, run the Sahara and skated across Sweden. He has encountered remote tribespeople in deepest Papua New Guinea, caused a Boeing 747 to dump £100k of fuel before making an emergency landing in Sao Paolo, and been mistaken for Prince William on numerous occasions. He has chased a tarantula round his back garden, survived a flesh-eating tropical disease that required two ...

This book contains public talks by Lama Yeshe on the general topic of Buddhism and mind. Each lecture is followed by a question and answer session. Lama presented one of the talk to a group of psychiatrists who were delighted to meet and question Lama, and this historic exchange underscores the difference between Western and Buddhist concepts of mental health.This expanded edition contains both of the very popular Lama Yeshe booklets, Becoming Your Own Therapist and Make Your Mind ...

20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION: Thich Nhat Hanh offers commentary on a key Buddhist sutra and shares 16 breathing exercises and meditations taught by the Buddha himself.According to the Buddha’s teaching in the Anapanasati Sutra, maintaining awareness of our breathing is a means of awakening to the true nature of all things and arriving at spiritual liberation. Breathe, You Are Alive outlines 16 exercises of conscious breathing that were taught by the Buddha, to...

In April 2008, Ed Stafford began his attempt to become the first man ever to walk the entire length of the River Amazon. Nearly two and a half years later, he had crossed the whole of South America to reach the mouth of the colossal river.With danger a constant companion - outwitting alligators, jaguars, pit vipers and electric eels, not to mention overcoming the hurdles of injuries and relentless tropical storms - Ed's journey demanded extreme physical and mental strength. Often w...

An accessible translation of Hui-neng’s autobiography and teachings, completing the classic triumvirate of Zen (Ch’an) Buddhist sutrasIt is often linked with The Heart Sutra and The Diamond Sutra to form a trio of texts that have been revered and studied for centuries. However, unlike the other sutras, which transcribe the teachings of the Buddha himself, The Platform Sutra presents the autobiography of Hui–neng, the controversial 6th Pat...

The New York Times bestselling author of Krakatoa and The Professor and the Madman takes readers on a quirky and charming tour of the last outpost of the British empireOutposts is Simon Winchester's journey to find the vanishing empire, "on which the sun never sets." In the course of a three-year, 100,000 mile journey—from the chill of the Antarctic to the blue seas of the Caribbean, from the South of Spain and the tip of China t...

In this new edition of the best-selling Introduction to Buddhism, Peter Harvey provides a comprehensive introduction to the development of the Buddhist tradition in both Asia and the West. Extensively revised and fully updated, this new edition draws on recent scholarship in the field, exploring the tensions and continuities between the different forms of Buddhism. Harvey critiques and corrects some common misconceptions and mistranslations, and discusses key concepts that have often been ...