A master class from four renowned Harvard professors—an anthropologist, a physician, a theologian, and a historian—on discovering wisdom in challenging times.In moments of uncertainty, to whom do we turn for solace and insight? How can we endure and overcome our own suffering? Harvard University professors Davíd Carrasco, Arthur Kleinman, Stephanie Paulsell, and Michael Puett turn to great thinkers, artists, and religious traditions not for definitive answers, but for lessons we ca...

This collection of poems offers a Buddhist reinterpretation of Judeo-Christian theology, examining core religious concepts and figures through an Eastern philosophical lens.It presents alternative perspectives on well-known biblical narratives, such as the roles of God, Eve, Christ, and the apostles, often emphasizing themes of non-duality, doubt as a twin of belief, and the limitations of language and dogma.The text also explores broader spiritual ideas like suffering, the...

Compiled by scholars at the court of Liu An, king of Huainan, in the second century B.C.E, The Huainanzi is a tightly organized, sophisticated articulation of Western Han philosophy and statecraft. Outlining "all that a modern monarch needs to know," the text emphasizes rigorous self-cultivation and mental discipline, brilliantly synthesizing for readers past and present the full spectrum of early Chinese thought.The Huainanzi locates the key to successful rule in...

Whether it’s childhood make-believe, the theater, sports, or even market speculation, play is one of humanity’s seemingly purest activities: a form of entertainment and leisure and a chance to explore the world and its possibilities in an imagined environment or construct. But as Roberte Hamayon shows in this book, play has implications that go even further than that. Exploring play’s many dimensions, she offers an insightful look at why play has become so ubiquitous across human cultures....

For the first time in one volume, The Analects illustrated by bestselling cartoonist C. C. TsaiC. C. Tsai is one of Asia's most popular cartoonists, and his editions of the Chinese classics have sold more than 40 million copies in over twenty languages. This volume presents Tsai's delightful graphic adaptation of The Analects, one of the most influential books of all time and a work that continues to inspire countless readers today.Tsai's expressiv...

For the first time, an award-winning Harvard professor shares his wildly popular course on classical Chinese philosophy, showing you how ancient ideas—like the fallacy of the authentic self—can guide you on the path to a good life today.Why is a course on ancient Chinese philosophers one of the most popular at Harvard? Because it challenges all our modern assumptions about what it takes to flourish.Astonishing teachings emerged two thousand years ago throug...

In moments of uncertainty, to whom do we turn for solace and insight? How can we endure and overcome our own suffering? Harvard University professors Davíd Carrasco, Arthur Kleinman, Stephanie Paulsell, and Michael Puett turn to great thinkers, artists, and religious traditions not for definitive answers, but for lessons we can bring to our own quests for wisdom. Wisdom, they find, is not an abstract ideal but a way of living formed by caring for others and through everyday practices of so...

In this landmark work, internationally beloved teacher of meditation and “one of the great spiritual teachers of our time” (Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple) Jack Kornfield reveals that you can be instantly happy with the keys to inner freedom.Through his signature warmhearted, poignant, often funny stories, with their a-ha moments and O. Henry-like outcomes, Jack Kornfield shows how we can free ourselves, wherever we are and whatever our circumsta...

An “unsparing account” (NPR) of art collective Gran Fury, which fought back during the AIDS crisis through direct action and community-made propagandaIn the late 1980s, the AIDS pandemic was annihilating queer people, intravenous drug users, and communities of color in America, and disinformation about the disease ran rampant. Out of the activist group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), an art collective that called itself Gran Fury formed to campai...

The prominent Zen Buddhist scholar and author of The Wisdom of Insecurity draws on Taoism, Christianity, and other world religions to explore the dilemma of seeking your true selfIn this collection of writings, including nine new chapters never before available in book form, Alan Watts displays the intelligence, playfulness of thought, and simplicity of language that has made him so perennially popular as an interpreter of Eastern thought for Westerners. H...

The best-selling beginner’s guide to the history, schools, practices, and philosophy of the ancient Yoga tradition—from a renowned Yoga scholarThis overview of the essentials of Yoga is meant to both broaden and deepen the understanding of beginning students. It covers all the basic elements of this ancient discipline and philosophy of India—including Yoga poses, diet, breath control, meditation, mantras, Kundalini energy, and more. It also includes newly translate...

A fascinating, eclectic collection of writings—spanning four hundred years—on samurai ethos, training, and education, from premier translator Thomas ClearyThrough the ages, the samurai have been associated with honor, fearlessness, calm, decisive action, strategic thinking, and martial prowess. Their ethos is known as bushido, the Way of the Warrior-Knight.Here, premier translator Thomas Cleary presents a rich collection of writings on bushido by w...