New Ebooks

A psychologist in private practice and the director of the Buddhist Guhyasamaja Center in Virginia, Lorne Ladner has written a concise book that brings understanding to the Tibetan concept of compassion. In The Lost Art of Compassion: Discovering the Practice of Happiness in the Meeting of Buddhism and Psychology, he has brought his years of Buddhist meditation and mainstream psychology together into a workable formula that seeks to help people become their own therapists and seek their own inner peace, allowing them to then look outward and do good in the world.

The Tibetan Books of the Dead are a diverse collection of Buddhist scriptures that yield valuable insight into the psychology of death and dying and suggest the importance of meditative practice and knowledge as tools for self-understanding. This in-depth study of this rich body of Buddhist literature details the Tibetan Buddhist belief in the bardos, of intermediate states, and serves as an illuminating companion volume to The Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Aiming to overcome the limitations of our biographical knowledge about one of the most famous Indian philosophers, Joseph Walser's ambitious Nāgārjuna in Context seeks to locate the progenitor of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist thought (generally taken to have flourished around 150 CE) with historical precision. Nāgārjuna's influential but enigmatic works were composed, Walser argues, “in a Mahāsāṅghika monastery in or near an urban center in the Lower Krishna River Valley in [what is now] modern Andhra Pradesh” (14), probably between 175 and 204 CE (86–87).

Despite the rapid spread of Buddhism -- especially the esoteric system of Tantra, one of its most popular yet most misunderstood forms -- the historical origins of Buddhist thought and practice remain obscure. This groundbreaking work describes the genesis of the Tantric movement in early medieval India, where it developed as a response to, and in some ways an example of, the feudalization of Indian society.

Armstrong carefully ties the Buddha's time to our own and champions his spiritual discoveries with an understated dignity that even the Buddha might bless. While exercising a scholar's restraint, she reveals a detectable compassion for Sidhatta Gotama, the radical who walked away from a pleasure palace because he refused to "remain locked in an undeveloped version" [of himself]. Armstrong overcame peculiar challenges to write about this historical figure who became "a type rather than an individual," as his personality and life particulars evaporated into the power of his selflessness.

Death is a subject that most people do not like to hear about, talk about, or even think about. Why is this? After all, whether we like it or not, each and every one of us will have to die one day. And even before we have to face our own death, we will most probably have to face the deaths of other people our family members, friends, colleagues, and so forth. Death is a reality, a fact of life, so wouldn’t it be better to approach it with openness and acceptance, rather than fear and denial?

Buddhism Plain & Simple did live up to its name. Throughout the book, Hagen made it evident that Buddhism is about being awake in the present moment. Hagen said, “Our journey must be two awaken here and now, to awaken to here and now. To be fully alive, we must be fully present” (19). To do this, Hagen examined the human situation of suffering, gave ways to wake up, and showed the benefits of having a free mind.

This text, the Bequeathed Teaching Sutra (Fo chui ban nie pan liao shuo jiao jiejing, or Yijiaojing for short), was translated into Chinese around 400 C.E. and became an influential text often cited and commented on among Chinese Buddhists in the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties. In Chan (Zen) communities in particular, it was considered a basic reference, taught and studied through the ages.

This course describes a series of meditation exercises and practical advice on how to apply them. It works best if you follow the course progressively, giving each sequence of instructions a good 'work-out' before proceeding further.

This book is an edited transcript of Rinpoche’s teachings during the Vajrasattva retreat at Land of Medicine Buddha, California, February through April, 1999. It contains explanations of the various practices done during the retreat, such as Vajrasattva purification, prostrations to the Thirty-five Buddhas, Lama Chöpa, making light offerings, liberating animals and much, much more. There are also many weekend public lectures covering general topics such as compassion and emptiness.

Vastly different in belief and practice, two new Buddhist religious movements in Thailand, namely the Wat Phra Dhammakaya and Santi Asoke emerged in Thailand in the 1970s at a time of political uncertainty, social change and increasing dissatisfaction with the Thai Sangha and its leadership.

This volume represents a newly revised and greatly expanded edition of Heinrich Dumoulin's acclaimed history of Zen Buddhism which was first published over 30 years ago. It has been updated to take into account the wealth of historical research that has gone on in the intervening years, insuring its place as a standard reference work in the field. This volume treats Zen from its roots in ancient Indian Buddhism and Yoga to its flowering in China under the influence of Taoism and Confucian thought.

The Venerable Myokyo-ni is one of today’s most distinguished teachers in the Rinzai Zen tradition. In Gentling the Bull she offers an insightful explanation of the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures, showing how they are a metaphor of both one’s Zen training and spiritual journey. The Ten Ox-Herding Pictures, also known as the Ten Bull Pictures, are believed to have been drawn by Kakuan, a twelfth-century Chinese Zen master, but became widely used as a means of Zen study in fifteenth-century Japan.

This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

This article is the first of two comparing findings of studies of advanced practitioners of Tibetan Buddhist meditation in remote regions of the Himalayas, with established results on long-term practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation programs. Many parallel levels of improvement were found, in sensory acuity, perceptual style and cognitive function, indicating stabilization of aspects of attentional awareness. Together with observed increases in EEG coherence and aspects of brain function, such changes are consistent with growth towards a state of total brain functioning, i.e.

Christine Mollier reveals in this volume previously unexplored dimensions of the interaction between Buddhism and Taoism in medieval China. While scholars of Chinese religions have long recognized the mutual influences linking the two traditions, Mollier here brings to light their intense contest for hegemony in the domains of scripture and ritual.

From the Jacket: "The book is an attempt to present the position of Buddhist laywomen and almswomen in historical perspective. For the study of the laywomen the author has exploited the material found in the Canonical literature, and the Commentaries on them".

In a probing analysis of the oldest Buddhist texts, Julius Evola places the doctrine of liberation in its original context. The early teachings, he suggests, offer the foremost example of an active spirituality that is opposed to the more passive, modern forms of theistic religions. This sophisticated, highly readable analysis of the theory and practice of Buddhist asceticism, first published in Italian in 1943 , elucidates the central truths of the eightfold path and clears away the later accretions of Buddhist doctrine.

From the Introduction: “In so far as the group of religious ideas called ‘Buddhism’ is conceded to have a history – and I have seen this denied by one or two! – it is generally held, that the earliest known stratum of this group, born in India and thence transplanted to South Asia, came to be known as Hina-yana (the lower ‘vehicle’), otherwise called Theravada (opinion of the elders).

This thoughtfully translated and organized volume is the cornerstone of any Buddhist library. The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha is a companion to the equally essential The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, The Long Discourses of the Buddha, and the 2005 anthology of Discourses of the Buddha. The 152 discourses of this major collection combine a rich variety of contextual settings with deep and comprehensive teachings.

The Connected Discourses of the Buddha is a complete translation of the Samyutta Nikaya -- the third great collection of the Buddha's discourses preserved in the Pali Canon -- containing all of the important short suttas on such major topics as the Four Noble Truths, dependent origination, and the Noble Eightfold Path. The Connected Discourses ranks as one of the most inspiring and indispensable.

From the first chapter: "Today India is again appearing on the Buddhist map of the world. Indians are awakening to their Buddhist past. In the second half of the nineteenth century—thanks to western and Indian archaeologists and orientalists—Indians began to be surprised at the discovery of the Buddhist legacy. To talk of a “revival of Buddhism” in modern India is right in this sense of the discovery of the Buddhist heritage by Indians. Even today the process of the discovery of Buddhism in India is still going on.

The purpose of this book is straightforward. It is to serve as an accessible guide for students wishing to reach as quickly as possible a familiarity with the basic ideas of Buddhist philosophical and religious thought, and the results of some of the latest research in the field. A good understanding of the way Buddhism developed in India is an essential prerequisite for any appreciation of Buddhist ideas elsewhere, in Tibet, China, or Japan and the other countries of East Asia.

Pratyupanna: Translated from the Chinese by Paul Harrison - Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, 1988 - this sutra is one of the oldest Mahayana sutras and describes the techniques which have become the basis of an ambulatory meditation practice called "jog-yo-zanmai" in Japanese. [Taisho Volume 13, Number 418] [Ch: Pan-chou-san-mei-ching] [Jpn: Han-ju-zan-mai-kyo]

There are four translations exit in Chinese: T13, No. 416, 417, 418, 419. BDK English Tripitaka 25-II is the translation of T13, No. 418.

This present book systemizes the notes of lectures that I gave on numerous occasions at Taisho University. As these notes are now being printed in book form, this book will be entitled Pure Land Buddhism in China: A Doctrinal History, which points to the major concern of this work: the development and changes that Pure Land doctrines have undergone in China. However, religious doctrines are accompanied by faith, and this in turn carries within itself an impetus to dissemination and expansion.

圆融，乃“中国化”佛学——天台宗、华严宗、禅宗、真言宗等诸宗思想的重要内容，霍韬晦先生认为：绝对与圆融，乃中国佛学的特质，“中国佛教的整个方向都是向圆融之路而趋”。此言可谓如实。圆融，近代以来也曾受到一些学者的批评，认为是中国佛学的一大缺点。从圆融思想的内涵看，其形成虽然不无中国本土儒、道两家思想的制约，而系依据印度大乘经论诠释发挥，处处引经据典，深得大乘精髓，是中印圣者智慧的结晶。在世界各种宗教教义中，圆融思想独树一帜，引人注目，有其独具的价值，对21世纪的人类而言，特具现实意义。

　　一、圆融思想的源流及其哲学义蕴

　　圆融一语，很难找到相对应的梵、巴原语，亦非中国诸子百家古籍中本有的词语，是中国佛教理论家所创造。《辞源》解释：“圆融，佛教语。破除偏执，圆满融通。”圆，《说文》释为“圜全也”，圜则“天体也”，是则“圆”字之义，是像天一样完全。“融”字早见于《左传》等，《辞源》解释有明亮、溶化、流通长远、和谐等义。圆与融组合在一起，字面含义基本为圆满融通，有整体无亏、无滞碍、不偏执、消融一切矛盾、和谐和解的意思。在佛学中，圆融更有其特定的深刻义蕴。《佛光大词典》解释说：

Enter into the colourful world of tantric Buddhism, with its unique visualizations, liturgies, initiations, and "inner yoga" as practiced in Tibet and conveyed by Tibetan masters teaching in the West. Using non technical language, engaging stories, and personal anecdotes, Reginald Ray demonstrates how the practice of tantra opens up an appreciation for ordinary life - the world of sensory experience, of pleasure and pain - as the place where ultimate revelation occurs.

For centuries Tibetan Buddhist contemplatives have directly explored consciousness through carefully honed rigorous techniques of meditation. B. Allan Wallace explains the methods and experiences of Tibetan practitioners and compares these with investigations of consciousness by Western scientists and philosophers. Balancing the Mind includes a translation of the classic discussion by fifteenth century Tibetan contemplative Tsongkhapa of methods for developing exceptionally high degrees of attentional stability and clarity.

This book helps to fill what has long been a gap in the scholarship on Early Buddhism, offering us detailed textual study of the Sattipatthana Sutta the foundational Buddhist discourse on meditation practice.

As in all the major religions, there is a wisdom behind the theology of Buddhism that informs the believer in daily life. Stephen Batchelor would argue that the difference with Buddhism is that the wisdom is in fact independent of the theology and is not informative to believers only, but to everyone. In Buddhism Without Beliefs Batchelor lays out the major tenets of Buddhist wisdom, commenting on their relevance to modern life. The Buddha said that seekers must find the Truth for themselves, and Batchelor offers this book as a roadmap.

"Paticcasamuppada is a profound teaching," - said the Buddha - "so profound, in fact, that most people are not able to penetrate the Law of Dependent Origination." The Buddha's words to Ananda are as true today as they were 2,500 years ago. Paticcasamuppada, which is the heart of Buddhism, is difficult to see clearly and, thus, has become the center of grave misunderstandings and distortions.

In the rush of modern life, we tend to lose touch with the peace that is available in each moment. World-renowned Zen master, spiritual leader, and author Thich Nhat Hanh shows us how to make positive use of the very situations that usually pressure and antagonize us. Dirty dishes, red lights, and traffic jams are spiritual friends on the path to "mindfulness" - the process of keeping our consciousness alive to our present experience and reality.

Within the context of contemporary Western Buddhism, Secrets of the Lotus provides a unique collection of materials on Buddhist meditation. It it includes translations of and commentaries on foundational meditation texts in the Theravada and Japanese Zen traditions:

• The Satipatthana Sutta, the Vimuttimagga, the Zazen-gi with Mumon Yamada Roshi's teisho, and Hakuin's commentary on the Heart Sutra

• A discussion of zazen within the Rinzai tradition by a contemporary Zen Priest (the Rev. Eshin Nishimura);

Sanskrit Grammer

Early European histories of India frequently reflected colonialist agendas. The idea that Indian society had declined from an earlier Golden Age helped justify the colonial presence. It was said, for example, that modern Buddhism had fallen away from its original identity as a purely rational philosophy that arose in the mythical 5th-century BCE Golden Age unsullied by the religious and cultural practices that surrounded it. In this book Robert DeCaroli seeks to place the formation of Buddhism in its appropriate social and political contexts.

พระประวัติตรัสเล่า หรือพุทธประวัติจากพระพุทธโอษฐ์นี้ เลือกเก็บจากบาลีพระไตรปิฏก รวบรวมเองมาเฉพาะตอนที่พระองค์ ตรัสเล่าถึงประวัติของพระองค์เอง.....

พระไตรปิฏก คือคัมภีร์ที่เป็นคำสั่งสอนของพระพุทธเจ้า หรือพระธรรมวินัย สถิติ คำว่า "ติปิฏก"ในภาษาบาลี แปลว่า ตะกร้า 3 ใบ.....

พระสัมมาสัมพุทธเจ้่ได้ทรงสถาปนาพระสารีุบุตร ไว้ในคำแหน่งอัครสาวกเบื้องขวาของพระองค์ เพราะความเป็นเลิศยิ่งทางปัญญากว่าพระสาวกใด เหตุใด จึงเลิศด้วยปัญญาเช่นนั้นและพระสารีบุตรสร้างบารมีมาอย่างไร......

ภาษาเป็นมรดก ทางวัฒนธรรม เป็นสื่อแสดงภูมิปัญญาของบรรพบุรุษด้านขนบธรรมเนียมประเพณี ชีวทัศน์ โลกทัศน์ และสีสันทางภาษ จะพบว่ามีคำและสำนวนจำนวนไม่น้อยที่เคยนิยมใช้กันมาในยุคหนึ่ง สมัยหนึ่ง.....