Books published by Shambhala Publications Inc

Opening the door to the core teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, Michie reveals how incorporating simple Buddhist practices into daily lives can help individuals understand the difference between temporary pleasure and lasting fulfillment.

A jargon-free explanation of two central teachings of the Buddha: karma and rebirth. The Buddha's teaching on karma (literally, "action") is nothing other than his compassionate explanation of the way things are: our thoughts and actions determine our future, and therefore we ourselves are largely responsible for the way our lives unfold. Yet this supremely useful teaching is often ignored due to the misconceptions about it that abound in popular culture, especially oversimplifications that make it seem like something not to be taken seriously. Karma is not simple, as Traleg Kyabgon shows, and it's to be taken very seriously indeed. He cuts through the persistent illusions we cling to about karma to show what it really is-the mechanics of why we suffer and how we can make the suffering end. He explains how a realistic understanding of karma is indispensable to Buddhist practice, how it provides a foundation for a moral life, and how understanding it can have a transformative effect on the way we relate to our thoughts and feelings and to those around us.

A radical approach to mindfulness—combining an ancient meditation technique with leading-edge theory, resulting in a powerful new method of self-transformation. With practical teachings and detailed instructions, Ken Wilber introduces Integral Mindfulness, a new way of practicing the widely popular meditation. Integral Mindfulness applies many of the leading-edge insights of Ken Wilber''s Integral Theory--the first system to combine Eastern teachings on the five stages of awakening with the eight major Western models of human development, thus portraying the complete path of human evolution. In addition to all the benefits to body, mind, and spirit that standard mindfulness meditation confers, practicing Integral Mindfulness promises a more powerful approach to personal transformation and brings within reach the fullest experience of Enlightenment possible.     Beginning with as little as fifteen to thirty minutes of daily sessions, the meditator can gradually expand from there by slowly and easily adding significant aspects of the practice. Meditation instructions and step-by-step guided contemplations are given in detail. Readers learn how to create a graph to track progress and discover natural strengths and potentials. The book also offers recommended readings and resources to facilitate further study.

Patrul Rinpoche''s collection of the Dzogchen teachings of Aro Yeshe Jungne illuminated by practical meditation instructions that can be applied on-the-go in daily life by students of all backgrounds.Patrul Rinpoche, the beloved nineteenth-century master best known for Words of My Perfect Teacher, collected the teachings of the tenth-century adept Aro Yeshe Jungne and synthesized them into the short text translated here as Clear Elucidation of True Nature. How to put these essential teachings into practice is the subject of the lively commentary by the two Khenpo brothers, the late Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche.The Dzogchen meditation instructions of the Aro lineage are divided into nine sets, or nine levels, with specific instructions for each on how to identify the nature of the mind, how to abide in it as a way of life, and how to liberate turbulent thoughts and emotions when they arise. The commentary enfolds this instruction into a broad general teaching suitable for beginners that serves as an introduction to Dzogchen meditation, to the Nyingma tradition, and to basic Buddhism.Succinct and easy to read, the text encapsulates the entire path of the nine levels of study and practice described in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. As a result, it has much to offer both beginners and longtime meditators to support their understanding and practice.

A complete translation of Asanga''s classic work on the distinguishing qualities of bodhisattvas that describes how to awaken, develop, and perfect the mind of enlightenment in the Great Vehicle, or Mahayana, Buddhist tradition. Arya Asanga, famous for having been the conduit through which the teachings contained in the Five Texts of Maitreya were received and recorded, is also considered to be the author in his own right of several other foundational works of Yogācāra philosophy. One of these, considered the definitive text of the Yogācāra school of Buddhism, is the encyclopedic synthesis of Mahayana Buddhist doctrines and practices known as the Yogācārabhūmi, or "Stages of Spiritual Practice." The Bodhisattvabhūmi, or "Stages of the Bodhisattva Path," is one portion of that massive work, though it is considered a stand-alone text in the Tibetan traditions--for example, it is counted among the six core texts of the Kadampas. However, despite the text''s centrality to the Yogācāra school and its seminal importance in the Tibetan traditions, it has remained unavailable in English except in piecemeal translations; Engle''s translation will therefore be especially welcomed by scholars and students alike.

Freedom from suffering is not only possible, but the means for achieving it are immediately within our grasp-literally as close to us as our own breath. This is the 2,500-year-old good news contained in the Anapanasati Sutra , the Buddha's teaching on cultivating both tranquility and deep insight through full awareness of breathing. In this book, Larry Rosenberg brings this timeless meditation method to life. Using the insights gained from his many years of practice and teaching, he makes insight meditation practice accessible to modern practitioners.

Short and accessible teachings from one of America's pioneer woman Zen teachers.Zenkei Blanche Hartman is an American Zen legend. A teacher in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki, author of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, she was the first female abbot of an American Zen center. She is greatly revered, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she has lived and taught for many years. This, her long-awaited first book, is a collection of short teachings taken from her talks on the subject of boundlessness--the boundlessness that sees beyond our small, limited self to include all others. To live a boundless life she encourages living the vows prescribed by the Buddha and living life with the curiosity of a child. The short, stand-alone pieces can be dipped into whenever one is in need of inspiration.

Selected writings from the most influential texts of the samurai era-in a pocket-size edition. The samurai of Japan, who were the country's military elite from medieval times to the end of the nineteenth century, were synonmous with valor, honor, and martial arts prowess. Their strict adherence to the code of bushido ("the way of the warrior"), chivalry, and honor in fighting to the death continues to capture the imagination of people today, inspiring authors, filmmakers, and artists. The Pocket Samurai contains the essential writings of the era by the most esteemed samurai and philosophers of the age, including the iconic Miyamoto Musashi, author of The Book of Five Rings; Yamamoto Tsunetomo, author of Hagakure, the best-known explication of the samurai code; Takuan Soho, the Zen priest and adviser to samurai; Yagyu Munenori, whose The Life-Giving Sword describes a deeply spiritual approach to sword fighting; and others.

The theory and practice of creativity-culled from the lifetime of experiences of an esteemed art educator/therapist. With proven techniques he's discovered for jump-starting the creative process. He's spent a career helping people access their creative potential, and now Shaun McNiff is sharing the secrets he's learned from observing his own creative process as well as that of others-both those who identify as artists and those who don't. The result is nothing less than a master class in creativity by one of the great creative theorists-and practitioners-of our time. "This is intended as a practical text," Shaun says," a creativity primer, striving to capture the essential things that have been of use to me and others." The wealth of instruction he provides here in these essential things will be indispensable to artists of all stripes, as well as to all who strive to express themselves with honesty and authenticity using any of the media life makes available.

Teachings on the practice of things-as-they-are, through commentaries on a legendary Chinese Zen figure. The joy of “suchness”—the ultimate and true nature inherent in all appearance—shines through the teachings attributed to Dongshan Liangjie (807–869), the legendary founder of the Caodong lineage of Chan Buddhism (the predecessor of Soto Zen). Taigen Dan Leighton looks at the teachings attributed to Dongshan—in his Recorded Sayings and in the numerous koans in which he is featured as a character—to reveal the subtlety and depth of the teaching on the nature of reality that Dongshan expresses. Included are an analysis of the well-known teaching poem “Jewel Mirror Samadhi,” and of the understanding of particular and universal expressed in the teaching of the Five Degrees. “The teachings embedded in the stories about Dongshan provide a rich legacy that has been sustained in practice traditions,” says Taigen. “Dongshan’s subtle teachings about engagement with suchness remain vital today for Zen people and are available for all those who wish to find meaning amid the challenges to modern lives.”

Creative ways to use the garden to inspire learning, for kids ages 4-8Packed with garden-based activities that promote science, math, reading, writing, imaginative play, and arts and crafts, The Garden Classroom offers a whole year of outdoor play and learning ideas—however big or small your garden.Every garden offers children a rich, sensory playground, full of interesting things to discover and learn about. There''s a whole lot of science happening right before their eyes. The garden can also be a place to develop math and literacy skills, as the outdoors offers up plenty of invitations to weave learning into everyday gardening. The garden classroom is a place where plants grow, and where children grow too.