Books published by Shambhala Publications Inc

This book is a translation of a teaching text and commentary by the Nyingma master Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche (1920-2009). It's also the latest offering from well-known Tibetan translator and scholar Anne Carolyn Klein, professor of religious studies at Rice University in Houston, Texas. For anyone interested in Tibetan Buddhist practice and philosophy, particularly the Dzogchen teachings of the Nyingma lineage, this book gives detailed instruction and friendly and inspiring advice, offering guidance on how to approach the path and giving instruction for specific meditation and contemplation techniques.

Most of us, at one time or another, would like to help a friend, family member, or acquaintance through a challenging time. But do we really know how to give meaningful support and guidance? And why do our best efforts at helping others often come up short? Here is a practical guide that will be of special interest to helping professionals-and anyone who wants to make a positive difference in the lives of people they care about. To be truly helpful to others, Karen Wegela explains, we must begin by focusing on ourselves. We must develop greater awareness, steadiness of mind, fearlessness, and self-compassion. Only then can we extend these qualities to the people we'd like to help. Drawing on her experiences as a psychotherapist and on her longtime study of Buddhist meditation, Wegela emphasizes the benefits of mindfulness, or learning to become fully present in our moment-to-moment experience. Through mindfulness we develop a fearless, compassionate presence in our daily lives-and we become better listeners, take wiser actions, and give more valuable, effective guidance to the people we'd like to help.

A weekly spiritual practice for developing a strong and open heart-drawn from Judaism's Mussar traditionMussar draws from the vast storehouse of Jewish wisdom, law, revelation, and text and brings it right home in a way that is completely practical. Judaism teaches that Torah (the collective wisdom of the tradition) provides the blueprint for human experience-and so the more of it we acquire, the more we gain a clearer, truer perspective on life and learn how to navigate its pathways. The phrase "acquiring Torah" is code for the process of internalizing this wisdom to bring about a genuine transformation of the inner self.In short, accessible chapters, this book describes forty-eight methods through which we can acquire Torah-and turns them into a straightforward practice. These methods include cultivating humility, joy, awe, goodheartedness, closeness with friends, not taking credit for oneself, judging others favorably, and so on. The fruits of working through each quality or method are a refined soul and a strong and open heart.

This book offers exercises, instructions, jokes, stories, pithy quotes, and-most of all-encouragement to anyone interested in exploring Zen but who may find traditional presentations severe or intimidating. Hamilton writes with an easygoing, friendly style that invites readers of all backgrounds to sit down and give meditation a try. But don't be fooled by her puns and checklists-this is serious Zen. Drawing on three decades of experience as a Zen practitioner and teacher, Hamilton explains how to meditate and how to maintain an ongoing practice. From there, in her clear, lighthearted, and humorous style, she moves right to the heart of Zen, showing us how we could move beyond our concepts, expectations, and emotional reactivity to touch the reality of our lived experience with openness and simplicity, thereby finding freedom. Untrain Your Parrot includes simple instructions to clarify and elucidate the basics: • how to establish a beginning meditation practice • how to develop physical, mental, and emotional awareness • how to experience "open" awareness-observing one's practice while allowing for a sense of spaciousness with whatever occurs For more information on the author, Elizabeth Hamilton, go to www.zencentersandiego.org.

Volume Five of Classics of Buddhism and Zen represents the broad spectrum of Cleary's interest in Buddhism-from Buddhist yoga and the Chinese Buddhist perspective on the I Ching to the most basic and universally loved of the Buddhist sutras, the Dhammapada. The volume includes: Dhammapada: The Sayings of Buddha The famous collection of 423 verses of Buddhist wisdom that has been profoundly influential in every Buddhist school. The Buddhist I Ching The translation included in this volume is the only full-length interpretation of the I Ching by a Chinese Buddhist meditation master. Stopping and Seeing: A Comprehensive Course in Buddhist Meditation A monumental work written by sixth-century Buddhist master Chi-i. One of the most comprehensive manuals written on these two essential points of Buddhist meditation. Entry into the Inconceivable: An Introduction to Hua-yen Buddhism An introduction to the philosophy of the Hua-yen school of Buddhism, one of the cornerstones of East Asian Buddhist thought. Buddhist Yoga: A Comprehensive Course A landmark translation of the classical sourcebook of Buddhist yoga, the Sandhinirmochana-sutra, or "Scripture Unlocking the Mysteries," a revered text of the school of Buddhism known as Vijnanavada or Yogachara.

Sam Hamill is that rare figure whose life is continually in dialogue with the rich and diverse tradition of poetry, whether that dialogue takes the form of translating the work of a poet long dead, writing a poem in celebration of the work of a contemporary poet, or musing on what it means to be a poet himself. A true poet's poet-and also the founding editor of Copper Canyon Press, one of the most influential publishers of poetry today-Hamill has been part of America's poetry scene for decades and has won numerous prizes and awards for his work. This collection presents the best of Hamill's work from his thirteen books of original poetry and from his numerous critically acclaimed works of translation, as well as a number of new, previously unpublished poems.

The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa brings together in eight volumes the writings of one of the first and most influential and inspirational Tibetan teachers to present Buddhism in the West. Organized by theme, the collection includes full-length books as well as articles, seminar transcripts, poems, plays, and interviews, many of which have never before been available in book form. From memoirs of his escape from Chinese-occupied Tibet to insightful discussions of psychology, mind, and meditation; from original verse and calligraphy to the esoteric lore of tantric Buddhism-the impressive range of Trungpa's vision, talents, and teachings is showcased in this landmark series. Volume Seven features the work of Chögyam Trungpa as a poet, playwright, and visual artist and his teachings on art and the creative process, which are among the most innovative and provocative aspects of his activities in the West. While it includes material in which Trungpa Rinpoche shares his knowledge of the symbolism and iconography of traditional Buddhist arts (in Visual Dharma) , this richly varied volume primarily focuses on his own, often radical creative expressions. The Art of Calligraphy is a wonderful showcase for his calligraphy, and Dharma Art brings together his ideas on art, the artistic process, and aesthetics. Tibetan poetics, filmmaking, theater, and art and education are among the topics of the selected writings.

A curated collection of ancient texts that shed light on the full breadth of Taoist meditation practicesThe ancient meditation techniques of Taoism encompass a wide range of practices-with an aim toward cultivating a healthy body as well as an enlightened mind. These selections from classic texts of Taoist meditation represent the entire range of techniques-from sitting meditation practices to internal alchemy. Most of the texts appear here in English for the first time. Selections are taken from the following classics: • Anthology on Cultivation of Realization: A document from 1739 (Ming Dynasty) that emphasizes development of the natural, social, and spiritual elements in human life. • Treatise on Sitting Forgetting: A Tang Dynasty text that sets meditation practice in terms familiar to Confucians and Buddhists. • Sayings of Taoist Master Danyang: Wisdom of the Taoist wizard and representative of the Complete Reality School. • Secret Writings on the Mechanism of Nature: An anthology taken from one hundred sixty-three Taoist sources, including ancient classics and works on meditation and spiritual alchemy, along with admonitions and teachings of the great Taoist luminaries. • Zhang Sanfeng's Taiji Alchemy Secrets: A treatise on the inner mediation practices that are the proper foundation of the martial art Taiji. • Secret Records of Understanding the Way: A rare and remarkable collection of talks by an anonymous Taoist master of the later Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Traditional teachings with a sometimes strikingly modern bent.

An unusually detailed, clear, and complete instruction manual for the meditation practice of Mahamudra, by a renowned eighteenth-century Tibetan master in the Drukpa Kagyu lineage. This guidebook for cultivating the meditative practices of stability and insight-the first major work from the Drukpa Kagyu lineage to become available in English-stands out among works of its kind as one of the clearest and most comprehensive presentations of coemergence, or mahamudra. In it, the eighteenth-century Tibetan master Ngawang Kunga Tenzin, the Third Khamtrul Rinpoche, details a step-by-step program of spiritual exercises that bring the meditator directly to clear realization of the fully perfect, ever-present, nondual nature of mind.Beginning with the close relationship between phenomena and mind and the immense benefits of meditating on the nature of mind, the Third Khamtrul Rinpoche offers careful instructions on the four yogas of mahamudra together with advice on how to recognize genuine progress and how to remove obstacles that arise during meditation. Characteristic of the Drukpa Kagyu approach is that he presents explanations-even to those in the earliest stages of training-that are grounded in insight into the nature of mind, demonstrating how all experience, thoughts, and perceptions may be used as the path to enlightenment.

The first volume of the fifteenth-century spiritual classic that condenses the enormous breadth of Buddhist teachings into one easy-to-follow meditation manual. The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Tib. Lam rim chen mo) is one of the brightest jewels in the world's treasury of sacred literature. The author, Tsong-kha-pa, completed it in 1402, and it soon became one of the most renowned works of spiritual practice and philosophy in the world of Tibetan Buddhism. Because it condenses all the exoteric sutra scriptures into a meditation manual that is easy to understand, scholars and practitioners rely on its authoritative presentation as a gateway that leads to a full understanding of the Buddha's teachings.Tsong-kha-pa took great pains to base his insights on classical Indian Buddhist literature, illustrating his points with classical citations as well as with sayings of the masters of the earlier Kadampa tradition. In this way the text demonstrates clearly how Tibetan Buddhism carefully preserved and developed the Indian Buddhist traditions.This first of three volumes covers all the practices that are prerequisite for developing the spirit of enlightenment (bodhicitta).

55 playful experiments that encourage tinkering, curiosity, and creative thinking-hands-on activities that explore art, science, and more. For children of all ages, from toddlers to teenagers! The creator of the highly popular creativity site for kids, Tinkerlab.com, now delivers dozens of engaging, kid-tested, and easy-to-implement projects that will help parents and teachers bring out the natural tinkerer in every kid-even babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. The creative experiments shared in this book foster curiosity, promote creative and critical thinking, and encourage tinkering-mindsets that are important to children growing up in a world that values independent thinking. In addition to offering a host of activities that parents and teachers can put to use right away, this book also includes a buffet of recipes (magic potions, different kinds of play dough, silly putty, and homemade butter) and a detailed list of materials to include in the art pantry.