Books published by Wisdom Publications,U.S.

Yogacara is an influential school of Buddhist philosophy and psychology that stems from the early Indian Mahayana Buddhist tradition. The Yogacara view is based on the fundamental truth that there is nothing in the realm of human experience that is not interpreted by and dependent upon the mind. Yogacara Buddhism was unable to sustain the same level of popularity as other Buddhist schools in India, Tibet, and East Asia, but its teachings on the nature of consciousness profoundly impacted the successive developments of Buddhism. Yogacara served as the basis for the development of the doctrines of karma and liberation in many other schools. In this refreshingly accessible study, Tagawa Shun''ei makes sense of Yogacara''s subtleties and complexities with insight and clarity. He shows us that Yogacara masters comprehend and express everyday experiences that we all take for granted, yet struggle to explain. Eloquent and approachable, Living Yogacara deepens the reader''s understanding of the development of Buddhism''s interpretation of the human psyche.

A daily companion for embracing life, preparing for death, and awakening to reality.Anyen Rinpoche, Tibetan Buddhist master and teacher, and his longtime student and translator Allison Choying Zangmo present ancient and rich teachings on death in a contemporary, accessible manner. Learn how to release your attachments, embrace impermanence, cultivate virtue, and see the world as it really is—one day at a time. Their practical, disciplined timeline encourages step-by-step development of qualities such as lovingkindness, compassion, generosity, and patience. Each day offers a short teaching followed by a specific, concrete exercise to help you reflect on and fully integrate the message. Through vivid and evocative contemplative scenarios and action items, Living and Dying with Confidence brings practice off the cushion and into ordinary life.

An exploration of the practice of samatha, the style of meditation devoted to focus and attention.Geshe Sopa continues his elucidation of Lama Tsongkhapa's masterwork on the Buddhist path with an explanation of the core meditative practice of samatha, or calm abiding. Showing how it is absolutely essential for--and goes hand in hand with--the achievement of insight into reality, he gives practical tips for countering sleepiness, agitation, and their more subtle counterparts. Leading us step by step toward deeper levels of concentration, volume 4 of the Steps on the Path to Enlightenment series brings readers closer to the ultimate goal of samatha: unlimited and effortless focus.

Hell realms, gods, and hungry ghosts-these are just a few of the images on the Buddhist wheel of life. In Awakening from the Daydream, discover how these ancient symbols are still relevant to our modern life.In Awakening from the Daydream, meditation teacher David Nichtern reimagines the ancient Buddhist allegory of the Wheel of Life. Famously painted at the entryway to Buddhist monasteries, the Wheel of Life encapsulates the entirety of the human situation. In the image of the Wheel we find a teaching about how to make sense of life and how to find peace within an uncertain world. Nichtern writes with clarity and humor, speaking to our contemporary society and its concerns and providing simple practical steps for building a mindful, compassionate, and liberating approach to living.

Who cares for the caregivers? No matter what inspires a provider''s commitment, the wise words found here will soothe and rejuvenate while offering practical advice. A new 10th anniversary expanded edition.It is estimated that nearly one-third of the U.S. adult population acts as informal caregivers for ill or disabled loved ones. We can add to these countless workers in the fields of health and human service, and yet there is still not enough help to go around. Sure to be welcomed by caregivers of all types, this new edition of the groundbreaking Medicine and Compassion can help anyone reconnect with the true spirit of their caregiving task. In a clear and very modern voice, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and Dr. David R. Shlim use the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism to present practical tools for revitalizing the caring spirit. Offering practical advice on dealing with people who are angry at their medical conditions or their care providers, people who are dying, or the families of those who are critically ill, Medicine and Compassion provides needed inspiration to any who wish to reenergize their patience, kindness, and effectiveness. The warmth and care in these pages is sure to strike a resonant cord with medical professionals, hospice workers, teachers and parents of children with special needs, and those caring for aging and infirm loved ones.

Walk step by step through the stages of this tantric ritual of purification with inspired commentary and forty full-color illustrations.The force of our past actions makes it hard to attain our goals, including success in meditation. And so Buddhism has developed methods for purifying our past, clearing the obstacles to success and fulfillment. One of the most popular methods for karmic housekeeping, one common to all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, is the preparatory practice of visualizing the buddha Vajrasattva and reciting his hundred-syllable mantra. It is considered an essential foundation for the success of spiritual endeavor. The practice of Vajrasattva is often the first experience practitioners have of trying to perform tantric ritual. Combining prayers, visualizations, mantra recitations, and multiple styles of meditation, it can be hard for those who did not grow up in the tradition to know how to proceed. This friendly volume by a young Tibetan lama with many followers in China lays out the practice step by step accompanied by sixty color illustrations.

Intimately and without jargon, "How to Wake Up: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide to Navigating Joy and Sorrow," describes the path to peace amid all of life's ups and downs. Using step by step instructions, the author illustrates how to be fully present in the moment without clinging to joy or resisting sorrow. This opens the door to a kind of wellness that goes beyond circumstances. Actively engaging life as it is in this fashion holds the potential for awakening to a peace and well-being that are not dependent on whether a particular experience is joyful or sorrowful. This is a practical book, containing dozens of exercises and practices, all of which are illustrated with easy-to-relate to personal stories from the author's experience.

Meditation can seem a mystery. Where do you begin? Where will you end up? What might you find along the way?You''ll find the answers in The Meditator''s Atlas, a comprehensive and trustworthy "roadmap of the inner world" for anyone who meditates. Respected teacher Matthew Flickstein is your friendly guide, explaining what meditation is, how to do it, and how to make the skills and benefits that it engenders your own, including: finding work that supports your priorities overcoming doubt cultivating helpful attitudes incorporating mindfulness into every aspect of your life and how all of this adds up to a happier life. What makes this book unique is the way Flickstein uses two classic Buddhist texts--the Path of Purification, and the Four Foundations of Mindfulness--to help readers make clear sense out of the new, fascinating, and sometimes even frightening states that one may encounter on the long journey to enlightenment. Readers will come away from this book with their own insights clarified and with a helpful sense of what lies ahead.

This volume offers a complete translation of the Samyutta Nikaya, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, the third of the four great collections in the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali Canon. The Samyutta Nikaya consists of fifty-six chapters, each governed by a unifying theme that binds together the Buddha''s suttas or discourses. The chapters are organized into five major parts.The first, The Book with Verses, is a compilation of suttas composed largely in verse. This book ranks as one of the most inspiring compilations in the Buddhist canon, showing the Buddha in his full grandeur as the peerless "teacher of gods and humans." The other four books deal in depth with the philosophical principles and meditative structures of early Buddhism. They combine into orderly chapters all the important short discourses of the Buddha on such major topics as dependent origination, the five aggregates, the six sense bases, the seven factors of enlightenment, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the Four Noble Truths.Among the four large Nikayas belonging to the Pali Canon, the Samyutta Nikaya serves as the repository for the many shorter suttas of the Buddha where he discloses his radical insights into the nature of reality and his unique path to spiritual emancipation. This collection, it seems, was directed mainly at those disciples who were capable of grasping the deepest dimensions of wisdom and of clarifying them for others, and also provided guidance to meditators intent on consummating their efforts with the direct realization of the ultimate truth. The present work begins with an insightful general introduction to the Samyutta Nikaya as a whole. Each of the five parts is also provided with its own introduction, intended to guide the reader through this vast, ocean-like collection of suttas. To further assist the reader, the translator has provided an extensive body of notes clarifying various problems concerning both the language and the meaning of the texts. Distinguished by its lucidity and technical precision, this new translation makes this ancient collection of the Buddha''s discourses accessible and comprehensible to the thoughtful reader of today. Like its two predecessors in this series, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha is sure to merit a place of honour in the library of every serious student of Buddhism.

This immensely useful book explores Zen''s rich tradition of chanted liturgy and the powerful ways that such chants support meditation, expressing and helping us truly uphold our heartfelt vows to live a life of freedom and compassion. Exploring eight of Zen''s most essential and universal liturgical texts, Living by Vow is a handbook to walking the Zen path, and Shohaku Okumura guides us like an old friend, speaking clearly and directly of the personal meaning and implications of these chants, generously using his experiences to illustrate their practical significance. A scholar of Buddhist literature, he masterfully uncovers the subtle, intricate web of culture and history that permeate these great texts. Esoteric or challenging terms take on vivid, personal meaning, and old familiar phrases gain new poetic resonance.