Whether in the heart of Asia or a farm in the American heartland, the Buddha image never seems out of place. As a reminder to stop and live in the moment, it is as appropriate as a charm around the neck of a young Thai soldier as on a car dashboard. Photographs of the Buddha in various incarnations—traditional statuary, toys, garden ornaments, jewelry, tattoos—demonstrate that the Buddha is seemingly everywhere, if one cultivates the proper awareness. By turns beautiful, quirky, ironic, and meditative, Kalisher's images in If You Find the Buddha speak not only to the omnipresence of the spiritual icon, but also to our capacity to be surprised and delighted by the unexpected. With an insightful essay by noted author and traveler Jeff Greenwald, the striking photographs in this book delight and enlighten in equal measure.

The many problems we face in today's world -- among them war, environmental destruction, religious and racial intolerance, and inappropriate technologies -- demand that we carefully re-evaluate such issues as our relation to the environment, the nature of progress, ultimate purposes, and human values. These are all issues, Robert Carter explains, that are intimately linked to our perception of life's meaning. While many books discuss life's meaning either analytically or prescriptively, Carter addresses values and ways of meaningful living from a broader perspective, using Japanese philosophy to augment his investigation. He examines Martin Heidegger's distinction between "dwelling" and existing in the world, Lawrence Kohlberg's "stage seven" of human moral development, and the works of Viktor Frankl, Carol Gilligan, and Nel Noddings. He applies hermeneutic and deconstructionist theory to the question of meaning, and explores the feminist contribution to ethics and its relation to the interconnectedness of things celebrated in Zen and Shinto thought. Bridging various dichotomies such as East/West, reason/emotion, male/female, and caring/justice, Carter shows that ethics, environmental concern, caring, and joy in living are dependent on the growth and transformation of the self. Only by becoming aware of the interrelatedness of things, Carter reveals, can we become as supple and as strong as the bamboo tree, long the symbol of longevity and constancy.

"The Buddha never compelled anybody to have blind faith in Him. He just exhorted us to depend on our own wisdom. It is not because we are born as humans that we become wise or foolish. It is because we can bring our defilements under control that we become wise, and it is because we can’t bring our defilements under control that we become foolish. We all have both good and bad qualities. Snakes, chickens, and pigs are not created for you to eat. It is in such existences that you yourself have been born before. We can’t harm anybody without harming ourselves. We can’t disturb others without disturbing ourselves. Patience means accepting. Very beautiful! Accepting both the desirable and the undesirable is the perfection of patience. You make friends with the defilements all the time, but the defilements never treat you as a friend in return. They treat you as an enemy. The Buddha never says, 'Come and believe'. He says, ‘Come and see; the wise can know, the wise can see’. ‘One who sees the Dhamma, sees me. One who sees me, sees the Dhamma’." [From a book published by Pa-Auk Meditation Centre, a Centre of Theravāda Buddhist Tradition]

This is the ebook version of One Buddha Is Not Enough. How do we learn to believe in ourselves and not just rely on our spiritual teachers? Based on a retreat that Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh organized but then couldn't attend, One Buddha Is Not Enough is a book on how to become your own teacher and create your own community where you might least expect it. It offers fresh and original insight from emerging Buddhist teachers on topics such as how to handle grief, strengthen our relationships with family and friends, deal with anger and other strong emotions, and find happiness in the present moment. Through letters, stories, poems, calligraphies, and photographs, Thich Nhat Hanh shares his unique insights on illness, health, and different healing modalities. One Buddha Is Not Enough is a true expression of American Buddhism. We already contain all the insight and wisdom we need--and we're surrounded by the people who can help us on our journey. Sometimes all it takes is a wake-up call to remind us of what we are capable.

Renowned for the beauty and simplicity of his teachings, Ajahn Chah was Thailand's best-known meditation teacher. His charisma and wisdom influenced many American and European seekers, and helped shape the American Vipassana community. This collection brings together for the first time Ajahn Chah's most powerful teachings, including those on meditation, liberation from suffering, calming the mind, enlightenment and the 'living dhamma'. Most of these talks have previously only been available in limited, private editions and the publication of Food for the Heart therefore represents a momentous occasion: the hugely increased accessibility of his words and wisdom. Western teachers such as Ram Dass and Jack Kornfield have extolled Chah's teachings for years and now readers can experience them directly in this book.

This “rich and rewarding work” explores the connections between ancient Buddhist doctrine and contemporary philosophy (Publishers Weekly). Tiantai Buddhism emerged in sixth century China from an idiosyncratic and innovative interpretation of the Lotus Sutra. It went on to become one of the most complete, systematic, and influential schools of philosophical thought developed in East Asia. In Emptiness and Omnipresence, Brook A. Ziporyn puts Tiantai into dialogue with modern philosophical concerns to draw out its implications for ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics. Ziporyn explains Tiantai’s unlikely roots, its positions of extreme affirmation and rejection, its religious skepticism and embrace of religious myth, and its view of human consciousness. Ziporyn reveals the profound insights of Tiantai Buddhism while stimulating philosophical reflection on its unexpected effects.

The very idea that the teachings can be mastered will arouse controversy within Buddhist circles. Even so, Ingram insists that enlightenment is an attainable goal, once our fanciful notions of it are stripped away, and we have learned to use meditation as a method for examining reality rather than an opportunity to wallow in self-absorbed mind-noise. Ingram sets out concisely the difference between concentration-based and insight (vipassana) meditation; he provides example practices; and most importantly he presents detailed maps of the states of mind we are likely to encounter, and the stages we must negotiate as we move through clearly-defined cycles of insight. Its easy to feel overawed, at first, by Ingram's assurance and ease in the higher levels of consciousness, but consistently he writes as a down-to-earth and compassionate guide, and to the practitioner willing to commit themselves this is a glittering gift of a book.In this new edition of the bestselling book, the author rearranges, revises and expands upon the original material, as well as adding new sections that bring further clarity to his ideas.

This book contains fourteen chapters divided by topic, with an introduction to each by the editor. The sayings attributed to the four spiritual masters are arranged side by side over two pages. The book also contains a wealth of photographs,an appendix and a general introduction.

It is said that the famous ninth century Chinese Buddhist monk Linji Yixuan told his disciples, "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him." The deliberately confounding statement is meant to shock people out of complacent ways of thinking. But beyond the purposeful jolt from complacency there is another intention. This axiom suggests that, for liberation, one should seek the Buddha nature that resides within, rather than a mere Buddha exterior. The metaphor of killing the Buddha dislodges a person from the illusion that enlightenment lies outside the body. The proclamation also highlights the power of violence, even on a symbolic level. Violence abounds in Buddhist thoughts, doctrine, and actions, however unacknowledged or misunderstood. If You Meet the Buddha on the Road addresses an important absence in the study of religion and violence: the religious treatment of violence. In order to pursue an understanding of the relationship between Buddhism and violence, it is important to first consider how Buddhist scriptures and followers understand violence. Drawing on Buddhist treatments of violence, Michael Jerryson explores the ways in which Buddhists invoke, support, or justify war, conflict, state violence, and gender discrimination. In addition, the book examines the ways in which Buddhists address violence as military chaplains, cope with violence in a conflict zone, and serve as witnesses of blasphemy to Buddhist doctrine and Buddha images.

One of the best-known and most provocative spiritual teachers of our time presents the Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters, sharing his unique insights into its profound ancient wisdom This rich and refreshing book invites us to travel with the Buddha on a path of radical wisdom. In his inimitable style, Osho interprets the Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters—a scripture compiled by a Chinese emperor in the first century CE—using wonderful contemporary anecdotes to make profound points. As we laugh or shake our heads at the folly of the characters in the stories, or marvel at their goodness, Osho engages us at every level to let us experience the Buddha’s teachings and take in their timeless truths. As he writes in this powerful book: "No belief is required to travel with Buddha. You can come to him with all your skepticism—he accepts and welcomes you, and he says, 'Come with me.'"