Bücher veröffentlicht von Shambhala Publications Inc

Restorative yoga teacher Judith Hanson Lasater offers a program of yoga poses to help rebalance your mind and body and counteract the effects of chronic stress.Restorative yoga offers the body a chance to rest deeply and revitalize. Whether you are feeling weak, fatigued, stressed from daily activities, or simply need to slow down and tune into your body, this wonderfully adaptive practice is essential for well being. Many of the practices are simple and accessible for people of all ages and in all states of health, using props that are readily available-like pillows and chairs. These deeply relaxing poses help you• rebalance your mind and body • create feelings of wellbeing, and counteract the effects of chronic stress • recover from injury or illness • lower blood pressure, and elevate and stabilize your mood Discover how just a few minutes a day of active, supported rest can improve your mood, your energy, and your sense of physical comfort and ease.

An experience of the fragility of conventional images of masculinity is something many modern men share. Psychoanalyst Guy Corneau traces this experience to an even deeper feeling men have of their fathers' silence or absence—sometimes literal, but especially emotional and spiritual. Why is this feeling so profound in the lives of the postwar "baby boom" generation—men who are now approaching middle age? Because, he says, this generation marks a critical phase in the loss of the masculine initiation rituals that in the past ensured a boy's passage into manhood. In his engaging examination of the many different ways this missing link manifests in men's lives, Corneau shows that, for men today, regaining the essential "second birth" into manhood lies in gaining the ability to be a father to themselves—not only as a means of healing psychological pain, but as a necessary step in the process of becoming whole.

The keys to self-knowledge and deep contentment  are right here before us in this very moment—if we can simply learn to live with open awareness. In The Unfolding Now, A. H. Almaas presents a marvelously effective practice for developing the transformative quality of presence. Through a particular method of self-observation and contemplative exploration that he calls inquiry, we learn to live in the relaxed condition  of simply "being ourselves," without interference from feelings of inadequacy, drivenness toward goals, struggling to figure things out, and rejecting experiences we don''t want. Almaas explores the many obstacles  that keep us from being present—including defensiveness, ignorance, desire, aggression, and self-hatred—and shows us how to welcome with curiosity and compassion whatever we are experiencing.

The power and simplicity of the Korean Zen tradition shine in this collection of teachings by a renowned modern master, translated by Martine Batchelor. Kusan Sunim provides a wealth of practical advice for students, particularly with regard to the uniquely Korean practice of hwadu, or sitting with questioning. An extensive introduction by Stephen Batchelor, author of Buddhism without Beliefs, provides both a biography of the author and a brief history of Korean Zen.

The Shambhala Anthology of Women''s Spiritual Poetry celebrates the unique spiritual life of women through a rich selection of poetry written over the past four thousand years, from thirty-six different languages and cultures. It ranges from verse by the first recorded poet, a Sumerian priestess named Enheduanna (circa 2,300 BCE), to Anne Sexton; from early Buddhist nuns to Emily Dickinson; from Hildegard of Bingen to Tess Gallagher. Many of the translations are from distinguished authors and poets, such as Coleman Barks, Samuel Beckett, Stanley Kunitz, W. S. Merwin, Kenneth Rexroth, Arthur Waley, and Richard Wilbur. In this book (originally published as Voices of Light), the spiritual impulse is expressed broadly as a visionary quest toward self-realization, as well as the desire for union with God, with the source of divine light, with a mystic lover, or with the source of nature. Many of the poets here also remind us that the spiritual is within everyone and unites us through empathy with the suffering and joy of others—a poetry of witness. Contributors include: Anne Bradstreet, Sappho, Sylvia Plath, Hildegard of Bingen, Yosano Akiko, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Tess Gallagher, Anne Sexton, Beatrice of Nazareth, Carolyn Forché, Mary: Mother of Jesus, Denise Levertov, Emily Dickinson, H.D., Linda Hogan, Charlotte Brontë, Louise Erdrich, Lucille Clifton, Anna Akhmatova, Marianne Moore, Mechthild of Magdeburg, Praxilla, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, and many others.

First published in 1924, this classic four-volume work contains various Greek and Latin writings of religious or philosophic teachings ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus, with Walter Scott''s extensive notes, commentary, and addenda. It is said that these teachings are records of private, intimate talks between a teacher and one or two of his disciples. The setting was in Egypt under the Roman Empire, among men who had received some instruction in Greek philosophy, and especially the Platonism of the period, but were not content with merely accepting and repeating the cut-and-dried dogmas of the orthodox philosophic schools and sought to build up, on a basis of Platonic doctrine, a philosophic religion that would better satisfy their needs. Included here are the libelli of the Corpus Hermeticum, the Asclepius, the Hermetic excerpts in the Anthologium of Stobaeus, and other fragments. The entire text is produced in the original Greek or Latin, with an English translation on facing pages. Volumes II, III, and IV of Hermetica, which contain Scott''s notes on the work, his commentary, and testimonia, extensive addenda, and indices, are also published by Shambhala.

Kensho is the transformative glimpse of the true nature of all things. It is an experience so crucial in Zen practice that it is sometimes compared to finding an inexhaustible treasure because it reveals the potential that exists in each moment for pure awareness free from the projections of the ego. Among the traditional Zen works are a number of important texts focusing on the profound subtleties of this essential Zen awakening and the methods used in its realization. The selections here are taken from:    •  Straightforward Explanation of the True Mind, by Korean Zen teacher Chinul (1158-1210), which provides the contextual balance needed to understand kensho by relating it to the broader teachings of the Buddhist scriptures and treatises.    •  Several works by Japanese Zen master Hakuin (1786-1769), whose teachings emphasize the techniques used in the cultivation and application of kensho and the importance of going beyond the experience itself to apply Zen insight to the full range of human endeavors.    •  The Book of Ease, a Chinese koan collection from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, with commentary showing the practical dimension of classical koan practice. The translator provides extensive introductory notes and detailed commentary on each of the selections to help the reader understand the inner meaning of this essential experience of Zen.

Based on notebooks kept by G.I. Gurdjieff's closest follower, this book offers new insight on his spiritual teachings-a way of gnosis or "knowledge of being" passed on from remote antiquity. It is a complete and uniquely authoritative guide to the great teacher's ideas and to his methods for liberating ourselves from the state of "waking sleep" in which most of us live our lives.

A third-generation traditional bookbinder gives easy-to-follow instructions for making all the major, historically important styles of Japanese bindings as well as traditional book cases—the custom-made folding boxes that afford handsome protection for Japan''s exquisite books. The authoritative text, written by one of Japan''s leading professional bookbinders, has been fully adapted for Western readers. Both American and Japanese suppliers of traditional tools and materials are provided and substitutes are recommended for items not readily available. For centuries the West has admired Japanese books, but only now can we make them ourselves and take full advantage of their creative possibilities. Stunning and practical, these bindings are ideal for preserving calligraphy, letters, artwork, and poems, for adding a distinctive touch to limited-edition books, and for use as diaries or gifts.

An indispensable guidebook through the journey of life and death, Mind Beyond Death weaves a synthesis of wisdom remarkable in its scope. With warm informality and profound understanding of the Western mind, the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche makes the mysterious Tibetan teachings on the bardos-the intervals of life, death, and beyond-completely available to the modern reader. Drawing on a breathtaking range of material, Mind Beyond Death shows us how the bardos can be used to conquer death. Working with the bardos means taking hold of life and learning how to live with fearless abandon. Exploring all six bardos-not just the three bardos of death-Mind Beyond Death demonstrates that the secret to a good journey through and beyond death lies in how we live. Walking skillfully through the bardos of dream meditation and daily life, the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche takes us deep into the mysterious death intervals, introducing us to their dazzling mindscape. This tour de force gives us the knowledge to transform death, the greatest obstacle, into the most powerful opportunity for enlightenment. With both nuts-and-bolts meditation techniques and brilliant illumination, Mind Beyond Death offers a clear map and a sturdy vehicle that will safely transport the reader through the challenging transitions of this life and the perilous bardos beyond death.

Karate is not just a sport or a hobby—it's a lifetime study toward perfection of character. Here, Dave Lowry, one of the best-known writers on the Japanese martial arts, illuminates the complete path of karate including practice, philosophy, and culture. He covers myriad subjects of interest to karate practitioners of all ages and levels, including: • The relationship between students and teachers • Cultivating the correct attitude during practice • The differences between karate in the East and West • Whether a karate student really needs to study in Japan to perfect the art • The meaning of rank and the black belt • Detailed descriptions of kicks, punches, evasions, and techniques and the philosophical concepts that they manifest • What practice means and looks like as one ages • How the practice of karate aims toward cultivating character and spiritual development After forty years studying karate and the budo arts, Lowry is an informative and reliable guide, highlighting aspects of the karate path that will surprise, entertain, and enlighten.

The first and only commentary on the Buddhist master Longchenpa''s essential text on Dzogchen by modern scholar and Nyingma master, Khangsar Khenpo Tenpa''i Wangchuk.Longchen Rabjam (1308-1363), also known as Longchenpa, is a great luminary of Tibetan Buddhism. Regarded as a master of Dzogchen, or Great Perfection, Longchenpa''s prolific writings have made him one of Tibet''s most renowned and precious teachers. In clear and elegant verse, Longchenpa''s Precious Treasury of the Fundamental Nature establishes the definitive view of the ultimate nature of mind according to the secret class of pith instructions of the Great Perfection. Aside from the auto-commentary composed by Longchenpa himself in the fourteenth century, the first and only commentary ever to have been written on this work was composed in the twentieth century by Khangsar Khenpo Tenpa''i Wangchuk, a teacher, scholar, and preserver of Buddhist monastic and scholarly culture in Tibet. This work marks the first step in translating the collected works of this modern Nyingma master. In this commentary, Khangsar Khenpo guides Dzogchen practitioners to experience and understand the phenomena of the outer world detected by the senses as well as the subjective mental and emotional states that apprehend them in order to bring the student to a recognition and stabilized experience of ultimate truth.

Classic teachings on the art of living by the great Roman emperor, statesman, and general.The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius originally wrote the meditations collected here in the form of a personal journal during his military campaigns in the second century. In them, he reflects with great beauty and simplicity upon the Stoic virtues that lead to a happy life: self-mastery, moral strength, duty to oneself and others, detachment, and acceptance of the divine order and the way of Nature. His words of wisdom and courage continue to inspire all who struggle to live a meaningful and productive life in a troubled age. This book is part of the Shambhala Pocket Library series. The Shambhala Pocket Library is a collection of short, portable teachings from notable figures across religious traditions and classic texts. The covers in this series are rendered by Colorado artist Robert Spellman. The books in this collection distill the wisdom and heart of the work Shambhala Publications has published over 50 years into a compact format that is collectible, reader-friendly, and applicable to everyday life.

Kensho is the Zen experience of waking up to one’s own true nature—of understanding oneself to be not different from the Buddha-nature that pervades all existence. The Japanese Zen Master Hakuin (1689–1769) considered the experience to be essential. In his autobiography he says: “Anyone who would call himself a member of the Zen family must first achieve kensho-realization of the Buddha’s way. If a person who has not achieved kensho says he is a follower of Zen, he is an outrageous fraud. A swindler pure and simple.” Hakuin’s short text on kensho, “Four Ways of Knowing of an Awakened Person,” is a little-known Zen classic. The “four ways” he describes include the way of knowing of the Great Perfect Mirror, the way of knowing equality, the way of knowing by differentiation, and the way of the perfection of action. Rather than simply being methods for “checking” for enlightenment in oneself, these ways ultimately exemplify Zen practice. Albert Low has provided careful, line-by-line commentary for the text that illuminates its profound wisdom and makes it an inspiration for deeper spiritual practice.

Complete Enlightenment is the first authoritative translation and commentary on The Sutra of Complete Enlightenment, a central text that shaped the development of East Asian Buddhism and Ch'an (Chinese Zen). The text is set in the form of a transcription of discussions between the Buddha and the twelve enlightened beings(bodhisattvas), who question him on all aspects of spiritual practice. This new translation preserves all the liveliness and nuance of the text in the original Chinese. The sutra's ancient wisdom is brought to life by the commentaries of Master Sheng-yen, one of the most revered living Buddhist masters in the Ch'an lineage. This is truly a manual for the spiritual journey toward complete enlightenment, providing the key to the deep, poetic, and practical meanings of the scripture.

Jizo is an important bodhisattva or "saint" of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. Most prominent today in Japanese Zen, Jizo is understood to be the protector of those journeying through the physical and spiritual realms. This bodhisattva is closely associated with children, believed to be their guardian before birth, throughout childhood, and after death. Here, an American Zen master offers an engaging and informative overview of the history of this important figure and conveys the practices and rituals connected with him, including a simple ceremony for remembering children who have died. Inspired by her own personal experience with Jizo practice, Bays explains how the Buddhist teachings on Jizo can bring peace to those confronted with suffering and loss.