Other Eastern Religions Books - Page 3

Mindfulness in Plain English, Updated and Expanded Edition

Bhante H. Gunaratana

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 87 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

informative, thorough, eye-opening 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I purchased this book because I was interested in learning about the concept of mindfulness. I wasn't exactly looking to develop a serious meditation habit, but during my reading of the book I began to embrace the idea. I read the book and wanted to re-read it fairly soon after finishing, but I loaned it out to someone. I'm eager to get it back and read it again, but I've told someone else they can borrow it! I may have to buy another copy. The book is well-laid-out, covers the subject matter very well, and opened my eyes to a new way of thinking. I'm trying to become a more regular meditator; currently I do it in ten-minute increments a couple of times a week at minimum, but I'm hoping to build from there. Also: I'm currently reading the "sequel" to this book, called "Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness: Walking the Buddha's Path." I'm only in the beginning but I'm finding it on par with "Mindfulness in Plain English" -- informative and eye-opening, and teaching me things that I feel can impact my everyday thinking (and hopefully result in an overall healthier mind).

Editorial Review:

This step-by-step guide to Insight Meditation is truly practical and direct. This new edition includes the complete text of its best selling predecessor and a new chapter on loving-kindness, an especially important subject in today's fractious world.

The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching

Thich Nhat Hanh

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 70 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Great Intro to Buddhism 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

"The Heart of Buddha's Teaching" is one of the best books I've read. It's a great introduction to the basic principals and ideas of Buddhism. Thich Nhat Hanh really explained things in such a way that I feel I'm walking away with ideas and resources to help deal with everyday problems.

I'm tempted to call this a self-help book with how every chapter seemed to address things that I as a person am confronted with and am trying to understand. How Hanh applies Buddha's teaching to suffering, anger and how to achieve peace and zen is something I believe everyone needs and will benefit from reading. I've read other books that felt as if they were speaking of things beyond my grasp and ability to make sense of; this was not that book. Everything flowed nicely, the concepts were presented in terms that weren't too complicated, the examples given were ones that did not distract from the ideas and points.

Definitely a must read and worth your time and attention.

Editorial Review:

In The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, Thich Nhat Hanh introduces us to the core teachings of Buddhism and shows us that the Buddha's teachings are accessible and applicable to our daily lives. With poetry and clarity, Nhat Hanh imparts comforting wisdom about the nature of suffering and its role in creating compassion, love, and joy--all qualities of enlightenment. Covering such significant teachings as the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Three Doors of Liberation, the Three Dharma Seals, and the Seven Factors of Awakening, The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching is a radiant beacon on Buddhist thought for the initiated and uninitiated alike.

The Book of Five Rings

Miyamoto Musashi

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

WARRIORS BIBLE 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Musashi, like every great warrior, knew that strategy was as important as tactics and techniques in combat. This book will teach you things that were learned in combat and will enhance your survival potential on the battlefield, street and life.

It is not the easiest book to interpret and understand, but that hardly matters, as for the information in this book is worth your time and effort. One good book is worth a hundred crummy ones, and this book is one outstanding book. This book is divided into various distinct sections, and the serious and professional warrior should extract as much information as possible from each section. Every time I pick this book up I learn something new. This is the warrior's bible.

I highly recommend this book to all readers.

Editorial Review:

The Book of Five Rings is one of the most insightful texts on the subtle arts of confrontation and victory to emerge from Asian culture. Written not only for martial artists but for anyone who wants to apply the timeless principles of this text to their life, the book analyzes the process of struggle and mastery over conflict that underlies every level of human interaction. The Book of Five Rings was composed in 1643 by the famed duelist and undefeated samurai Miyamoto Musashi. Thomas Cleary's translation is immediately accessible, with an introduction that presents the spiritual background of the warrior tradition. Along with Musashi's text, Cleary translates here another important Japanese classic on leadership and strategy, The Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War by Yagyu Munenori, which highlights the ethical and spiritual insights of Taoism and Zen as they apply to the way of the warrior.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Commentary on the Raja Yoga Sutras by Sri Swami Satchidananda

Sri S. Satchidananda

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Outstanding Translation and Commentary 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I am a Sanskritist and Vedic scholar. I have seen a number of translations of this classic but this is BY FAR my favorite. This book serves as a stand-alone guide for meditation and yoga.

Lots of Info but Friendly and Accessible 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I am not a Sanskrit scholar and I don't read Sanskrit but was interested in learning about the philosophy behind yoga. I got this book and have been happy with it.

Each sutra (aphorism) is written in Sanskrit. Then it is transliterated (phonetically spelled out) into an English so one can get an idea of how it sounds. Next individual words are translated. Then the whole phrase is translated into English so one can know what it means. Below that are a few paragraphs explaining the sutra or giving additional thoughts and insights.

I found this useful for many reasons:

I think the Sanskrit writing is beautiful, so I like seeing it.
The phonetics help me know how to pronounce and follow along when more learned people are chanting or talking about the sutra using the Sanskrit words (as my yoga teacher often does).
The individual word translations give me an idea of what Patanjali had in mind, and the full English gives me an idea of how we might think of it today. (If you speak more than one language you know how things don't always translate directly word for word).

I found the commentaries very insightful and thought provoking.

This book is a great starting point in getting to know the yoga sutras, but also has a lot of substance for those already familiar with them. Even if you never read Sanskrit, with this book you can get an idea of what the sutras are saying and learn the lessons they are trying to teach. the commentaries are insightful and interesting. Highly recommended.

Editorial Review:

This valuable book provides a complete manual for the study and practice of Raja Yoga, the path of concentration and meditation. This new deluxe printing of these timeless teachings is a treasure to be read and referred to again and again by seekers treading the spiritual path. The classic Sutras (thought-threads), at least 4,000 years old, cover the yogic teachings on ethics, meditation, and physical postures, and provide directions for dealing with situations in daily life.

Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living (Shambhala Library)

Pema Chodron

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

This is a beautiful, gift book edition (with a ribbon marker) of a modern-day classic. Start Where You Are is an indispensable handbook for cultivating fearlessness and awakening a compassionate heart. With insight and humor, Pema Chödrön, author of The Wisdom of No Escape and When Things Fall Apart, presents down-to-earth guidance on how to make friends with ourselves and develop genuine compassion toward others. The author shows how we can "start where we are" by embracing rather than denying the painful aspects of our lives. Pema Chödrön frames her teachings on compassion around fifty-nine traditional Tibetan Buddhist maxims, or slogans, such as: "Always apply a joyful state of mind" "Don't seek others' pain as the limbs of your own happiness" "Always meditate on whatever provokes resentment" Working with these slogans and through the practice of meditation, Start Where You Are shows how we can all develop the courage to work with our own inner pain and discover joy, well-being, and confidence.

A Thousand Names for Joy: A Life in Harmony with the Way Things Are

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Total reviews: 68 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In her first two books, Byron Katie showed how suffering can be ended by questioning the stressful thoughts that create it, through a process of self-inquiry she calls The Work. Now, in A Thousand Names for Joy, she encourages us to discover the freedom that lives on the other side of inquiry.
Stephen Mitchell–the renowned translator of the Tao Te Ching–selected provocative excerpts from that ancient text as a stimulus for Katie to talk about the most essential issues that face us all: life and death, good and evil, love, work, and fulfillment. The result is an audiobook that allows the timeless insights of the Tao Te Ching to resonate anew for us today, while offering a vivid and illuminating glimpse into the life of someone who for twenty years–ever since she “woke up to reality” one morning in 1986–has been living what Lao-tzu wrote more than 2,500 years ago.
With her stories of total ease in all circumstances, Katie does more than describe the awakened mind; she lets you see it, feel it, in action. And she shows you how that mind is yours as well.

Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion

Pema Chodron

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Wow 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Once in a great while a book like this comes along. It's so honest and plain and challenging at the same time. The short chapters and conciseness furthermore make it all the more accessible.

Editorial Review:

This book offers short, stand-alone readings designed to help us cultivate compassion and awareness amid the challenges of daily living. More than a collection of thoughts for the day, Comfortable with Uncertainty offers a progressive program of spiritual study, leading the reader through essential concepts, themes, and practices on the Buddhist path. Comfortable with Uncertainty does not assume prior knowledge of Buddhist thought or practice, making it a perfect introduction to Chödrön's teaching. It features the most essential and stirring passages from Chödrön's previous books, exploring topics such as lovingkindness, meditation, mindfulness, "nowness," letting go, and working with fear and other painful emotions. Through the course of this book, readers will learn practical methods for heightening awareness and overcoming habitual patterns that block compassion.

The Bhagavad Gita (Classics of Indian Spirituality)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 47 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

As bad as can be 1 out of 5 stars.
3 of 18 people found this review helpful.

Eknath Easwaran has not understood the Gita. In fact, it is pretty evident that he had no interest in the Gita. He just wanted the use the Gita to preach his own bogus message. His explanations are so far off from the verses, that you'd wonder whether he considered himself to be smarter than God. Why else should he discard the teachings of God and put his own?

Lifelong Book 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

A great book with a strong translation. At first, I did not appreciate the introductions offered, however after reading the B. Gita, I have come to appreciate the introductions. Sometimes I read them after the section, so as to not gain a bias. The book itself is a wonderful story with a great message that everyone can benefit from. I intend to look for more versions of the B. Gita to expand my collection. I think it is important to read this book from a few different translators. So while I am happy with my first purchase of the B. Gita, it will not be my last, so I can not say if this is the best version out there.

Editorial Review:

In the Bhagavad Gita, Prince Arjuna asks direct, uncompromising  questions of his spiritual guide on the eve of a great battle. In  this expanded edition of the most famous —and popular — of Indian  criptures, Eknath Easwaran contextualizes

the book culturally and historically and explains the key concepts of Hindu religious thought and the technical vocabulary of yoga. Chapter introductions, notes, and a glossary help readers understand the book’s message. Most importantly, this translation uses simple, clear language to impart the poetry, universality, and timelessness of the Gita’s teachings.

A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life

Jack Kornfield

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 51 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

I doubt it will survive as a 'Classic'. 1 out of 5 stars.
6 of 11 people found this review helpful.

While it is very 'pragmatic', I think this will be it's downfall. All the mystery is replaced with how 'meditation' will be such an aid in making one righteous. EMPTINESS and NO-SELF (rather wondrous buddhist teachings) are treated, in my opinion, to a very one-sided interpretation. Only those taken with 'sitting' will find this book inspiring.

Here's a sample:
'As our development of self grows and our heart becomes less entangled, we begin to discover a deeper truth about self. We do not have to improve ourselves; we just have to let go or what blocks our heart.' (pg. 209)

This sounds rather too psychological for me. If its psychology we're advocating (very pragmatic) then lets call a spade a spade. Aren't we merely using 'meditation' to work on ourselves? Oh, and all those 'paradoxical' buddhist terms really are nothing more then the way Easterners talk about what we call psychology, only they use 'meditation' instead of a couch! It's ok if one feels that way, however, that may obscure things that don't fit that profile. The real danger here.


"Wishing to get out of birth and death, wishing to attain release, you try to become unified; but one does not attain unification after becoming homogenized. If you try to make yourself unified, you will certainly not attain unification." Chan Master Foyan (1067-1120)

Editorial Review:

Beloved Western Buddhist master Kornfield makes known his personal, practical wisdom, garnered from 25 years of practicing and teaching the path of awakening, as he guides self-searchers to a simplicity of perception that brings alive spiritual practice, peace, and truth in their daily lives.

Awakening the Buddha Within : Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World

Lama Surya Das

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Total reviews: 103 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Lama Surya Das, the most highly trained American lama in the Tibetan tradition, presents the first comprehensive book of Western Buddhism for the modern-day spiritual seeker.

Buddhism offers a profound yet practical path to enlightenment.  In this loving and generous book, the American-born and Tibetan-trained Lama Surya Das offers at once a definitive and nonsectarian guide to the wisdom found in ancient Tibetan teachings and a tried and true path of spiritual transformation.

The radical and compelling message of Buddhism tells us that each of us has the wisdom, awareness, love, and power of the Buddha within; yet most of us are too often like sleeping Buddhas.  Surya Das shows how we can awaken to who we really are and thus walk the liberating, peaceful path of mindful and compassionate living.  With lively language, meditations, and spiritual practices, this unique book provides a bridge between East and West, past, present, and future.

Awakening the Buddha Within  offers a complete yet accessible understanding of the unique Buddhist teachings embodied in the traditional Noble Eight-Fold Path and its Three Enlightenment Trainings, common to all schools of Buddhism:

Wisdom Training: Developing clear vision, insight, and inner understanding--seeing reality and ourselves as we really are.

  Ethics Training: Cultivating virtue, self-discipline, integrity, and compassion in what we say and do.

  Meditation Training: Practicing mindfulness, concentration, and awareness of the present moment.

This fresh and original work illuminates such key principles as karma (what we do does matter), rebirth (every moment is an opportunity to start afresh), letting go (simplifying our lives by clarifying our hearts and minds), as well as conscious living and dying, and Dzogchen, the ultimate, mystical teaching of Tibet.

In this wonderful marriage of the timeless and the timely, Surya Das has written an invaluable, authoritative text for the novice and the experienced student of Buddhism alike.  Awakening the Buddha Within reveals how sacred wisdom, contemplative practice, and altruism can be integrated into our outer and inner lives--in our relationships, in the workplace, and at home.

Here is a guidebook to enlightenment--a sourcebook of the sacred for anyone who wants to lead a more serene and beautiful life.