Eastern Philosophy

What do Chinese religions and Christianity have in common? More than you might think! For centuries, Chinese religions like Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism have been practiced alongside Christianity, each with their own unique beliefs and traditions. But despite their differences, these two ancient faiths share a surprising number of commonalities. In "The Tao of Christ", we embark on a fascinating journey to explore the unexpected similarities between Chinese religions and Christianity. From the concept of the Tao and the Logos to the importance of compassion and selflessness, we'll ...

With essays on "cosmic consciousness" (including Alan Watts' account of his own ventures into this inward realm); the paradoxes of self-consciousness; LSD and consciousness; and the false opposition of spirit and matter, This Is It: And Other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience is a truly mind-opening audiobook collection.

The Second Book of the Tao is a gift to contemporary readers, granting us access to our own fundamental wisdom. Mitchell's meditations and risky reimagining of the original texts are brilliant and liberating, not least because they keep catching us off-guard, opening up the heavens where before we saw a roof. He makes the ancient teachings at once modern, relevant, and timeless.

The spiritual/nature poems in this book are the mingling of inspiration from the natural beauty of the grounds of the Ananda Ashramas and the universal spiritual philosophy of Vedanta upon which the ashramas are founded. The selection of poems here is a compilation drawn from previously published books: The Mystical Dance, Whispers of Light and Something the River Says. Being truly present with nature arouses within us our own true nature. Our wholeness and oneness with all that is begins to bubble up inside like a freshwater spring when we are just present with nature. A crystalline moon ...

Through a study of the way of the samurai, Nitobe identifies the seven virtues most widely recognized by the Japanese: rectitude, courage, benevolence, politeness, veracity, honor, and loyalty. In sharing these moral guidelines, handed down over generations, Nitobe gives the world unique insight into a previously unexplored code of honor.

Nearly two decades after his death in 1990, the influence of his teachings continues to grow, reaching seekers around the world. This inspiring compendium of spiritual wisdom and insight offers a way for everyone to access the enlightening message of the Buddha as Osho offers his unique take on his teachings, with a wisdom and wit that make it a wonderful audiobook. When you engage with Osho's writing, you feel as if he is speaking to you.

With his characteristic clarity and elegance A. C. Grayling takes the listener from the worldviews and moralities before the age of the Buddha, Confucius and Socrates, through Christianity's dominance of the European mind, to the Renaissance and Enlightenment, and on to Mill, Nietzsche, Sartre and philosophy today. And, since the story of philosophy is incomplete without mention of the great philosophical traditions of India, China and the Persian-Arabic world, he gives a comparative survey of them, too.

This rich, timely, and highly original portrait of the Buddha explores both the archetypal religious icon and Buddha the man. In lucid and compelling prose, Armstrong brings to life the Buddha's quest, from his renunciation of his privileged life to the discovery of a truth that he believed would utterly transform human beings and enable them to live at peace in the midst of life's suffering.

Alan Watts examines the problem of humans in a seemingly hostile universe in ways that question the social norms and illusions that bind and constrict modern humans. Marking a groundbreaking synthesis, Watts asserts that the powerful insights of Freud and Jung, which had, indeed, brought psychiatry close to the edge of liberation, could, if melded with the hitherto secret wisdom of the Eastern traditions, free people from their battles with the self.

The inspirational teachings in this collection show that the real way of the warrior is based on compassion, wisdom, fearlessness, and love of nature. The teachings are drawn from the talks and writings of Morihei Ueshiba, founder of the popular Japanese martial art of Aikido, a mind-body discipline he called the "Art of Peace", which offers a nonviolent way to victory in the face of conflict. Ueshiba believed that Aikido principles could be applied to all the challenges we face in life.

To many people, the word samurai conjures images of menacing masks, long blades and elaborate armor. However, this classic text by Inazo Nitobe reveals the greater depths to samurai culture - they were not simply warriors but an aristocratic class who practiced literary and military arts in equal measure. Essential to this way of life was the samurai's moral code and the quality of bushido, roughly translated as chivalry.

Have you ever wondered if there’s more to existence than what meets the eye? Are you seeking a deeper connection with yourself and the universe? This book unlocks the door to Utpaladeva’s timeless teachings—a guide to understanding the infinite consciousness that resides within us all. Discover a philosophy that transforms how you see the world. Utpaladeva, a cornerstone of Kashmir Shaivism, invites you to awaken to the truth of your being. His doctrine of recognition doesn’t just explain consciousness; it shows you how to live in harmony with it. Bridge the ancient and the modern. ...

Therapists do not and cannot give answers. Explore the true nature of the therapeutic relationship, and realize that the guru is no Buddha. Sheldon Kopp has a realistic approach to altering one's destiny and accepting the responsibility that grows with freedom.

It is said that the practice of dream yoga deepens our awareness during all our experience: the dreams of the night; the dream-like experience of the day; and the bardo experiences after death. Indeed, the practice of dream yoga is a powerful tool of awakening, used for hundreds of years by the great masters of the Tibetan traditions. Unlike in the Western psychological approach to dreams, the ultimate goal of Tibetan dream yoga is the recognition of the nature of mind or enlightenment itself.

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky is best known as the cofounder of theosophy, which is essentially a selective conflation of Hindu and Buddhist ideas combined with Blavatsky's idiosyncratic system of cosmology. The Voice of the Silence, first published in 1889, is described by the author as "chosen fragments from the Book of the Golden Precepts, for the daily use of disciples".

This special edition of A Book of Five Rings contains one hour of traditional Japanese flute (shakuhachi) and 43 minutes of music by traditional japanese ensemble. The music appears track by track at the end of the two and a half hour audiobook and is included as wonderful compliment to this dynamic and elegant listening experience. Legendary 17th-century swordsman Miyamoto Musashi’s exposition of sword fighting, strategy, and Zen philosophy.

One of the most profound studies of warfare ever written, The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China presents us with an Eastern tradition of strategic thought that emphasizes outwitting one's opponent through speed, stealth, flexibility, and a minimum of force - an approach very different from that stressed in the West, where the advantages of brute strength have overshadowed more subtle methods.

Yoga is divided into several branches, ranging from that which teaches the control of the body, to that which teaches the attainment of the highest spiritual development. In the work we will not go into the higher phases of the subject, except when the "science of breath" touches upon the same. The Science of Breath touches yoga at many points, and although chiefly concerned with the development and control of the physical, has also its psychic side, and even enters the field of spiritual development.

Although enormously attractive as sheer entertainment, Dervish tales were never presented merely on the level of a fable, legend, or folklore. They stand comparison in wit, construction, and piquancy with the finest stories of any culture, yet their true function as Sufi teaching stories is so little-known in the modern world, that no technical or popular terms exist to describe them. The material in Tales of the Dervishes is the result of a thousand years of development, during which Dervish masters used these and other teaching stories to instruct their disciples. The tales are held to convey powers of increasing perception unknown to the ordinary man.

The Tao Te Ching is a series of meditations on the mysterious nature of the Tao—the Way, the guiding light, the very source of all existence. According to Lao Tzu (a name meaning "the old master"), the Tao is found where we would least expect it—not in the strong but in the weak; not in speech but in silence; not in doing but in "not-doing."