Teaching Meditation

In this classic work of spiritual guidance, the founder of the Rochester Zen Center presents a comprehensive overview of Zen Buddhism. Exploring the three pillars of Zen - teaching, practice, and enlightenment - Roshi Philip Kapleau, the man who founded one of the oldest and most influential Zen centers in the United States, presents a personal account of his own experiences as a student and teacher, and in so doing gives listeners invaluable advice on how to develop their own practices.

Anatta is the Buddhist teaching on the nonexistence of a permanent, independent self. It's a notoriously puzzling and elusive concept, usually leading to such questions as, "If I don't have a self, who's reading this sentence?" It's not that there's no self there, says Rodney Smith. It's just that the self that is reading this sentence is a configuration of elements that at one time did not exist and that at some point in the future will disperse.

If you feel dissatisfied with your life and helpless to make a change, you are not alone. These same feelings drove Jonni Pollard to seek out a better way of being in the world. A master teacher in India introduced him to ancient Vedic practices that changed Jonni's life forever; the anxiety that had tormented him for so many years was finally replaced by a deep sense of purpose and fulfillment. Now an expert meditation teacher, Jonni's mission is to share the knowledge and techniques he has learned to help anyone reclaim their power to live a meaningful and fulfilling life.