Zen Religion

Raised in a rationalist household in Oxford during the spiritual heyday of the '60s and '70s, an unexpected spiritual awakening would prompt a lifelong quest to integrate the experience into his life, leading him eventually to Zen Buddhism. As Shukman gets to grips with meditative practice and struggles with anxiety, depression and the chronic eczema he had had since childhood, he discovers in surprising ways the emotional, spiritual and even physical healing that he has been searching for all along.

Buddhism aims for the development of a flexible mind and skillful responsiveness-whether toward problems in one's personal life or broader issues like the ecological crisis. But in a culture now saturated with cliches about mindfulness and unrealistic fantasies about happiness, what does it truly mean to walk this path? The key practice is that of embodied aliveness.

Koans are the record of paradoxical and provocative exchanges between Zen masters and their students that developed in medieval China. These exchanges, though often elaborated through commentary, have also been boiled down to one-line questions or statements to be held in meditation and daily life. Famous examples include, "What is the sound of one hand?" and "Not knowing is most intimate." In Through Forests of Every Color, renowned Zen teacher Joan Sutherland reimagines the koan tradition with allegiance to the root spirit of the koans.

In ten concise chapters, you'll learn powerful ways to meet life's challenges with wisdom, resilience, and ease.

One of Thich Nhat Hanh’s most beloved books, The Sun My Heart contains the journey, on the path of everyday practice, from mindfulness to insight. Using the objects and events of everyday life in his hermitage in Plum Village—the gradual settling of the pulp in a glass of apple juice or the wind blowing into the room and scattering papers about—Thich Nhat Hanh draws from Buddhist psychology, epistemology, and the world of contemporary literature and science to guide the reader along the path of clarity and understanding.

In a distant city, an old cat considers himself as wise as can be, until he hears of an ancient pine far away, under the boughs of which infinite wisdom can be found. Thus, the Cat embarks on a journey deep into the forest to search for the tree. Along the way, he meets new friends—the Hare, the Magpie, the Wolf Cub, the Monkey, the Tortoise, and the Tiger—and comes across the energetic young Kitten. What wisdom does the Cat have to impart to his friends, and, perhaps more importantly, what does he still have to learn?

The Ten Commandments give us impeccable rules for how to behave. But they don't say much about the inner awareness from which our outer behavior springs. This leaves the field open for The Zen Commandments: Ten Suggestions for a Life of Total Freedom. These aren't more carved-in-stone commandments, but practical suggestions for unfolding your experience of inner freedom.

Exploring Buddha’s core teachings, the author shares his own secular and accessible interpretations of the Four Noble Truths, the Three Treasures, and the Eightfold Path within the context of his lineage and the teachings of his teacher and the teachers before him. He looks at Buddha’s teachings on our singular reality that appears as a multiplicity of things and on the “self” that perceives reality, translating powerful spiritual experience into the vernacular of modern life.

Relax and find happiness amid the swirl of the modern world with this internationally best-selling guide to simplifying your life by a Japanese monk who embodies the wisdom of Zen.

These three sutras are the most important texts for the Chan (Chinese) and Zen (Japanese) Buddhist traditions, though they are very different in character and provenance. The Diamond Sutra (Vajracheddikā Prajña Pārāmitā Sutra in Sanskrit) has the distinction of being 'the earliest complete survival of a dated (11 May 868) printed book’. It was found in the Dunhuang Caves in China in 1900. The title, Diamond Cutter, outlines its purpose, which is to cut through ignorance to attain to perfect wisdom or ultimate reality.

This moment is the gateway to enlightenment. It is the only moment we have to be joyful, mindful, and awake. The key is to be there for yourself - to learn to be fully present in your life. This, Thich Nhat Hanh explains, is the heart of Buddhist practice. In this introduction to the practice of presence, the beloved Buddhist teacher provides indispensable insight on the essentials of Buddhist thought and offers a range of simple, everyday practices for cultivating mindfulness.

Zen Wisdom from Cats: The TAO of PURRS. Elevate your understanding of Zen and Tao with the unparalleled insights of Zen Wisdom from Cats: The TAO of PURRS. This masterful book by Nana Brontë merges ancient philosophies with the innate wisdom of our feline friends, offering a transformative guide to living a more mindful and harmonious life. Unlock Feline Wisdom for a Balanced Life: Relaxation and Presence: Discover how cats epitomize true relaxation and living in the present moment, teaching you to do the same.

In Japan in 1253, one of the great thinkers of his time died - and the world barely noticed. That man was the Zen monk Eihei Dogen. For centuries his main work, Shobogenzo, languished in obscurity, locked away in remote monasteries until scholars rediscovered it in the 20th century. What took so long? In Brad Warner's view, Dogen was too ahead of his time to find an appreciative audience. To bring Dogen's work to a bigger audience, Warner began paraphrasing Shobogenzo, recasting it in simple, everyday language. The first part of this project resulted in Don't Be a Jerk, and now Warner presents this second volume, It Came from Beyond Zen! Once again, Warner uses wry humor and incisive commentary to bridge the gap between past and present, making Dogen's words clearer and more relevant than ever before.

Turning our conventional understanding of power on its head, world-renowned Zen master, spiritual leader, and national bestselling author Thich Nhat Hanh reveals the secret to attaining true power—finding it from within. The Art of Power shows that by chasing fame, fortune, and the future without focusing on the present, we ultimately sacrifice what actually leads a life full of joy and satisfaction.

In these delightful and playful talks, Osho introduces the mystery, the wonder and the emptiness that is Zen, not comparable to anything else and a completely different approach to life. The chapters alternate between elaborating original excerpts by the 14th Zen master, Ikkyu, taking us into the world of Zen – and responding to personal questions, which brings the world of Zen into our lives, connects with our issues and questions.

Comprising only 632 Chinese characters, the Heart Sutra is Buddhism in a nutshell. Despite its brevity, this powerful work covers more of the Buddha's teachings than any other scripture. Its influence is more profound and wide-reaching than any other text in Buddhism.

The night Brad Warner learns that his childhood friend Marky has died, Warner is about to speak to a group of Zen students in Hamburg, Germany. It’s the last thing he feels like doing. What he wants to do instead is tell his friend everything he never said, to explain Zen and what he does for a living and why he spends his time “Sitting. Sitting. Sitting. Meditating my life away as it all passes by. Lighting candles and incense. Bowing to nothing.” So, as he continues his teaching tour through Europe, he writes to his friend all the things he wishes he had said.

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 Long Discourses of the Buddha (Dīgha Nikāya) is the first of the five Nikāyas (Collections) in the Sutta Pitaka and has its own particular character. Unlike the others which contain thousands of shorter discourses (suttas), it comprises just 34 but of much longer length - as the name indicates! This makes it in some ways a more focused collection of teachings of the Buddha and especially accessible in audio.

Nhat Hanh brings his signature clarity, compassion, and humor to the thorny question of how to love. He distills one of our strongest emotions down to four essentials: you can only love another when you feel true love for yourself; love is understanding; understanding brings compassion; deep listening and loving speech are key ways of showing our love. How to Love shows that, when we feel closer to our loved ones, we are also more connected to the world as a whole.