Buddhism Guides

Temple Boy and Spitting Cobra | An Excerpt from In the Cool Shade of Compassion

Temple Boy and Spitting Cobra | An Excerpt from In the Cool Shade of Compassion

A Lesson on Revenge Ajan Ngoen was born in 1890 in the Village of Grandma Hom’s Knoll in Nakhon Pathom, a province about sixty kilometers west of Bangkok. Ngoen’s father was a farmer and herbal doctor who taught him mantras and medicine from palm-leaf texts. In 1910 Ngoen (which means “silver”) was ordained as a
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The Bodhicitta Effect

The Bodhicitta Effect

A Healing Power by Radhule Weininger, author of Heartwork A Surprising Discovery Recently, during a one-year mindfulness facilitator training, our team of teachers made a surprising discovery. As part of an exercise, students were taught how to guide each other through mindfulness and compassion meditations. Afterwards, students shared their experiences of how this had been
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A Brief History of Chan | An Excerpt from Zen Master Yunmen

A Brief History of Chan | An Excerpt from Zen Master Yunmen

Yunmen in Context Setting the Stage for Chan Long before Buddhism arrived in China around the beginning of the Common Era, Chinese thinkers taught ideas whose orientation was of striking similarity to some central tenets of that foreign religion that had yet to arrive. These teachings, ascribed to the ancient sages Laozi (Lao-tzu) and Zhuangzi
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From Fire to Mud | A Journey Through the California Fires

From Fire to Mud | A Journey Through the California Fires

The Lotus of Mutual Belonging by Radhule Weininger, author of Heartwork “If the world is to be healed through human effort, I am convinced it will be by ordinary people, people whose love for life is even greater than their fear. People who can open to the web that called us into being.”—Joanna Macy The
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Buddhist Poetry – A Reader Guide

Buddhist Poetry – A Reader Guide

Buddhist Poetry: A Reader Guide Read More Shambhala Publications publishes numerous books of Buddhist poetry, and we’ve gathered some of our favorites here. Jump to sections on this page: Recent Releases | Chan and Zen Poetry | Indian Poetry | Tibetan Poetry | Southeast Asian Poetry | Contemporary Buddhist Poetry Related Books and Articles Recent
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Lives of the Masters Series

Lives of the Masters Series

The Lives of the Masters introduced by Kurtis Schaeffer "Buddhist traditions are heir to some of the most creative thinkers in world history. The Lives of the Masters series offers lively and reliable introductions to the lives, works, and legacies of key Buddhist teachers, philosophers, contemplatives, and writers. Each volume in the Lives series tells
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The World Is Round or Spherical | An Excerpt from Gendun Chopel

The World Is Round or Spherical | An Excerpt from Gendun Chopel

from Melong Gendun Chopel contributed both poetry and essays to Melong (“Mirror”), the Tibetan-language newspaper published in Kalimpong by the Tibetan Christian from Khunnu, Dorje Tharchin, also known as Tharchin Babu. Its full title in Tibetan was Mirror of the News from Various Regions. In the June 28, 1938, issue, Gendun Chopel published an essay
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The Approach and Intent of Zen | An Excerpt from The Rinzai Zen Way

The Approach and Intent of Zen | An Excerpt from The Rinzai Zen Way

Understanding the Rinzai Zen Way Studying Zen, one rides all vehicles of Buddhism; practicing Zen, one attains awakening in a single lifetime. —Eisai   [From a teisho given in February 2012] In speaking with many beginning Zen students, it seems apparent that although they may be familiar with some of the methods of Zen practice,
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The Future of Religion: A Reader’s Guide

The Future of Religion: A Reader’s Guide

In the world of religion, some things stay the same, while many are constantly adapting to meet our new world of the internet and cell phones, scientific discovery, increasing awareness of gender and race dynamics, multiculturalism, the numbers of people identifying their religion as “none” or “spiritual but not religious,” and so much more. We
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The Practice of Loving-Kindness | An Excerpt from Comfortable with Uncertainty

The Practice of Loving-Kindness | An Excerpt from Comfortable with Uncertainty

The following excerpt is from Comfortable with Uncertainty By Pema Chodron Paperback | eBook Seven-Step Practice To move from aggression to unconditional loving-kindness can seem like a daunting task. But we start with what’s familiar. The instruction for cultivating limitless maitri is to first find the tenderness that we already have. We touch in with our
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