Buddhist Biography/Memoir Guides

Taranatha: A Guide for Readers

Taranatha: A Guide for Readers

Related Reader's Guides Related Tibetan Lineages: Jonang | Shangpa Kagyu | Kagyu Guides to Other Important Tibetan Buddhist Figures: Jamgon Kongtrul | Longchenpa | Tsongkhapa | Jigme Lingpa | Patrul Rinpoche Jetsün Taranatha, Kunga Nyingpo (1575-1634) Portrait of Taranatha, courtesy of the Jonang Foundation Jetsun Taranatha (1575-1634), also known as Kungpa Nyingpo, was a great
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Knowing How to Be Satisfied

Knowing How to Be Satisfied

Knowing How to Be Satisfied An excerpt from Alive Until You’re Dead by Susan Moon. What is given to us is the chance to become human beings together. Even the challenges and the difficulties are given to us. We didn’t ask for these challenges, but they are given, and what is given is a gift.
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Tibetan Buddhist Books in 2021: A Review

Tibetan Buddhist Books in 2021: A Review

Tibetan Buddhism in 2021 Read More We published many books of interest from the Vajrayana traditions of Tibet, Bhutan, and the Indian Himalayas See our other Year in Review Guides: Theravada/Pali/Insight | Chan, Zen, Mahayana | Tibetan Buddhism Receive a 30% discount on these titles through January 2nd using code 2021YE at checkout We are
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The Return of the Buddha in Mahaprajapati’s Life

The Return of the Buddha in Mahaprajapati’s Life

Reunion of Mother and Son The following is an excerpt from The Woman Who Raised the Buddha By Wendy Garling Foreword by H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama The Woman Who Raised the Buddha$18.95 - PaperbackBy: Wendy Garling Add to Cart4 reviews on Amazon Just as Mahaprajapati’s life was upended when Maya died, it was about to happen
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Issan Dorsey Finds Zen

Issan Dorsey Finds Zen

"Tommy" Dorsey, Zazen, and Suzuki-Roshi An excerpt from Street Zen Tommy (Issan): “So off I went barefoot, patched pants, long hair. We got up an hour before you were supposed to be there: me, Mickey, and James used to come with us sometimes too. We’d get up in the morning, have a cup of coffee, smoke
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On the Question of Time

On the Question of Time

On Constantly Being in the Present From Finding Freedom When we think of what seems like the enormous amount of time we have in life, we all have a tendency to put things off that we could do today. This is because we live with promises that life is long and that time is constantly on
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Death by Seiza

Death by Seiza

The History of the Zen Nuns’ Practice Excerpt from Naked in the Zendo Early in my Japanese monastic practice, I had a wonderful trip to Eiheiji, the head temple for Soto Zen in Japan. Eiheiji has the stature and grandeur of the Vatican in Rome. Its scenery, dignity, deep practice, and beautiful furnishings inspire reverie
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Devī and Pema | A Duet

Devī and Pema | A Duet

The following is an excerpt from Inseparable Across Lifetimes by Holly Gayley A Letter from Tāre Lhamo The tenth letter Tāre Lhamo sent to Namtrul Rinpoche during their correspondence. This is a duet that Tāre Lhamo composed between Devī and Pema. Devī means “goddess” in Sanskrit and translates the second part of her name, Lhamo,
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Milarepa: A Reader’s Guide to Tibet’s Great Yogi

Milarepa: A Reader’s Guide to Tibet’s Great Yogi

Milarepa: A Reader's Guide Learn More There are few figures more beloved in the Buddhist Himalayas than the 11th century yogi-hero Milarepa. Namkading Cave area where Milarepa spent many years in retreat Related Reader Guides: Profiles of early Indian Mahayana figures | Tibetan Masters of the 8th Century | Tibetan Masters of the 10th-11th Centuries The Kagyu Tradition |
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We Won’t Last Forever | An Excerpt from Let the Whole Thundering World Come Home

We Won’t Last Forever | An Excerpt from Let the Whole Thundering World Come Home

Death A Long Distance Call On a Wednesday morning, sitting in my old blue Volvo in a parking lot after just getting a facial—my cheeks redolent with cream, all pores clean—I called the Cancer Center in Santa Fe, persuaded an oncologist to look up my chart. The oncologist I was assigned to was on vacation,
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