Religion : Buddhism

Enlightenment is within reach -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you're searching for revelation and contentment, look no further than a handshake, a cup of coffee -- even your laundry pile. The most mundane details of life contain zen's profound truths, if you're of the mind to look for them. By awakening to and embracing the zen in your life, you'll listen, watch, eat, work, laugh, sleep, and breathe your way to truth -- every moment of every day. more...

Price: $10.99

Such is the powerful simplicity of Buddhist teachings that a one-or-two-line quotation from a seminal Buddhist text can resonate throughout our days and nights. The infinite wisdom of this religion has touched people from all walks of life from all over the world. For readers interested in discovering this rich tradition and cultivating a daily practice, 365 Buddha provides a single thought?a piece of wisdom to carry with one?for each day of the year. Filled with thought-provoking and inspiring quotations from the greatest Buddhist teachers throughout history, including Dogen, Suzuki, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Dalai Lama, and Milarepa, 365 Buddha is an invaluable resource and companion for living. more...

Price: $14.95

Bill Bryson meets Bruce Lee in this raucously funny story of one scrawny American’s quest to become a kung fu master at China’s legendary Shaolin Temple. Growing up a ninety-pound weakling tormented by bullies in the schoolyards of Kansas, young Matthew Polly dreamed of one day journeying to the Shaolin Temple in China to become the toughest fighter in the world, like Caine in his favorite 1970s TV series, Kung Fu. While in college, Matthew decided the time had come to pursue this quixotic dream before it was too late. Much to the dismay of his parents, he dropped out of Princeton to spend two years training with the legendary sect of monks who invented kung fu and Zen Buddhism. Expecting to find an isolated citadel populated by supernatural ascetics that he’d seen in countless badly dubbed chop-socky flicks, Matthew instead discovered a tacky tourist trap run by Communist party hacks. But the dedicated monks still trained in the rigorous age-old fighting forms—some even practicing the “iron kung fu” discipline, in which intensive training can make various body parts virtually indestructible (even the crotch). As Matthew grew in his knowledge of China and kung fu skill, he would come to represent the Temple in challenge matches and international competitions, and ultimately the monks would accept their new American initiate as close to one of their own as any Westerner had ever become. Laced with humor and illuminated by cultural insight, American Shaolin is an unforgettable coming-of-age tale of one young man’s journey into the ancient art of kung fu—and a funny and poignant portrait of a rapidly changing China. more...

Price: $16.00

Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, the very purpose of our life is happiness, the very motion of our life is towards happiness. ?H.H. the Dalai Lama, from The Art of Happiness So popular and so rarely understood, this Nobel Peace Prize winner and man of great inner peace brings to a general audience the key to a happy life. In collaboration with a Western psychiatrist, The Art of Happiness is the first inspirational book for a general audience by the Dalai Lama. Through meditations, stories, and the meeting of Buddhism and psychology, the Dalai Lama shows us how to defeat day-to-day depression, anxiety, anger, jealousy, or just an ordinary bad mood. He discusses relationships, health, family, and work to show us how to ride through life's obstacles on a deep and abiding source of inner peace. Based on 2,500 years of Buddhist meditations mixed with a healthy dose of common sense, The Art of Happiness crosses the boundaries of all traditions to help readers with the difficulties common to all human beings. more...

Price: $23.95

Power is one of the central issues in our lives. From work to personal relationships, the struggle for power plays a pivotal role and more often than not prevents us from attaining freedom and happiness. The bottom–line mentality in our culture seeps unnoticed into every other part of our lives. Thich Nhat Hanh illustrates how our current understanding of power leads us on a never ending search for external markers like job title or salary. This me–first approach to life may have originated in the business world, but the stress, fear, and anxiety it causes are being felt by all of us everyday. Turning the conventional understanding on its head, Thich Nhat Hanh teaches us that true power comes from within and that what we seek we already have. With colorful anecdotes, precise language, and concrete practices, this book will have an important and lasting legacy on how we understand our culture and choose to live our lives. more...

Price: $10.99