Spirituality/Religion from The Vespiary Book Restoration & Bindery

Drawing on private records, letters, and long-lost documents of the Song dynasty (tenth to thirteenth centuries), this book consists of short excerpts written in a language that is accessible to readers without any background in Eastern philosophy. It serves as a study of the personal qualities and conduct necessary for the mastery of any position of power and authority, whether… Read more about this item

One of the most comprehensive manuals written on the essential points of Buddhist meditation is "The Great Stopping and Seeing," a monumental work written by sixth century Buddhist master Chih-i. Stopping and Seeing, the first translation of this essential text, covers the principles and methods of a wide variety of Buddhist meditation techniques and provides an in-depth presentation of the… Read more about this item

One of America's most distinctive and popular Zen masters illuminates three central Buddhist teachings.

In 1959 a young monk named Tsung Tsai (Ancestor Wisdom) escapes the Red Army troops that destroy his monastery, and flees alone three thousand miles across a China swept by chaos and famine. Knowing his fellow monks are dead, himself starving and hunted, he is sustained by his mission: to carry on the teachings of his Buddhist meditation master, who… Read more about this item

In Seeking the Heart of Wisdom Goldstein and Kornfield present the central teachings and practices of insight meditation in a clear and personal language. The path of insight meditation is a journey of understanding our bodies, our minds, and our lives, of seeing clearly the true nature of experience. The authors guide the reader in developing the openness and compassion… Read more about this item

One of this century's leading works on Zen, this book is a valuable source for those wishing to understand its concepts in the context of Japanese life and art. In simple, often poetic, language, Daisetz Suzuki describes what Zen is, how it evolved, and how its emphasis on primitive simplicity and self-effacement have helped to shape an aesthetics found throughout… Read more about this item

In 1095, with the tomb of Jesus still in the hands of infidels and the Byzantine empire overrun by Muslim Turks, Pope Urban II summoned Christian warriors to take up the cross and their swords against the Turks and then recover the holy city of Jerusalem from Islam. It was to be the first of the Crusades, a holy war… Read more about this item

The now classic Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism is the record of two series of lectures given by Trungpa Rinpoche in 1970-71. First discussed are the various ways in which people involve themselves in spiritual materialism, the many forms of self-deception into which aspirants may fall. After this tour of the sidetracks along the way, the broad outlines of the true… Read more about this item

Photographs and descriptive text provide insight into the everyday life of the Zen monk in Japan today.

This acclaimed spiritual masterpiece is widely regarded as one of the most complete and authoritative presen-tations of the Tibetan Buddhist teachings ever written. A manual for life and death and a magnificent source of sacred inspiration from the heart of the Tibetan tradition, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying provides a lucid and inspiring intro-duction to the practice of… Read more about this item

Tantra—often associated with Kundalini Yoga—is a fundamental dimension of Hinduism, emphasizing the cultivation of "divine power" (shakti) as a path to infinite bliss. Tantra has been widely misunderstood in the West, however, where its practices are often confused with eroticism and licentious morality. Tantra: The Path of Ecstasy dispels many common misconceptions, providing an accessible introduction to the history, philosophy,… Read more about this item

This treasury of essential Buddhist writings draws from the most popular Indian, Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese sources. Among the selections are some of the earliest recorded sayings of the Buddha on the practice of freedom, passages from later Indian scriptures on the perfection of wisdom, verses from Tibetan masters on the enlightened mind, and songs in praise of meditation by… Read more about this item

R. H. Blyth's interpretations of Zen presented with simplicity and humor.

the Chinese Art of the Occult

True Principle Great Tao, Transcendental Wisdom, and Supernatural Power

Honen Bo Genku (1133-1212), or simply Honen, is one of the outstanding figures in the history of Japanese Buddhism. This is a translation of Honen's seminal work, Senchakushu, which was compiled over a period of intense devotion to Amida Buddha.

Ippen (1239-1289) was a wandering hijiri (holy man) and religious leader whose movement developed into one of the major schools of medieval Japanese Buddhism. In his life and thought we find elements of folk practices and mountain austerities, the critical spirit of Zen, and the cosmic vision of esoteric traditions. This volume presents a translation of all of Ippen's extant… Read more about this item

In The Quest Mircea Eliade stresses the cultural function that a study of the history of religions can play in a secularized society. He writes for the intelligent general reader in the hope that what he calls a new humanism "will be engendered by a confrontation of modern Western man with unknown or less familiar worlds of meaning."

This study course in Theosophy is offered in the hope of helping students to find meaning in the midst of life's confusions

In the novel, Siddhartha, a young man, leaves his family for a contemplative life, then, restless, discards it for one of the flesh. He conceives a son, but bored and sickened by lust and greed, moves on again. Near despair, Siddhartha comes to a river where he hears a unique sound. This sound signals the true beginning of his life… Read more about this item