This book contains the direct counsel and imperishable wisdom speech of Kyabje Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, one of the great realized Nyingma masters of our age. Many problems arise when modern values clash with the precious teachings of the Buddha. Western Dharma students are faced with obstacles born of materialism, attachment to self, and resistance to traditional doctrines like karma, rebirth, and devotion to the Guru, while Asian students under the influence of modernity risk succumbing to foreign nihilistic beliefs, the neglect of their own unique heritage, and sectarian conflicts between indigenous lineages. The four teachings assembled here address these troubles in different ways, which are united by the powerful quality of Rinpoche’s voice as a writer and his ability to inspire deep faith that leads to the rekindling of Buddha nature and the flourishing of the Buddha Dharma through learning and practice with reverence and belief.
In colorful, bustling Boudhanath—Buddhism's great pilgrimage site in Nepal—a small group of students gathered to speak with Kyabje Thinley Norbu Rinpoche in an informal, relaxed atmosphere. This is the record of their lively dialogue, which the author described as "using the traditional method of question and answer to connect ordinary experience with sublime Dharma in a flexible way." The contents cover a wide range of inquiry: How should Westerners understand the Tibetan Buddhist teachings on karma and rebirth, monastic discipline, the importance of keeping vows, and devotion to the Guru? What is the Buddhist stand on male supremacy? Must Vajrayana practitioners have a consort? What is the antidote to self-hatred? How do we put into practice the "same taste" of suffering and pleasure? First published privately in an exclusive limited edition in 1977, Echoes is part of the cherished legacy of one of the greatest realized Nyingma masters of our age.
Buddhism teaches that enlightenment is our natural state; the problem is that we do not recognize this state, owing to the mind's confusion about its true nature. Thinley Norbu presents the Buddhist view in a way meant to clear up misconceptions and awaken the reader's innate wisdom. Thinley Norbu is a distinguished teacher of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and the author of The Small Golden Key and Magic Dance.
From playwright, screenwriter, and director Laurents comes a mesmerizing book about theater, art and the artist, the insider and the outsider--and the making of two of the greatest musicals of the American stage: "Gypsy" and "West Side Story."
Like a spontaneous cascade of wisdom nectar, the open and natural words of Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, uncomplicated by scholarly elaboration, flow here in the tradition of the direct transmissions of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the past. Through commentary on the Preliminary Practices (Ngöndrö) prayer from the treasure text of the great master Tragtung Düdjom Lingpa, insights into many central practices emerge in order to deepen understanding of the foundations of Vajrayana Buddhism. Also included in the book is a commentary on Tsok Khang Dechen (Assembly Palace of Great Exaltation), the root text prayer of the second Kyabje Düdjom Rinpoche, Jigdrel Yeshe Dorje.
A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print. One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning—but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.
Step into the perfumed parlors of the Everleigh Club, the most famous brothel in American history–and the catalyst for a culture war that rocked the nation. Operating in Chicago’s notorious Levee district at the dawn of the last century, the Club’s proprietors, two aristocratic sisters named Minna and Ada Everleigh, welcomed moguls and actors, senators and athletes, foreign dignitaries and literary icons, into their stately double mansion, where thirty stunning Everleigh “butterflies” awaited their arrival. Courtesans named Doll, Suzy Poon Tang, and Brick Top devoured raw meat to the delight of Prince Henry of Prussia and recited poetry for Theodore Dreiser. Whereas lesser madams pocketed most of a harlot’s earnings and kept a “whipper” on staff to mete out discipline, the Everleighs made sure their girls dined on gourmet food, were examined by an honest physician, and even tutored in the literature of Balzac. Not everyone appreciated the sisters’ attempts to elevate the industry. Rival Levee madams hatched numerous schemes to ruin the Everleighs, including an attempt to frame them for the death of department store heir Marshall Field, Jr. But the sisters’ most daunting foes were the Progressive Era reformers, who sent the entire country into a frenzy with lurid tales of “white slavery”——the allegedly rampant practice of kidnapping young girls and forcing them into brothels. This furor shaped America’s sexual culture and had repercussions all the way to the White House, including the formation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. With a cast of characters that includes Jack Johnson, John Barrymore, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., William Howard Taft, “Hinky Dink” Kenna, and Al Capone, Sin in the Second City is Karen Abbott’s colorful, nuanced portrait of the iconic Everleigh sisters, their world-famous Club, and the perennial clash between our nation’s hedonistic impulses and Puritanical roots. Culminating in a dramatic last stand between brothel keepers and crusading reformers, Sin in the Second City offers a vivid snapshot of America’s journey from Victorian-era propriety to twentieth-century modernity. Visit www.sininthesecondcity.com to learn more! “Delicious… Abbott describes the Levee’s characters in such detail that it’s easy to mistake this meticulously researched history for literary fiction.” —— New York Times Book Review “ Described with scrupulous concern for historical accuracy…an immensely readable book.” —— Joseph Epstein, The Wall Street Journal “Assiduously researched… even this book’s minutiae makes for good storytelling.” —— Janet Maslin, The New York Times “Karen Abbott has pioneered sizzle history in this satisfyingly lurid tale. Change the hemlines, add 100 years, and the book could be filed under current affairs.” —— USA Today “A rousingly racy yarn.” –Chicago Tribune “A colorful history of old Chicago that reads like a novel… a compelling and eloquent story.” —— The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “Gorgeously detailed” —— New York Daily News “At last, a history book you can bring to the beach.” —— The Philadelphia Inquirer “Once upon a time, Chicago had a world class bordello called The Everleigh Club. Author Karen Abbott brings the opulent place and its raunchy era alive in a book that just might become this years “The Devil In the White City.” —— Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine (cover story) “As Abbott’s delicious and exhaustively researched book makes vividly clear, the Everleigh Club was the Taj Mahal of bordellos.” —— Chicago Sun Times “The book is rich with details about a fast-and-loose Chicago of the early 20th century… Sin explores this world with gusto, throwing light on a booming city and exposing its shadows.” —— Time Out Chicago “[Abbott’s] research enables the kind of vivid description à la fellow journalist Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City that make what could be a dry historic account an intriguing read." – Seattle Times “Abbott tells her story with just the right mix of relish and restraint, providing a piquant guide to a world of sexuality” —— The Atlantic “A rollicking tale from a more vibrant time: history to a ragtime beat.” – Kirkus Reviews “With gleaming prose and authoritative knowledge Abbott elucidates one of the most colorful periods in American history, and the result reads like the very best fiction. Sex, opulence, murder — What's not to love?” —— Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants “A detailed and intimate portrait of the Ritz of brothels, the famed Everleigh Club of turn-of-the-century Chicago. Sisters Minna and Ada attracted the elites of the world to such glamorous chambers as the Room of 1,000 Mirrors, complete with a reflective floor. And isn’t Minna’s advice to her resident prostitutes worthy advice for us all: “Give, but give interestingly and with mystery.”’ —— Erik Larson, author of The Devil in the White City “Karen Abbott has combined bodice-ripping salaciousness with top-notch scholarship to produce a work more vivid than a Hollywood movie.” —— Melissa Fay Greene, author of There is No Me Without You “Sin in the Second City is a masterful history lesson, a harrowing biography, and - best of all - a superfun read. The Everleigh story closely follows the turns of American history like a little sister. I can't recommend this book loudly enough.” —— Darin Strauss, author of Chang and Eng “This is a story of debauchery and corruption, but it is also a story of sisterhood, and unerring devotion. Meticulously researched, and beautifully crafted, Sin in the Second City is an utterly captivating piece of history.” —— Julian Rubinstein, author of Ballad of the Whiskey Robber
"This memoir is a peripatetic selection of Malden's enounters with larger-than-life Broadway figures... like Kazan, Strasberg, and Brando. The 1950s were Broadway's heyday but also the time of blacklisting, and Malden paints a vivid picture here of those times. Moreover, the actor eschews the 'down-and-dirty tell-all memoir' so common now to offer his views on the various acting techniques and methods he came upon. Recommended." - Library Journal
An esteemed teacher comments on the Seven-Line Prayer, a popular devotional prayer recited daily by practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism. Of all the heartfelt devotional prayers used as a support for Dharma practice, the Seven-Line Prayer is the most essential, often repeated many thousands of times by practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism. This concise prayer invokes the blessings of Padmasambhava, also called Guru Rinpoche (“Precious Teacher”) and known as the Buddha of our time. Guru Rinpoche brought the Dharma from India to Tibet in the eighth century and is the source of the Tibetan Dzogchen tradition, the Great Perfection teachings that awaken the enlightened nature of one’s own mind. Although the prayer is short and simple, its different levels of meaning make this commentary a welcome study aid for practitioners. Kyabje Thinley Norbu Rinpoche provides an account of the historical origin of the prayer and the power of its blessings, and comments on its two levels of meaning: one, according to the common Mahayana teachings; the other, according to the uncommon Dzogchen realizations. He repudiates various mistaken interpretations and clarifies a number of important philosophical views and meditation methods. The book also includes the text of the Seven-Line Prayer in English and Tibetan.
Brief teachings, prayers, and liturgies by famous Tibetan Buddhist scholar-saints from medieval to modern times. With the wish to inspire and motivate practitioners, Kyabje Thinley Norbu Rinpoche has translated a selection of wisdom teachings into direct and simple English that retains the power of the original writings and their emphasis on practice. The authors are five of the most sublime scholar-saints of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism: Kunkhyen Longchenpa, Kunkhyen Jigme Lingpa, Patrul Rinpoche, Mipham Rinpoche, and Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche. Their compositions include words of advice, poetic praises, concise daily prayers, and liturgies accompanied by instructions, written over a span of time from the medieval to the modern era. These precious teachings are intended to be the cause of faith, practice, and enlightenment.
