Through personal experiences, this anthology illuminates how the practice of Nichiren Buddhism has changed people’s lives for the better. These first-person narratives—representing people from all across the country of various ages and ethnic backgrounds—examine the challenges of daily life associated with health, relationships, career, and aging, and the ensuing experiences of hope, success, inspiration, and personal enlightenment that come about as a result of living as Nichiren Buddhists.
Those who've heard T. R. Reid's weekly commentary on National Public Radio or read his far-flung reporting in National Geographic or The Washington Post know him to be trenchant, funny, and cutting-edge, but also erudite and deeply grounded in whatever subject he's discussing. In Confucius Lives Next Door he brings all these attributes to the fore as he examines why Japan, China, Taiwan, and other East Asian countries enjoy the low crime rates, stable families, excellent education, and civil harmony that remain so elusive in the West. Reid, who has spent twenty-five years studying Asia and was for five years The Washington Post's Tokyo bureau chief, uses his family's experience overseas--including mishaps and misapprehensions--to look at Asia's "social miracle" and its origin in the ethical values outlined by the Chinese sage Confucius 2,500 years ago. When Reid, his wife, and their three children moved from America to Japan, the family quickly became accustomed to the surface differences between the two countries. In Japan, streets don't have names, pizza comes with seaweed sprinkled on top, and businesswomen in designer suits and Ferragamo shoes go home to small concrete houses whose washing machines are outdoors because there's no room inside. But over time Reid came to appreciate the deep cultural differences, helped largely by his courtly white-haired neighbor Mr. Matsuda, who personified ancient Confucian values that are still dominant in Japan. Respect, responsibility, hard work--these and other principles are evident in Reid's witty, perfectly captured portraits, from that of the school his young daughters attend, in which the students maintain order and scrub the floors, to his depiction of the corporate ceremony that welcomes new employees and reinforces group unity. And Reid also examines the drawbacks of living in such a society, such as the ostracism of those who don't fit in and the acceptance of routine political bribery. Much Western ink has been spilled trying to figure out the East, but few journalists approach the subject with T. R. Reid's familiarity and insight. Not until we understand the differences between Eastern and Western perceptions of what constitutes success and personal happiness will we be able to engage successfully, politically and economically, with those whose moral center is governed by Confucian doctrine. Fascinating and immensely readable, Confucius Lives Next Door prods us to think about what lessons we might profitably take from the "Asian Way"--and what parts of it we want to avoid.
See a new, caring side to the legendary science fiction monster as he tends to Jonesy the cat, endeavours to keep his house cleaner than the Nostromo, and searches for his place on a cold, new, alien world: Earth. From facehuggers to feather dusters, discover how the perfect killing machine relaxes after a day of scaring space marines.
Through Scripture and stories, introduces Jesus as someone who is intimately acquainted with all kinds of people, who got his feet wet and his hands dirty, and whose very presence transformed lives.
An intimate portrayal of one of history's most important and obscure figures, the Buddha, this chronicle reveals him not as a mystic, but a warm and engaged human being that was very much the product of his turbulent times. This biographical account traces the path of Siddhartha Gautama as he walked away from the pleasure palace that had been his home and joined a growing force of wandering monks, ultimately making his way towards enlightenment beneath the bodhi tree, and spending the next 45 years sharing his insights along the banks of the Ganges. The Buddhist canon is expertly harvested to provide insight into the Buddha's inner life and to grant a better understanding of how he came to play his pivotal role as founder of one of the world's largest religions.
A 4th collection of various talks and lectures given by The Supreme Master Ching Hai on the topic of how to know our True Nature and be Enlightened in daily life and much more.
The Dhammapada: one of three new editions of the books in Eknath Easwaran's Classics of Indian Spirituality series ''As irrigators guide water to their fields, as archers aim arrows, as carpenters carve wood, the wise shape their lives.'' - Dhammapada (145).... Dhammapada means ''the path of dharma,'' the path of truth, harmony, and righteousness. Capturing the living words of the Buddha, this much-loved scripture consists of verses organized by theme: thought, joy, anger, pleasure, and others. The Dhammapada is permeated with the power and practicality of one of the world's most appealing spiritual teachers. Rejecting superstition on the one hand and philosophical speculation on the other, the Buddha taught the path to the end of suffering and showed how we can achieve lasting joy. He spells out our choices with a refreshing realism and frankness. And he insists that we be spiritually self-reliant: ''All the effort must be made by you. Buddhas only point the way.'' Easwaran believed that we need nothing more than the Dhammapada to follow the way of the Buddha. His main qualification for interpreting the Dhammapada, he said, was that he knew from his own experience that these verses can transform our lives.
Someone asked Buddha, “Are you God?” He answered, “No, I am awake.” The Buddha’s Tango is born to help you awaken the Buddha within. I hope my life stories will inspire you to accept the universe’s invitation to dance freely to unlock happiness. Use the stories as stepping stones to continue your journey to self-discovery, self-love, and ultimately self-transformation. All you need is you in this dance. Stand tall, pause, feel, and follow the rhythm of creation through a dance as it takes you to the end of happiness. Take this book as an experience and not as a read-only. Choose to be happy always and in all ways!
The problem with Zen is that it wants you to be utterly simple, not special. It goes against the very desire of the mind, which is not a small phenomenon – it is a four-million-years-old desire, which everybody is carrying in different lives. Mind cannot understand why you should be simple when you could be special, why you should be humble when you could be powerful. And mind is heavy, it has the great weight of the past. The moment the mind sees anyone humble, simple, natural, a buddha, it immediately condemns him, because such a man goes against the whole makeup of the human mind.
