In 1950 Kalimpong was a lively trading town in the intrigue-ridden corner of India that borders Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and Tibet. Finding a welcome in this town, nestled high in the mountains, were a bewildering array of guests and settlers, including Sangharakshita, a young English monk. In this delightful volume of memoirs, Sangharakshita shares the incidents and insights of his early years in Kalimpong, including a meeting with Dr B.R. Ambedkar and his friendship with Lama Anagarika Govinda.
In the Sign of the Golden Wheel tells the story of the 'middle period' of the fourteen years Sangharakshita was based in the Indian hill station, Kalimpong. It is a crucial time for Buddhism as the whole Asian world is preparing to celebrate 2,500 years of Buddhism, and Sangharakshita's abundant energies are brought into play in diverse ways.Precious Teachers covers the last period of Sangharakshita's time in Kalimpong.
In this collection of four essays, Sangharakshita - a Buddhist teacher and poet - discusses how art, like religion, can challenge our perceptions, awareness and experience of truth. Recounting his own experiences as a young monk and poet, he urges the reader to apply a similar kind of awareness in looking at art to that developed in meditation. In so doing he shows how both have the power to transform the way we see ourselves and the world. This new edition has been entirely reset and features a timeless new cover and introduction by Dhivan.
Sikkim has been a region of anthropological interest since the 1930s when Geoffrey Gorer and John Morris did their fieldwork among the Lepchas of Dzongu, north Sikkim. While it was mentioned in various writings of travellers and administrators during the British period, there is a dearth of literature even today on the rich heritage of Sikkim. This collection of twenty-five essays presented first at the international conference on Cultural Heritage of Sikkim, organized by the Department of Anthropology, Sikkim University, Gangtok goes a long way in breaching this gap. The book will be of immense interest to scholars and students of Anthropology, Sociology and Cultural Studies and will lead to new research on the people and the places of Sikkim and India’s North-East. Please note: This title is co-published with Manohar Publishers, New Delhi. Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
The Triratna Dharma Training Course for Mitras offers a comprehensive four-year course in Buddhism and meditation. Year Two includes: The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path Pratītya-Samutpāda: The Nature of Existence The Five Aspects of the Dharma Life Turning the Mind to the Dharma The Way of Mindfulness What is the Sangha? Exploring Spiritual Community A Living Tradition: Sangharakshita and the Story of Triratna Plus a comprehensive Index.
A thorough and detailed resource that describes the history, culture, and geography of the Himalayan region, providing an indispensable reference work to both general readers and seasoned scholars in the field. The Himalayas: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture serves as a convenient and authoritative reference for anyone exploring the region and seeking to better understand the history, events, peoples, and geopolitical details of this unique area of the world. It explores the geography and details of the demographics, discusses relevant historical events, and addresses socioeconomic movements, political intrigues and controversies, and cultural details as to give an overarching impression of the region as a coherent and cohesive whole. Readers will come away with a vastly heightened understanding of the geographical region we recognize as the Himalayas, and grasp the issues of geography, history, and culture that are central to contemporary understandings of the human culture in the region. The alphabetically arranged and succinct entries provide easy access to detailed, authoritative information. Additionally, sidebars throughout the book relate compelling facts that point readers to new and interesting avenues of exploration. The volume also includes a chronological overview of the region, ten primary source documents, and a comprehensive bibliography of supporting works.
The complete collection of Sangharakshita’s early essays (1944 - 1964). This volume contains the previously published collections Crossing the Stream and Early Writings, plus other articles long since out of print. All the essays are fully annotated, and those previously published in Early Writings come with a detailed commentary and extensive introduction by Kalyanaprabha. A foreword by Nagabodhi introduces the collection. The insights and ideas expressed in these brief passages are as illuminating, as stimulating and as indispensable as anything Sangharakshita was ever to produce.
What does it mean to be a Buddhist today? How are we to relate to the diverse forms that have come down to us? Sangharakshita is one of the modern world's most influential and respected Buddhists. After spending many years in the East, he returned to Britain in 1967 to establish an international Buddhist movement and has developed a broad approach to Buddhism that is at once thoroughly traditional and radically original. This unique introduction provides a summary of his contribution not only to Buddhism in the West, but internationally
How much knowledge of the Dharma do we need? Sangharakshita’s answer might surprise some: ‘a lot less than we think’, but we need to use the knowledge we do have well. This is the teaching of the four main works in this volume. Based on seminars conducted in 1976 and 1978, each offers a lesson in how to think critically about Mahāyāna Buddhist teachings, and how to apply them to day-to-day life. They are The Way to Wisdom, on the five spiritual faculties; Living Ethically and Living Wisely, on Nāgārjuna’s Precious Garland, and Know Your Mind, which explores a Tibetan Abhidharma text.
The story of the spiritual journey of the famous Tibetan yogi Milarepa is often told, but less well known are the stories of his encounters with those he met and taught after his own Enlightenment, eleven of which are the catalyst for volumes 18 and 19 of The Complete Works. The first three were originally published in The Yogi's Joy, and to these have been added an intriguing fourth, 'The Shepherd's Search for Mind'.The other seven stories form a sequence tracing the relationship between Milarepa and his disciple Rechungpa, from their first meeting to their final parting, when Rechungpa is exhorted to go and teach the Dharma himself. As portrayed in The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, Rechungpa is a promising disciple, but he has a lot to learn, being sometimes proud, distracted, anxious, desirous of comfort and praise, over-attached to book learning, stubborn, sulky and liable to go to extremes. In other words, he is very human, and surely recognizable to anyone who has embarked on the spiritual path. He all too often takes his teacher's advice the wrong way, or simply ignores it, and it takes all of Milarepa's skill, compassion and patience to keep their relationship intact and help his unruly disciple to stay on the path to Enlightenment.Sangharakshita's commentary is based on seminars he gave to young, enthusiastic but as yet inexperienced Dharma followers, and while much can be gleaned from it about the path of practice of the Kagyu tradition, the main emphasis is simply on how to overcome the difficulties that are sure to befall the would-be spiritual practitioner, how to learn what we need to learn - in short, the art of discipleship.
