Inspiration and encouragement for cultivating kindness—by embracing the joy, suffering, confusion, and brilliance of our everyday lives—from the author of When Things Fall Apart Do you want to be a more compassionate person, confident and unafraid to love yourself and the world around you unconditionally, but aren’t sure how? We often look far and wide for guidance to become better people, as though the answers were somewhere out there. But Pema Chödrön suggests that the best and most direct teacher for awakening loving-kindness is in fact your very own life. Based on talks given during a one-month meditation retreat at Gampo Abbey, where Pema lives and teaches, her teachings here focus on learning how to see the events of our lives as the perfect material for learning to love ourselves and our world playfully and wholeheartedly—and to live in our skin fearlessly, without aggression, harshness, or shame. This is instruction for embarking on the greatest adventure of all, to come alive to your inherent human kindness. “Perhaps what makes Pema's message resonate so strongly with people, no matter what their religion or spiritual path, is its universality.” —O, The Oprah Magazine

Learn how to nurture and cultivate kindness, compassion, and love in ourselves and others in this “very joyous and deeply spiritual” (Betty Williams, Noble Peace Laureate) guidebook from the “dedicated student of the Dalai Lama” (Archbishop Desmond Tutu), Tibetan freedom fighter, and Grammy-nominated musician. In Nawang Khechog’s view, one of the wonders of being human is that we can choose to nurture and cultivate kindness, compassion, and love. These precious values are the foundation of true happiness and are at the core of humanity’s possibility of peaceful coexistence with one another and with our environment. Based on his years as a monk studying Buddhist philosophy and meditation with the Dalai Lama, as well as his own highly regarded kindness workshops, Awakening Kindness details the many ways we can enrich our lives by simply being kind to each other and ourselves. Nawang shares a range of simple meditations, mantras, and practices that are easy to incorporate even into the busiest of lives. Covering the underlying philosophies of many cultures and religions, and touching on everything from human nature as it’s portrayed in film to scientific support of our limitless capacity for love and compassion, Awakening Kindness takes you on a life-changing journey that shows that we all can take part in creating a culture of kindness. “Anyone who picks up this book and is receptive to its message will immediately enjoy the many benefits of living in this simple and sacred way” (Richard J. Davidson, professor of psychology and psychiatry at University of Wisconsin-Madison).

Warning: Using this book could be hazardous to your ego! The slogans it contains are designed to awaken the heart and cultivate love and kindness toward others. They are revolutionary in that practicing them fosters abandonment of personal territory in relating to others and in understanding the world as it is. The fifty-nine provocative slogans presented here-each with a commentary by the Tibetan meditation master Chogyam Trungpa-have been used by Tibetan Buddhists for eight centuries to help meditation students remember and focus on important principles and practices of mind training. They emphasize meeting the ordinary situations of life with intelligence and compassion under all circumstances. Slogans include, "Don't be swayed by external circumstances," "Be grateful to everyone," and "Always maintain only a joyful mind." This edition contains a new foreword by Pema Chodron.

Mother Theresa. The Dalai Lama. Nelson Mandela. Gandhi. Some admire such figures from afar and think, "How special they are; I could never be like that." But, as John Makransky has learned, the power of real and enduring love lies within every one of us. Awakening Through Love is his guide to finding it. In Awakening Through Love, he pioneers new ways of making Tibetan meditations of compassion and wisdom accessible to people of all backgrounds and faiths. Drawing from Tibetan teachings of compassion and the Dzogchen teachings of innate wisdom, and using plain, practical instruction, he helps readers uncover the unity of wisdom and love in the very nature of their minds. Then Lama John describes how to actualize those qualities in every aspect of family life, work, service and social action.

The revered Buddhist teacher and author of When Things Fall Apart presents the lojong teachings—pithy slogans for daily contemplation—and the ways in which they can enrich our lives Welcome compassion and fearlessness as your guide, and you’ll live wisely and effectively in good times and bad. But that’s easier said than done. In The Compassion Book, Pema Chödrön introduces a powerful, transformative method to nurture these qualities using a practice called lojong, which has been a primary focus of her teachings and personal practice for many years. For centuries, Tibetan Buddhists have relied on these teachings to awaken the deep goodness that lies within us. The lojong teachings include fifty-nine pithy slogans for daily contemplation, such as “Always maintain only a joyful mind,” “Don’t be swayed by external circumstances,” “Don’t try to be the fastest,” and “Be grateful to everyone.” This book presents each of these slogans and includes Pema’s clear, succinct guidance on how to understand them—and how they can enrich our lives. It also features a forty-five-minute downloadable audio program entitled “Opening the Heart,” in which Pema offers in-depth instruction on tonglen meditation, a powerful practice that anyone can undertake to awaken compassion for oneself and others.

Everyone appreciates kindness. A smile, a few friendly words, a show of concern when we're troubled or feeling unwell, an offer of help - gestures of kindness like these brighten our day and ease whatever sadness we may feel in our hearts. Feeling that "someone cares" fulfills a very deep need that we all have. And just as we appreciate other people being kind to us, others appreciate it when we are kind to them. That is why it is important to learn to be kind, because it will help make our relationships and interactions with others more satisfying and less problematic. But it's not always easy to be kind. Sometimes our hearts are filled with anger, jealousy, or pride, and being kind is the last thing we feel like doing. Or we get so caught up in our work and responsibilities that we find no time to think of others and their needs, no time to be kind and gentle. However, these problems can be remedied. The Buddhist tradition offers a wealth of methods that can be used to overcome whatever prevents us from being kind and gentle. Some of these methods are explored and explained in this book - in a way that will allow you to practice them in your daily life. Awakening the Kind Heart offers powerful and inviting meditation techniques to activate the heart of kindness within us all - a modern and motivating interpretation of traditional and powerful practices.

Loving-kindness, the English translation of the Pali word metta, is defined as unconditional well-wishing and openhearted nurturing of ourselves and others, just as we are. By practicing loving-kindness, you can learn to treat yourself and others-even strangers-like dear friends, putting aside criticism and judgment and choosing instead to open your heart to greater generosity, forgiveness, and compassion. While Buddha taught loving-kindness meditation as an antidote to fear, it can also quiet feelings of anger, judgment, and worry by helping you see the innate goodness within yourself and others. Whether used as part of a formal meditation practice or as daily mindfulness exercises, the 100 meditations in The Gift of Loving-Kindness make it easy to open your heart and share the seeds of loving-kindness with others.

Throughout our lives we long to love ourselves more deeply and find a greater sense of connection with others. Our fear of intimacy—both with others and with ourselves—creates feelings of pain and longing. But these feelings can also awaken in us the desire for freedom and the willingness to take up the spiritual path. In this inspiring book, longtime meditation practitioner and teacher Sharon Salzberg shows how the Buddhist path can help us discover the radiant, joyful heart within each one of us, drawing on Buddhist teachings, wisdom from various traditions, her personal experiences, and guided meditation exercises. With these tools, she teaches how the practice of lovingkindness can illuminate a path to cultivating love, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity—the four “heavenly abodes” of traditional Buddhism.

We don’t have to look to the East for the secrets of awakening—the wisdom and peace we seek is available right here, in our ordinary daily lives If you want to find inner peace and wisdom, you don’t need to move to an ashram or monastery. Your life, just as it is, is the perfect place to be. Here Jack Kornfield, one of America’s most respected Buddhist teachers, shares this and other key lessons gleaned from more than forty years of committed study and practice. Topics include: • How to cultivate loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity • Conscious parenting • Spirituality and sexuality • The way of forgiveness • Committing ourselves to healing the suffering in the world Bringing Home the Dharma includes simple meditation practices for awakening our buddha nature—our wise and understanding heart—amid the ups and downs of our ordinary daily lives.

What is Nibbana? Is Awakening possible? This new book says definitely yes! But only if you follow the method laid out by the Buddha in his earliest teachings. Nibbana can and does occur. In this book, you will be shown the step by step progression through the eight aware jhanas (levels of understanding) to the final cessation and the appearing of the unconditioned, and the joy that arises afterward.