A renowned writer and translator presents an anthology of essential quotations from the masters of spiritual wisdom, including The Buddha, Lao-tzu, Heraclitus, the Zen and Sufi masters, Spinoza, Blake, Emerson, Rilke, and other timeless sages.

This book is a collection of parables containing the words of the Prophet Muhammad. Various topics are covered in these narratives of the Prophet along with an explanation of the warnings and lessons to be derived. In the introduction, and in each story’s conclusion, additional information was included to present these stories in a complete, comprehensive manner, in order for the moral to be crystallized in the mind of the reader.

Yogananda was one of the most significant spiritual teachers of the 20th century. Since his classic, Autobiography of a Yogi, was first published in 1946, its popularity has increased steadily throughout the world. The Essence of Self-Realization is filled with lessons and stories that Yogananda shared only with his closest disciples, this volume offers one of the most insightful and engaging glimpses into the life and lessons of a great sage. Much of the material presented here is not available anywhere else.

A rich and multilayered guide that offers readers accessible wisdom and practical methods to cultivate deeper satisfaction in everyday experiences. In contrast to stimulus-driven pleasure, contentment comes from living a life of meaning that aligns with one's values. The author identifies the common traps people fall into looking for happiness that actually create stress, worries, and fears, and offers authentic mindfulness-based solutions to counteract them. The increasing popularity of secular mindfulness in the United States mainstream has unfortunately produced a variety of teachings that water down and misunderstand this important philosophy and approach to living. Mindfulness is often reduced to concentration exercises and a simplistic definition of being aware of the present moment. In nearly all secular presentations of mindfulness, it is taken out of the rich context of the Three Higher Trainings (ethics, concentration, and wisdom) of Buddhism in which it was originally taught. The unique feature of this book is that it maintains the substance of the entire teaching as a program that is accessible to people of all spiritual traditions or no spiritual tradition. John Bruna is a counselor, mindfulness and spiritual teacher, and Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC) in California. In 2005, he was ordained as a Buddhist monk in the Tibetan tradition through the Gaden Shartse Monastery in India. In 2012, he became a Certified Cultivating Emotional Balance Mindfulness Teacher via the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies. Currently, John is the director of the Way of Compassion Foundation and cofounder of the Mindful Life Program.

Gathers quotations by Novalis, Rainer Maria Rilke, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Franz Kafka, Ralph Waldo Emerson, the Buddha, Heraclitus, Lao-tzu, Ramana Maharshi, Confucious, and Baruch Spinoza.

"The art of composing spontaneous songs that express spiritual understanding has existed in Tibet for centuries. Over a hundred of these profound songs are found in this collection of the works of the great teachers of the Kagyü lineage, known as the Practice Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Many readers are already familiar with the colorful life of the yogin Milarepa, an early figure in the Kagyü lineage, some of whose songs are included here. Songs by over thirty other Buddhist teachers are also presented, from those of Tilopa, the father of the lineage, to those of the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, as well as several songs by Chögyam Trungpa, the noted teacher of Buddhism in America who directed the translation of The Rain of Wisdom"--Publisher.

In this companion to his best-selling translation of The Dhammapada, Eknath Easwaran explains how The Dhammapada is a perfect map for the spiritual journey. Said to be the text closest to the Buddha’s actual words, The Dhammapada is a collection of short teachings that his disciples memorized during his lifetime. Easwaran presents The Dhammapada as a guide to spiritual perseverance, progress, and ultimately enlightenment — a heroic confrontation with life as it really is, with straight answers to our deepest questions. We witness the heartbreak of death, for instance — what does that mean for us? What is love? How does karma work? How do we follow the spiritual life in the midst of work and family? Does nirvana really exist, and if so, what is it like to be illumined? In his interpretation of Buddhist themes, illustrated with stories from the Buddha’s life, Easwaran offers a view of the concept of Right Understanding that is both exhilarating and instructive. He shares his experiences on the spiritual path, giving the advice that only an experienced teacher and practitioner can offer, and urges us to answer for ourselves the Buddha’s call to nirvana — that mysterious, enduring state of wisdom, joy, and peace.

Heart of Wisdom is based on an oral commentary to the Essence of Wisdom Sutra (the Heart Sutra), which was given by the author at Manjushri Mahayana buddhist Centre in England. The Heart Sutra, one of the best known and most popular of Mahayana Buddhist scriptures, contains the essence of Buddha`s teachings on emptiness and the methods to develop the wisdom that understands this ultimate reality. In this highly acclaimed explanation of the Sutra, Geshe Kelsang reveals its explicit and implicit meanings with both clarity and authority, and relates them to the five Mahayana paths that lead to full enlightenment. Seen in modern light, Buddha had been able to perceive, even see the vast spatial distances between atoms and between sub-atomic particles filled with electrons and even sub-eletrons in a state of high vibration. This atomic condition corresponds to a similar pattern in the brains of living beings and to interstellar and interplanetary gaps. The subject of emptiness as the author explains deals with perceptions leading to concept of formation and creation of a world of sense ideas which is merely a random arranging of material resources in an otherwise empty space filled with vibrations of these very particles. This is a rather difficult subject handled facilely by the author.

In this companion to his best-selling translation of the Bhagavad Gita, Easwaran explores the essential themes of this much-loved Indian scripture. Placing the Gita in a modern context, Easwaran shows how this classic text sheds light on the nature of reality, the illusion of separateness, the search for identity, and the meaning of yoga. The key message of the Gita is how to resolve our conflicts and live in harmony with the deep unity of life, through the principles of yoga and the practice of meditation. Easwaran grew up in the Hindu tradition and learned Sanskrit from an early age. A foremost translator and interpreter of the Gita, he taught classes on it for forty years, while living out the principles of the Gita in the midst of a busy family and community life. In the Gita, Sri Krishna, the Lord, doesn’t tell the warrior prince Arjuna what to do: he shows Arjuna his choices and then leaves it to Arjuna to decide. Easwaran, too, shows us clearly how these teachings still apply to us – and how, like Arjuna, we must take courage and act wisely if we want our world to thrive.