Philosophy and Religion

Spiritual practice is not some kind of striving to produce enlightenment, but an "expression" of the enlightenment already inherent in all things: ...

Freedom from suffering is not only possible, but the means for achieving it are immediately within our grasp--literally as close to us as our own breath.

Ajahn Chah (1919–1992) was admired for the way he demystified the Buddhist teachings, presenting them in a remarkably simple and down-to-earth style for people of any background. He was a major influence and spiritual mentor for a generation of American Buddhist teachers, including Jon Kabat-Zinn, Sharon Salzberg, and Jack Kornfield.

"Zen Training " is a comprehensive handbook for "zazen," seated meditation practice, and an authoritative presentation of the Zen path.

In the thirteenth century, Zen master Dogen--perhaps the most significant of all Japanese philosophers, and the founder of the Japanese Soto Zen sect--wrote a practical manual of "Instructions for ...

We are thirteen indigenous grandmothers. . . . We are deeply concerned with the unprecedented destruction of our Mother Earth, the atrocities of war, the global scourge of poverty, the prevailing culture of materialism, the epidemics that threaten the health of the Earth’s peoples, and with the destruction of indigenous ways of life.

Why have we come to revere Francis of Assisi, a simple thirteenth-century Italian merchant's son, as a saint? Why has his appeal endured over eight hundred years and even expanded beyond the world of Catholicism to make him one of the most beloved religious figures of all time?

Shunryu Suzuki’s extraordinary gift for conveying traditional Zen teachings using ordinary language is well known to the countless readers of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. In Zen Is Right Here, his teachings are brought to life powerfully and directly through stories told about him by his students.