› › Tending The Fire Through War And The Path Of Meditation

Tending the Fire

Author :

Publisher :

Page : pages

File Size : 11,49 MB

Release : 2014

Category :

ISBN : 9781311075987

Get eBook

Book Description

Raised on a South Carolina sea island, tempered by experiences in the Vietnam War, and trained as a physchotherapist, Ralph Steele decided at midlife that tending the fire of this life would be to take robes as a forest monk in Thailand and Myanmar-for a year or for a lifetime. He left his career and twenty-year relationship without knowing if he would return. Tending the Fire is the gripping, enlightening, and very human story of Ralph's transformative journey through war and meditation to a sense of wholeness, responsibility, peace, and compassion.



Buddhism and Whiteness

Author : George Yancy

Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield

Page : 381 pages

File Size : 29,62 MB

Release : 2019-05-13

Category : Philosophy

ISBN : 149858103X

Get eBook

Book Description

The motivation behind this important volume is to weave together two distinct, but we think complementary, traditions – the philosophical engagement with race/whiteness and Buddhist philosophy – in order to explore the ways in which these traditions can inform, correct, and improve each other. This exciting and critically informed volume will be the first of its kind to bring together essays that explicitly connect these two traditions and will mark a major step both in understanding race and whiteness (with the help of Buddhist philosophy) and in understanding Buddhist philosophy (with the help of philosophy of race and theorizations of whiteness). We expand upon a small, but growing, body of work that applies Buddhist philosophical analyses to whiteness and racial injustice in contemporary U.S. culture. Buddhist philosophy has much to contribute to furthering our understanding of whiteness and racial identity, the mechanisms that create and maintain white supremacy, and the possibility of dismantling white supremacy. We are interested both in the possible insights that Buddhist metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical analyses can bring to understanding race and whiteness, as well as the potential limitations of such Buddhist-inspired approaches. In their chapters, contributors draw on Buddhist philosophical and contemplative traditions to offer fresh, insightful, and powerful perspectives on issues regarding racial identity and whiteness, including such themes as cultural appropriation, mechanisms of racial injustice and racial justice, phenomenology of racial oppression, epistemologies of racial ignorance, liberatory practices with regard to racism, Womanism, and the intersections of gender-based, raced-based, and sexuality-based oppressions. Authors make use of both contemporary and ancient Buddhist philosophical and contemplative traditions. These include various Asian traditions, including Theravada, Mahayana, Tantra, and Zen, as well as comparatively new American Buddhist traditions.



Lifting as They Climb

Author : Toni Pressley-Sanon

Publisher : Shambhala Publications

Page : 251 pages

File Size : 18,18 MB

Release : 2024-02-13

Category : Religion

ISBN : 0834845520

Get eBook

Book Description

The lives and writings of six leading Black Buddhist women—Jan Willis, bell hooks, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, angel Kyodo williams, Spring Washam, and Faith Adiele—reveal new expressions of Buddhism rooted in ancestry, love, and collective liberation. Lifting as They Climb is a love letter of freedom and self-expression from six Black women Buddhist teachers, conveyed through the voice of author Toni Pressley-Sanon, one of the innumerable people who have benefitted from their wisdom. She explores their remarkable lives and undertakes deep readings of their work, weaving them into the broader tapestry of the African diaspora and the historical struggle for Black liberation. Black women in the U.S. have adapted Buddhist practice to meet challenges ranging from the injustices of the Jim Crow South to sexual violence, social discrimination, and bias within their Buddhist communities. Using their voices through the practice of memoir and other forms of writing, they have not only realized their own liberation but carried forward the Black tradition of leading others on the path toward collective awakening.



Tending the Fire: Through War and the Path of Meditation

Author : Ralph Steele

Publisher : Sacred Life Publishers

Page : 324 pages

File Size : 45,38 MB

Release : 2014-06-27

Category : Biography & Autobiography

ISBN : 9780989659321

Get eBook

Book Description

"Tending the Fire: Through War and The Path of Meditation " Raised on a South Carolina sea island, tempered by experiences in the Vietnam War, and trained as a psychotherapist, Ralph Steele decided midlife that tending the fire of his life would be to take robes as a forest monk in Thailand and Myanmar-for a year or for a lifetime. He left his career and twenty-year relationship without knowing if he would return. " Tending the Fire " is the gripping, enlightening, and very human story of Ralph's transformative journey through war and meditation to a sense of wholeness, responsibility, peace, and compassion. Partial Endorsements: "Ralph Steele's memoir will be of great value, an inspiration for many who are seeking release from ignorance and suffering" " Ajahn " Sumedho "A beautifully written, humbling, uplifting, and profoundly sweet and electrifying life story illustrating the transformative value of the cultivation of mindfulness . . ." Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of " Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness" "One can't help but marvel at Ralph Steele's extraordinary life." Joseph Goldstein, author of "Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening " "Buddha was a Kshatriya; he came from the warrior class, Ralph, too is a warrior who, like Buddha, had to climb the walls of his enclosures to breathe the fresh air." Stephen and Ondrea Levine, authors of " Becoming Kuan Yin: The Evolution of Compassion " and "The Healing I Took Birth For " "Ralph is able to show us, in an unflinchingly graphic story, what is at once intimate and honest, heart-shredding and tender." Wayne Muller, M. Div., author of " Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives " "Ralph Steele's " Tending the Fire " offers a glimpse into worlds few of us will ever experience-and yet the humanity he shares with us is something we all can resonate with." Alexandra Kennedy, M.A., LMFT, author of " Losing A Parent: Passage to a New Way of Living " and " Creating a Space to Let Yourself Heal "



The Routledge Handbook of Buddhist-Christian Studies

Author : Carol Anderson

Publisher : Taylor & Francis

Page : 728 pages

File Size : 25,62 MB

Release : 2022-09-30

Category : Religion

ISBN : 100063728X

Get eBook

Book Description

Buddhist-Christian dialogue has a long and complex history that stretches back to the first centuries of the common era. Comprising 42 international and disciplinarily diverse chapters, this volume begins by setting up a framework for examining the nature of Buddhist-Christian interreligious dialogue, discussing how research in this area has been conducted in the past and considering future theoretical directions. Subsequent chapters delve into: important episodes in the history of Buddhist-Christian dialogue; contemporary conversations such as monastic interreligious dialogue, multiple religious identity, and dual religious practice; and Buddhist-Christian cooperation in social justice, social engagement, pastoral care, and interreligious education settings. The volume closes with a section devoted to comparative and constructive explorations of different speculative themes that range from the theological to the philosophical or experiential. This handbook explores how the study of Buddhist-Christian relations has been and ought to be done. The Routledge Handbook of Buddhist-Christian Studies is essential reading for researchers and students interested in Buddhist-Christian studies, Asian religions, and interreligious relationships. It will be of interest to those in fields such as anthropology, political science, theology, and history.



Dharma Matters

Author : Jan Willis

Publisher : Simon and Schuster

Page : 379 pages

File Size : 27,94 MB

Release : 2020-04-21

Category : Religion

ISBN : 161429593X

Get eBook

Book Description

A powerful collection of essays on race and gender in contemporary Buddhist practice by one of the leading thinkers in the area. Jan Willis was among the first Westerners to encounter exiled Tibetan teachers abroad in the late sixties, instantly finding her spiritual and academic home. TIME Magazine named her one of six “spiritual innovators for the new millennium,” both for her considerable academic accomplishments and for her cultural relevance. Her writing engages head-on with issues current to Buddhist practitioners in America, including dual-faith practitioners and those from marginalized groups. This collection of eighteen scholarly and popular essays spans a lifetime of reflection and teaching by Willis. Grouped in four sections—Women and Buddhism, Buddhism and Race, Tantric Buddhism and Saints’ Lives, and Buddhist-Christian Reflections—the essays provide timeless wisdom for all who are interested in contemporary Buddhism and its interface with ancient tradition. “This collection of essays by Jan Willis, penned over thirty years of study, teaching, and practice, is destined to become an authoritative resource in Buddhist scholarship and thought. Willis challenges many of our preconceptions, but asks no more and no less than what the Buddha asked: come, see, and experience for yourselves.” —Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness “From Birmingham to Bodhgaya, Jan bridges worlds like no other. Her essays are treasures of wisdom born from a remarkable life richly lived.” —Matthew T. Kapstein, author of Reason’s Traces: Identity and Interpretation in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist Thought “This book is a blessing for us all—across cultures, across genders, across traditions.” —Larry Yang, author of Awakening Together: The Spiritual Practice of Inclusivity and Community



The Path of Insight Meditation

Author : Jack Kornfield

Publisher : Shambhala Publications

Page : 130 pages

File Size : 25,12 MB

Release : 2018-03-27

Category : Religion

ISBN : 0834841401

Get eBook

Book Description

An introductory guide to Insight meditation, offering exercises from two master teachers and a look into how this practice leads to compassion and a deeper understanding of self. Insight meditation is a Buddhist practice that opens the way to profound awakening in our daily lives. This introductory guide offers wisdom about how this path cultivates compassion, strengthens mindfulness, and leads to a deeper understanding of ourselves and others. It also includes exercises from these two master teachers, developed from their meditation retreats taught around the world. Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield are the founders of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, and each has authored many books on meditation.



At Hell's Gate

Author : Claude Anshin Thomas

Publisher : Shambhala Publications

Page : 196 pages

File Size : 13,10 MB

Release : 2006-01-10

Category : Religion

ISBN : 0834823292

Get eBook

Book Description

In this raw and moving memoir, Claude Thomas describes his service in Vietnam, his subsequent emotional collapse, and his remarkable journey toward healing. At Hell's Gate is not only a gripping coming-of-age story but a spiritual travelogue from the horrors of combat to the discovery of inner peace—a journey that inspired Thomas to become a Zen monk and peace activist who travels to war-scarred regions around the world. "Everyone has their Vietnam," Thomas writes. "Everyone has their own experience of violence, calamity, or trauma." With simplicity and power, this book offers timeless teachings on how we can all find healing, and it presents practical guidance on how mindfulness and compassion can transform our lives. This expanded edition features: • Discussion questions for reading groups • A new afterword by the author reflecting on how the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are affecting soldiers—and offering advice on how to help returning soldiers to cope with their combat experiences



Meditation For Fidgety Skeptics

Author : Dan Harris

Publisher : Hachette UK

Page : 252 pages

File Size : 39,26 MB

Release : 2018-07-12

Category : Self-Help

ISBN : 1473691400

Get eBook

Book Description

*As heard on the Tim Ferriss Show podcast* 'Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics is well researched, practical, and crammed with expert advice and it's also an irreverent, hilarious page-turner.' - Gretchen Rubin ABC News anchor Dan Harris used to think that meditation was for people who collect crystals, play the pan pipes, and use the word namaste without irony. After he had a panic attack on live television, he went on a strange journey that ultimately led him to become one of meditation's most vocal public proponents. Science suggests that meditation can lower blood pressure, mitigate depression and anxiety, and literally rewire key parts of the brain, among numerous other benefits. And yet there are millions of people who want to meditate but aren't actually practising. What's holding them back? In this guide to mindfulness and meditation for beginners and experienced meditators alike, Harris and his friend Jeff Warren, embark on a cross-country quest to tackle the myths, misconceptions, and self-deceptions that stop people from meditating. They rent a rock-star tour bus and travel across the US, talking to scores of would-be meditators, including parents, police officers, and even a few celebrities. They create a taxonomy of the most common issues ("I suck at this," "I don't have the time," etc.) and offer up science-based life hacks to help people overcome them. The book is filled with game-changing and deeply practical meditation instructions. Amid it all unspools the strange and hilarious story of what happens when a congenitally sarcastic, type-A journalist and a groovy Canadian mystic embark on an epic road trip into America's neurotic underbelly, as well as their own.



How to Meditate

Author : Pema Chödrön

Publisher : Sounds True

Page : 192 pages

File Size : 35,33 MB

Release : 2021-10-26

Category : Body, Mind & Spirit

ISBN : 9781683648420

Get eBook

Book Description

“When something is bothering you—a person is bugging you, a situation is irritating you, or physical pain is troubling you—you must work with your mind, and that is done through meditation. Working with our mind is the only means through which we’ll actually begin to feel happy and contented with the world that we live in.” —Pema Chödrön Pema Chödrön is treasured around the world for her unique ability to transmit teachings and practices that bring peace, understanding, and compassion into our lives. With How to Meditate, the American-born Tibetan Buddhist nun presents her first book exploring in depth what she considers the essentials for a lifelong practice. More and more people are beginning to recognize a profound inner longing for authenticity, connection, and aliveness. Meditation, Pema explains, gives us a golden key to address this yearning. This step-by-step guide shows readers how to honestly meet and openly relate with the mind, embrace the fullness of our experience, and live in a wholehearted way as we discover: - The basics of meditation, from getting settled and the six points of posture to working with your breath and cultivating an attitude of unconditional friendliness - The Seven Delights—how moments of difficulty can become doorways to awakening and love - Shamatha (or calm abiding), the art of stabilizing the mind to remain present with whatever arises - Thoughts and emotions as “sheer delight”—instead of obstacles—in meditation “I think ultimately why we practice is so that we can become completely loving people, and this is what the world needs,” writes Pema Chödrön. How to Meditate is an essential book from this wise teacher to assist each one of us in this virtuous goal.