Showing titles in Sacred Writings

For centuries, The Bodhicaryavatara has been one of Buddhism’s most influential guides to compassion, ethical strength, and inner transformation. Praised by scholars and practitioners alike, it has shaped how generations understand anger, patience, effort, wisdom, and the responsibility we bear toward one another. Yet for many modern readers, the original text can feel distant—brilliant, but difficult to enter. A Simple Guide to The Bodhicaryavatara changes that. This book opens one of Buddhism’s greatest works with clarity, precision, and relevance, translating Shantideva’s ...

Are You Ready to Unlock the Power of Your Mind? The Surangama Sutra is more than just a sacred text—it’s a map to clarity, liberation, and the awakening of your deepest potential. Surangama Sutra: A Beginner's Guide: Breaking Through the Illusions of the Mind takes one of Buddhism’s most profound teachings and makes it accessible for anyone eager to live with greater peace and purpose. Discover the Truth Hidden Beneath Illusion: This book will open your eyes to the patterns that keep you trapped in fear, craving, and dissatisfaction. It’s not about becoming someone new—it’s ...

Unlock the Wisdom of the Buddha’s Core Teachings Step into the heart of ancient wisdom with Sutta Pitaka for Beginners: Insights into Mindfulness, Ethics, and Wisdom. This is more than a book—it’s your doorway to the foundational text that shaped centuries of Buddhist thought and practice. Discover the path to a more mindful, compassionate, and purposeful life. Reveal the Power of True Mindfulness Imagine experiencing every moment with clarity. The Suttas contain practical, timeless techniques for mindfulness, allowing you to approach each day with greater awareness. With insights ...

In 1979, 24-year-old Maura O'Halloran moved to Japan and became the first woman ever admitted to Toshoji Temple. Soshin-san (O'Halloran's monastic name) labored through three intense years of work and study in preparation for becoming a dharma teacher. Her life ended abruptly during a trip to Thailand, and today Soshin-san is revered as a Buddhist saint. The material in this program is from her private and heartfelt journals and letters.

“Creating a life of happiness must start from the mind. If we can all work to purify our minds and strive to do good every day, this world can become a pure land filled with happiness.” The Thirty-Seven Practices to Enlightenment are thirty-seven practices through which we can attain wisdom and reach the state of Nirvana. In this book, Dharma Master Cheng Yen uses the Adapted Verses of the Thirty-Seven Practices to Enlightenment as an outline to explain these essential practices, guiding practitioners onto the Bodhisattva-path.

The Dīghanikāya or Long Discourses of the Buddha is one of the four major collections of teachings from the early period of Buddhism. Its 34 suttas (in Sanskrit, sutras) demonstrate remarkable breadth in both content and style, forming a comprehensive collection. The Art of Listening gives an introduction to the Dīghanikāya and demonstrates the historical, cultural, and spiritual insights that emerge when we view the Buddhist suttas as oral literature.

What if the most important book in the Buddhist canon is the one nobody reads? The Nettippakaraṇa - "The Guide" - is a 2,000-year-old manual that does something no other Buddhist text attempts: it teaches you how to read the Buddha's discourses. Not what they say. How they work. The sixteen analytical modes, the five interpretive methods, the eighteen root concepts that every teaching connects back to - it's the operating system behind the entire Pali Canon. So why has almost no one outside academia ever heard of it? Because the only English translation, published in 1962, reads like ...

Unlock the timeless wisdom of the Buddha with "Pāli Canon for Beginners: An Introduction to the Buddha's Words." This comprehensive guide will take you on an enlightening journey through the foundational texts of Theravāda Buddhism, offering clarity and insight for both newcomers and seasoned practitioners. Dive into the heart of Buddhist teachings with easy-to-understand explanations and practical applications: Discover the core principles that form the bedrock of Buddhism. Explore the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and other essential teachings that provide a roadmap to a ...

Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters covers the essence of the Buddhist teachings. For beginning spiritual practitioners, this sutra is truly the best entry point to the profound Buddha-Dharma. The first chapter of the Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters clearly illustrates the sequence we should follow in our spiritual practice. The second and third chapters are mainly written for those who are ordained as monastics, while the fourth chapter and the chapters thereafter are guidelines for spiritual practice for people in general. In simple and plain words, the Buddha used vivid metaphors to patiently and ...

Journey to Nalanda Volume II continues where the first volume left off. The characters continue their journey, both physical and spiritual down the meandering waters of the Ganga, visiting places holy to both Hinduism and Buddhism. All this in the backdrop of the 4th century of the Christian era, the age of the development of Yogacara philosophy. The master Vasubandhu, one of the characters in the book, figures in passing as the characters discuss his philosophy.

“I am very impressed by Dharma Master Cheng Yen.”— Thich Nhat Hanh “Dharma Master Cheng Yen is a role model for us all.”—Dalai Lama The Thirty-Seven Principles of Enlightenment contains 7 parts: (1) The Four Right Efforts, (2) The Four Steps Towards Obtaining Supernatural Powers, (3) The Four Considerations, (4) The Five Roots, (5) The Five Strengths, (6) The Seven Factors of Wisdom, and (7) The Noble Eightfold Path. The Buddha reminded us to practice the Thirty-Seven Principles to Enlightenment, which tells us the way to live a wholesome life. We must have right views and ...

Embark on a transformative journey with "Amitabha Sutra: A Beginner's Guide: Exploring Key Teachings." This meticulously crafted guide invites you into the serene and profound world of Pure Land Buddhism, making its timeless wisdom accessible to everyone. Imagine a place where peace reigns supreme, where golden trees and jeweled lakes reflect the boundless compassion of Amitabha Buddha. "Amitabha Sutra: A Beginner's Guide" opens the doors to this enchanting realm, the Pure Land, offering you the keys to spiritual fulfillment and enlightenment. Unlock the Teachings of Amitabha Buddha: Dive ...

NEW 3RD REVISITED EDITION You are curious about Buddhism, you are thinking about practicing it. this book is a great starting place to learn about all of its most basic tenets. As you go through this introduction, you will be able to look into the most relevant topics about Buddhism. - Where did Buddhism start? - Who Is the Buddha? -Why is the pratice fundamental in Buddhism? - Why did the Buddha find a need for this practice? - What are the most common Buddhist traditions? - What is the difference between Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhism? - How is Buddhism expressed across the ...

Teachings and Commentary on the Sutra of Infinite Meanings is compiled from the teachings expounded during the seven-day Buddhist retreats in 1972 and 1973. Master Cheng Yen explained the sutra word by word, verse by verse, and complemented it with many analogies and real-life stories, connecting matters to principles. The book is organized as follows: The first volume includes the Preface, which describes the background of the teachings and Master Cheng Yen’s karmic affinity with the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, as well as her commentary on the first chapter of the sutra, “Chapter on ...

The Tree of Wisdom by Nagarjuna is a treatise on morals and ethics written over 2,000 years ago. It is about the love you find and how you share it with others. It's about how you're going to spend your time, about the give-and-take, and how we treat each other. It's all about the friends you make. It's all about the choices you make. It's on the importance of forgiving and being forgiven. To live a life that is pure in faith and heart. To strive to stay on the path. To find the way of the masters that have gone before us.

Neither the date nor the authorship of the Dhammapada is known, but there is conclusive evidence that this monument of the Buddhist canon existed well before the Christian era. Many scholars agree in ascribing its utterances to Buddha himself, while others are of the opinion that it is a compilation made by Buddhist monks from various sources. This classic religious text focuses on practical morality, which, if practiced earnestly and diligently, will lead the practitioner to Nirvana, the state of unconditioned eternal bliss.

The Dhammapada is a work familiar to every devout Buddhist and to every serious student of Buddhism. This small collection of 423 verses on the Buddha’s doctrine is so rich in insights, that it might be considered the perfect compendium of the Dhamma in its practical dimensions. Learn more about this central text in this audiobook.

What if everything you believe about reality is an illusion? What if, at the same time, everything is perfectly complete? These are not riddles—they are the foundations of two of the most powerful schools of Buddhist thought. For over a thousand years, Madhyamaka and Tiantai have shaped Buddhist philosophy, transforming how seekers, scholars, and practitioners understand existence. Madhyamaka tears down illusions, revealing that nothing—your thoughts, your identity, even the universe itself—has an independent essence. Tiantai, in contrast, builds up a grand, unifying vision, showing ...

The mind is everything. What you think, you become. So what, exactly, are you thinking? You already know that something is not quite right. The scrolling, the striving, the low-grade anxiety that hums beneath even your good days. You are not broken — you are simply operating without a map. The extraordinary news is that a map exists, and it is older than the oldest institution you can name. The Buddha walked out of a palace into the wilderness and returned with a set of insights so precise, so psychologically acute, that two and a half millennia have done nothing to blunt their edge. ...

In our increasingly secular world, holy texts are at best seen as irrelevant, and at worst as an excuse to incite violence, hatred and division. So what value, if any, can Scripture hold for us today? And if our world no longer seems compatible with Scripture, is it perhaps because its original purpose has become lost? Today we see the Quran being used by some to justify war and terrorism, the Torah to deny Palestinians the right to live in the Land of Israel, and the Bible to condemn homosexuality and contraception.