Product Description
With essays, lectures, and accounts of personal experiences of enlightenment, this is a guide for all spiritual seekers and an excellent introduction to Zen Buddhism. 2 cassettes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The Three Pillars of Zen
I have read the "Three pillars of Zen" on a number of occasions including the anniversary edition.On each occasion I have found it to be more and more informative and revealing of ones own Zen practice.It is an excellent beginners book into the world of formal and not so formal Zen as well as for anybody who has an interest in "what is Zen anyways?".This book not only gives insight into the question "Zen?", but, also answers the how and why's.

The Three Pillars of Zen
I first read Roshi Philip Kapleau book on the summer of 1980. I feel it is still one of the most informative books wriiten on Zen Buddhism. I am sure it must be considered a classic by now. I find myself pulling this book off my shelf every few years and re-reading it. I feel that it is one of thefew books written that introduce westerner's to the journey along the roadof zen.

Among the very best on Zen and meditation
This unarguably authoritative book is absolutely
convincing in its easily readable exposition of Zen BR> Buddhism, it's methods and goals.Practices of Japanese
Zen masters, both modern and historic,
are set forth as they were actually spoken to Zen classes
in Japanese temples. It is easily the best book I have read on meditation generally or Zen specifically ... Read more

Product Description
Be inspired by these 34 unique stories of the moment of enlightenment. In each of the stories in this book lay spiritual gems waiting to be discovered by the sincere seeker. This is not just a dry text. These writings were authored directily by realized beings describing their own experience in crossing over from individual to cosmic consciousness. Such dramatic and immediate accounts will open your heart and mind to the possibility of your own inner peace, enlightenment, and self-realization. These stories have the power to transmit the state of these great beings, which can aid you in awakening to your divine nature.Amazon.com Review
All the figures profiled in Mystics, Masters, Saints, and Sages have one experience in common: they achieved enlightenment, the elusive promise of "profound peace, extreme happiness, and a deep understanding of the truth," as editors Robert Ullman and Judith Reichenberg-Ullman describe it. In gathering the autobiographical stories, essays, and poems written by these various seekers, the editors explore diverse pathways to transcendence. Some, such as the Buddha, suffered. Others found the right guide, such as the Sufi poet Rumi, who met his beloved teacher in a bustling Turkish marketplace. Some went to the brink of suicide, such as the Canadian Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now. The editors offer a brief biographical sketch before each essay, giving readers context for digesting these inspiring experience, which span thousands of years and many regions of the world. The editors claim to be nondenominational, but there are significantly more contributions from Eastern traditions than any other. --Gail Hudson ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Interesting but left me with wanting more...
Mystics, Masters, Saints, and Sages: Stories of Enlightenment was filled with interesting stories that provided a a good overview about some enlightened beings who found truth and meaning. However, the book left me with wanting more.

As a collection of personal writings and stories it was certainly interesting. However, it was lacking the inspiration to practice and the guidance it promised it would contain and provide for one's own journey.

Christine Maingard, Author of Think Less Be More:Mental Detox for Everyone

Fantastic read and a lovely introduction to a great cross-section of enlightened beings.
I love this book. I have read a ton of spiritual literature and had heard of many of the people featured in this book, and yet I still found it informative and enlightening (pun fully intended). I discovered several self realized beings for the first time, particular the "regular" people the authors intentionally included. It was fascinating to hear about their unexpected journeys to self realization, some of them not able to identify what was happening to them until long after the big events (or non events, as some would argue). Among my very favorite stories were the ones about Peace Pilgrim and Suzanne Segal... wow. Inspiring, heart wrenching stuff. This book delivers on its promise to recount stories of enlightenment, first hand where possible, without adding much in the way of opinions to the mix.

Interesting, but not very useful
Being a bit of a spiritual seeker myself, I was hoping that these stories would provide some insight. However, in most cases they're discussions of the actual moment that enlightenment occurred, which I found less than useful. For most of these people, enlightenment was a spontaneous event. That's not to say they hadn't spent years of traveling a path to get to that event, but the book doesn't describe that path.

Also, especially for the people who lived long ago, I have to doubt the accuracy of the stories. It's a sad fact that enlightened people tend to develop a mythology around them. When the tales have had centuries to evolve, and the people involved are seen as saints or even gods, it's hard to believe third-party accounts are unbiased.

So, while interesting, and occasionally inspiring, this didn't help me find my path in the way that, for example, The Odyssey of Enlightenment did.

Very Inspiring...
I was browsing the internet and I was so surprised that there are no reviews of this book listed online, that I felt I had to add this.I received this book as a gift from my wife a few years ago.This book is a wonderful and inspiring book that provides an insight into the lives and experiences many of the larger-than-life spiritual figures we've read about, as well as many people, from ancient times as well as recent times, that you've probably never heard of. In many cases it includes excerpts of the writings of the subjects themselves. To me, the instincts of the authors were spot-on in writing the book and selecting a handful of subjects from the dozens of candidates I am sure they must have considered.

When I want to improve my attitude or need to remember why I pursue the spiritual practices I do, I pick us this book and read a chapter or two...

Mystics, Masters, Saints, and Sages
Robert Ullman and Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman are naturopathic and homeopathic physicians who have also studied with numerous spiritual teachers.Mystics, Masters, Saints, and Sages: Stories of Enlightenment is their seventh book, in which their "intent is to capture the experience of enlightenment as clearly and succinctly as possible."

While recognizing that each individual's experience will be unique, the Ullmans believe that the stories of others will serve as models or signposts for those who are still seeking.They emphasize that "no one religion, country, socioeconomic class, or gender has laid special claim to enlightenment."They've chosen a diverse collection of stories, ranging from Buddha to St. Catherine of Siena to Suzanne Segal.A total of thirty-three stories are told.

Each story focuses on the moment of transformation in each individual's life.The Ullmans include a brief informational essay, describing the culture and times the individual lived in and his or her teachings.The enlightenment stories themselves are in the words of the masters themselves whenever possible; or from those closest to them.

An extensive bibliography provides a variety of sources for readers wishing to delve further into the lives and times of the individuals.

Although every enlightenment experience is different, the authors describe the common elements they discovered.These include interconnectedness and ego transcendence, timelessness and spaciousness, acceptance, beyond pleasure and pain, clarity, and shattering of preconceived notions.

In his foreword, His Holiness The Dalai Lama says "each human being has an equal opportunity to attain wisdom, happiness, and enlightenment by cultivating a correct motivation-a sincere aspiration to benefit all sentient beings-and engaging in diligent practice."He adds that Mystics, Masters, Saints, and Sages "is a valuable, inspiring book."It belongs in the library of all readers seeking spiritual insight. ... Read more

Product Description
Enlightenment Is a Secret, a collection of dialogues andessays taken from the teachings of Andrew Cohen, is a manual forpersonal liberation.This remarkable work explores every questioncrucial to the spiritual quest in a timeless and deeply illuminatingway.Love, renunciation, surrender, humility, detachment, the mind,spiritual practice and many other topics are addressed with a clarityso powerful that it constantly challenges the reader to go further andfurther. One of the most original expressions of awakenedunderstanding by a Western teacher in our time, Enlightenment Is aSecret is a book for endless study and contemplation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

drivel
This a masterpiece of glibness and plausability. It resides in the world of the seemingly-true and therefore, as spiritual teaching, should be avoided like the plague.Only a psychically marginalised and cathectically needy lost soul would gravitate towards such brainless piffle and that is precisely the kind of victim that Cohen is targeting. Shame on him and his arrogant deluded hubris!

You guys just don't get it
You're not allowing the intersubjective friction of consciousness to create the ecstatic compulsion necessary to create the future in a way that allows a greater uber reality to emerge in you. You are denying your rapturous inner god and need simply to feel you own blissful interconnection with the ultimate core of the orgiastic universe that will liberate you and your species for all time.

Hilarious...how often can people be fooled in the same way?

da free John rides again.

Only read this book if you want to lose all of your free will!!
Hi

Only read this book if you want to lose all of your free will.

It basically tells you that you are not a person and under no circumstance should you trust your own mind or your thoughts, everything is ego.

This review is written by an ego as well and after you read this book everything you ever think will be ego and therefore evil.

Only Andrew Cohen can tell you what to do because his drive is passion not ego.

Anything that you think of yourself is ego, you just aren't good enough as you have not had a spiritual experience.

Andrew is special you are not.

There is no God just what Andrew Cohen is.

Happy reading.

Meditative
As a person who has bought and read thousands of books, I think that this may be the last book I'll ever need.Andrew challanges the reader, rather forcefully, to climb to the mountain top and then.....take that next step.The book is set with each page being the subject of a days/weeks meditation.

Cohen's Teachings build a good foundation
In all of Andrew Cohen's teachings he is giving us the basic fundamentals for living our life according to Divine Laws. He teaches practical steps in freeing the person from the ever persistant ego. His number one goal is to help humanity gain freedom. Because he is so focused on this one main principle I recommend this book and all of his work as the basic bedrock of achieving mastery and immortality. Although he does not teach the concept of immortality never-the-less you cannot achieve this unless you first go through his teachings on freeing the soul of ego control and taking responsiblity for your own actions. I highly recommend all of Andrew's books he is a very remarkable and determind man ... Read more

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Product Description
1966 ... Read more

Product Description
Jonathan Israel presents the first major reassessment of the Western Enlightenment for a generation. Continuing the story he began in the best-selling Radical Enlightenment , and now focusing his attention on the first half of the eighteenth century, he returns to the original sources to offer a groundbreaking new perspective on the nature and development of the most important currents in modern thought.

Israel traces many of the core principles of Western modernity to their roots in the social, political, and philosophical ferment of this period: the primacy of reason, democracy, racial equality, feminism, religious toleration, sexual emancipation, and freedom of expression. He emphasizes the dual character of the Enlightenment, and the bitter struggle between on the one hand a generally dominant, anti-democratic mainstream, supporting the monarchy, aristocracy, and ecclesiastical authority, and on the other a largely repressed democratic, republican, and "materialist" radical fringe. He also contends that the supposedly separate French, British, German, Dutch, and Italian enlightenments interacted to such a degree that their study in isolation gives a hopelessly distorted picture.

A work of dazzling and highly accessible scholarship, Enlightenment Contested will be the definitive reference point for historians, philosophers, and anyone engaged with this fascinating period of human development. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Nagels aan doodskisten
Jonathan Israel zet de lijn van Radical Enlightenment onverminderd voort. Iemand die zich ten doel stelt om de Verlichting te redden van de hedendaagse neiging om de verworvenheden (o.a. tolerantie, kritische houding, rationele argumentatie) ervan te ontkennen, kan niet genoeg gelezen worden. Het leuke van Enlightenment Contested is de verrassende (en verfrissende) debunking van een groot aantal heilige huizen. Israel zet de Gematigde Verlichting neer voor wat het is; een onhoudbare (en afgemeten aan de criteria die heden als richtinggevend worden beschouwd, onsuccesvolle) poging om rationaliteit en welke vorm van religieuze openbaring dan ook met elkaar te verenigen. Onder de mokerslagen van zijn kritiek sneuvelen een aantal reputaties die voorheen onaantastbaar leken. John Locke's gematigde tolerantie wordt verworpen als onhoudbaar ten faveure van tolerantie volgens m.n. Spinoza, Bayle en Diderot. Israel toont aan dat op Newton's natuurkundig-theologisch systeem na 1700 al fundamentele radicale kritiek was (ook bijvoorbeeld door de gematigde Leibnitz), in weerwil van de bijna onaantastbare status van Newton op het continent. Ook de grote pleitbezorger van Newton, Voltaire, wordt door Israel in het rijtje van de Gematigden geplaatst. Dat Voltaire zich in de strijd om de publicatie van Diderot's Encyclopedie zich gedwongen zag dit radicale project licht knarsetandend te verdedigen, doet niet af aan de fikse deuk die het imago van deze voorheen exemplarische Verlichter oploopt. Israel is ook in dit 2de deel van de geplande triologie weer volstrekt helder wat zijn agenda is. In Enlightenment Contested polemiseert hij met hedendaagse anti-verlichters als MacIntyre, Taylor en Gray en toont aan waarom hun opvattingen over de Verlichting als legitimering van intolerantie en kolonialisme getuigen van weinig historische kennis, gedateerde interpretaties en vooral het nalaten een onderscheid tussen de actuele geldigheid van de ideeen van de radicale Verlichting en die van de gematigde Verlichting te maken.
De voornaamste kritiek op dit boek is dan ook vooral redactioneel van aard. In zijn ijver en streven naar volledigheid is er teveel overlap in het boek zelf en met Radical Enlightenment. Het wordt wel eens vermoeiend om bij elke theologische of filosofische haarkloverij die door Israel wordt opgevoerd weer die hele lijst van namen langs te zien komen. Dit gezegd hebbend, ben ik erg benieuwd naar deel 3. Hopelijk wordt daarin voldoende plaats ingeruimd voor de gedeelde wortels van de Verlichting en de Romantiek. Israel kennende zal daarin ruim voorzien worden. Deel 3, bring it on!"

Not for the casual reader
Enlightenment Contested: Philosophy, Modernity, and the Emancipation of Man 1670-1752
This is the second volume of Israel's planned three-volume intellectual history of the Enlightenment.It follows his Radical Enlightenment (2001).These are works aimed primarily at specialists and will hold the attention of lay readers only if they have a strong interest in the subject matter plus hearty endurance.

It doesn't help that Israel is not a good stylist and that the editors apparently were lenient.Lengthy sentences composed of murky subordinate clauses populate nearly every page.Those who do not read French, Latin, Dutch, or German will have to guess the meaning of substantial paragraph-length (or longer) quotations that are not translated from the source language.

Nevertheless, Enlightenment Contested, like its predecessor volume, is rich both in its thesis and in its impressive offering of expansive, indeed overwhelming, supporting detail.The bibliography of this volume alone covers 180 small-print pages.

Israel proposes that a set of "radical" core ideas drove the intellectual conversation in Europe in this period, with Spinoza as the central figure and with Bayle, Diderot, and others later assuming key roles.Against the radicals stood the "moderates," notably including Locke, Newton, Hume, Montesquieu, Turgot, and Kant.These are just a few of the major players in Israel's cast of dozens (even hundreds) of thinkers engaged in the contest of European ideas in this period.

Israel concludes that the radical party ultimately won out.Their core ideas, nearly all of which can be traced to Spinoza in some form, included, for example, one-substance materialism (versus Cartesian mind-body dualism); the adoption of philosophical reason as the exclusive criterion of what is true; a rejection of the supernatural, tending toward atheism (as opposed to Deism or theism); secular "universalism" in ethics; religious and political tolerance; and democratic republicanism in politics.

One of Israel's most important contributions is his exhaustive documentation of who read whom when, and of how they reacted.He convincingly demonstrates how ideas were disseminated and why certain ideas either did or did not take hold.This is how good intellectual history should work.

The Enlightenment served as "midwife" to the French Revolution
This was required reading for a graduate course in the history of the French Revolution.Jonathan Israel's Enlightenment Contested is the best in depth analysis of the Enlightenment, which was an eighteenth century intellectual movement in Europe that emphasized reason, knowledge, science in philosophy, and the study of human culture and the natural world.To be Enlightened a person had to know themselves.One way to do this in the eighteenth century was through the arts.Enlightened philosophes believed that science contained universal truths, and progress was a process of discovery; with perfection at the end of linear progress.The kaleidoscope of Enlightenment ideas played a crucial role in the eighteenth century in general and in the French Revolution in particular.Although the Enlightenment did not give birth to the French Revolution, it certainly served as "midwife" to the Revolution.Thus, Israel, an eminent Enlightenment scholar, understood its importance to the French Revolution best.

Israel in his book, laid out the framework for the changing interpretive methodologies historians have employed since the 1960's regarding the Enlightenment.In particular, he disagreed with Roger Chartier's reliance on "the `new' social history's way of ordering historical studies, focusing on changes in attitude and practice in society while marginalizing intellectual history" (20).Israel, while not diminishing "cultural sociology," has devoted many years to studying the intellectual initiatives of the Enlightenment.To that end, he advocated a fusion of several schools of thought that will be "...of considerable importance not only to historians but also philosophers, social theorists, political analysts, and the lay leader.The result may usefully be termed the `controversialist' approach to intellectual history, a methodology envisaging the interaction between society and ideas..." (23). Israel posited that the pressures of religious and intellectual intolerance throughout Europe was a critical factor in making the very tolerant Dutch Republic, "...the hub of the Radical Enlightenment" (28).Israel placed Baruch Spinoza at the hub's center because his atheistic writings made him "the most feared philosopher in eighteenth-century Europe" (36).

Israel theorized that there were two enlightenments that emerged from the late seventeenth century.The "Conservative Enlightenment" was a mixture of "reason" with tradition and religion.This is the philosophy that was gaining support by many functionaries of state and in the Janesist movement of the Church.Conservative Enlightenment ideas advocated needed improvements in the existing socio-political order, such as relief for the poor and judicial reforms.However, the danger was that although Conservative Enlightenment philosophy did not teach revolution or democracy, it succeeded in transforming people's minds to lose respect for tradition."Radical Enlightenment" propelled by "reason" alone encompassed a plethora of values, such as democracy, equality, and toleration of personal freedoms, which included freedoms of speech and both sexual and racial liberties.Thus, most Radical Enlightenment writings were about wholesale destruction of the current order and the rebuilding of a new society.Radical Enlightenment writers used Rousseau's ideas to teach French citizens that all men are equal, men by nature are good and noble, and thus, society must return to a state of nature by using reason to rebuild society again.Since society was poisoned, there was no need to care about tradition.The danger was that the revolutionary fervor persuaded citizens that it was simple to demolish and rebuild society as commonplace as it was to speak about it in the salon.

Recommended reading for anyone interested in political philosophy, enlightenment history, and the French Revolution.

A stunning work
No number of stars is enough for this book. The scholarship is amazing, the narrative clear and fascinating from start to finish, the topic more relevant than ever. This book and its predecessor (Radical Enlightenment) are two of the best books I have read in many years, and by far the best on this subject. I am very seldom so enthusiastic about any product. So many books come with the lure of an interesting title or an impressive review, and yet disappoint. Not this one. This was an extremely enjoyable and rewarding read, and a book I shall return to, many times.

Fascinating
Actually, I would give it 4.5/5 but Amazon won't let me.Overall it's a fascinating book.The highlights for me are Israel's comments about Locke and Newton.Certainly in my education, Locke has always been presented as, if not the absolute originator of our liberal notion of tolerance, at least its more important forerunner, and Israel arues convincingly something fellow students and I couldn't articulate well enough: that there is a lot lacking from Locke's notion of toleration.The Newtonian dominance at the time and subsequently; especially when one learns of a thinker developing what sounds like the genesis of the theory of relativity only to be forgotten for 200 years.It's a shame that, at least in Canadian universities, we tend to not even think about Spinoza in terms of political theory, to pick just one example of how Israel shows we have missed a lot of what actually went on.His research seems very thorough and though he repeats himself on a number of occasions (in particular with regard to Spinoza and Balye, whom he seems to adore), the argument is significant and definitely worth your time if you're interested in the history of ideas, like I am.My one problem with the book is a matter of personal politics, as I believe that the 'moderate mainstream' wasn't wholly out to lunch.In any case, it is something that is well worth your time and it would be nice if this argument would have some affect on the odd department. ... Read more

Product Description
The French Revolution created a new cultural world that freed women from the constraints of corporate privilege, aristocratic salons, and patriarchal censorship, even though it failed to grant them legal equality. Women burst into print in unprecedented numbers and became active participants in the great political, ethical, and aesthetic debates that gave birth to our understanding of the individual as a self-creating, self-determining agent. Carla Hesse tells this story, delivering a capacious history of how French women have used writing to create themselves as modern individuals.

Beginning with the marketplace fishwives and salon hostesses whose eloquence shaped French culture low and high and leading us through the accomplishments of Simone de Beauvoir, Hesse shows what it meant to make an independent intellectual life as a woman in France. She offers exquisitely constructed portraits of the work and mental lives of many fascinating women--including both well-known novelists and now-obscure pamphleteers--who put pen to paper during and after the Revolution. We learn how they negotiated control over their work and authorial identity--whether choosing pseudonyms like Georges Sand or forsaking profits to sign their own names. We encounter the extraordinary Louise de Kéralio-Robert, a critically admired historian who re-created herself as a revolutionary novelist. We meet aristocratic women whose literary criticism subjected them to slander as well as writers whose rhetoric cost them not only reputation but marriage, citizenship, and even their heads.

Crucially, their stories reveal how the unequal terms on which women entered the modern era shaped how they wrote and thought. Though women writers and thinkers championed the full range of political and social positions--from royalist to Jacobin, from ultraconservative to fully feminist--they shared common moral perspectives and representational strategies. Unlike the Enlightenment of their male peers, theirs was more skeptical than idealist, more situationalist than universalist. And this alternative project lies at the very heart of modern French letters. ... Read more

Product Description
Throughout time, stories have been used to teach, inspire, entertain and enlighten. Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment is a collection of stories that will allow readers to transform their ability to experience living.

We are all taught how to learn, analyze and improve, yet we have little training in how to simply be. Despite our many advances in technology, there is a gap in our ability to be satisfied, have peace and well-being in ourselves.Being Here uses stories to illustrate a new possibility for approaching life; one that produces well-being and satisfaction, where upsetting events - even death and loss - don't have to affect one's ability to have a brilliant life.

Touching and profound, the stories in Being Here form a practical guide to living a fulfilling life.They address such topics as forgiveness & compassion, following your heart, dissolving upsets and of course, the unlimited possibilities unleashed by Being Here. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

The Best
The Kanes' books are the best, and if you can make it out to one of their workshops, that would be even better.

They are so deeply true to what they teach.What I have gotten from them is unheard of.

Life keeps getting richer and more 3-Dimensional. I am more able to be honest with myself than ever before.More willing to be expressive all the time, and comfortable in my own skin.

My whole-hearted recommendation.

Sweet Simple and Profound Intimate Anecdotes with Lessons for Life
I had been hearing of Ariel and Shya Kane for years. I mean YEARS! Never went to their seminars, workshops, never purchased a book. About a month ago (time is relative, wherever you are), I was shopping around online for some spiritual self-help books, when Being Here popped up during my Amazon search. I read a small bit of information, the intro, etc., and loved the butterfly cover and title. Upon reading the first page, I understood the power and softness of Ariel and Shya Kane, this married couple who always talked about transformation. I used to think they were just another commercial "product", hawking their "wares", but they are the real deal. Thru gracefully written personal experiences, their spiritual and practical insights, Ariel and Shya Kane remove the barriers to personal and inner transformation. Recalling their use of compassionate suggestions tenderly made toward each other's personal growth and awareness, and sometimes surprisingly simple ones, their authentic and honest approach will touch your soul. Read their common everyday stories and find out how! You don't have to take their courses to get what the book is telling you -- but you could! Joy, love and blessings to all!

Warning: Your life will transform during the course of this book
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1AOAPZ02KV9NX The books "Being Here", "Magical Relationships" and "Working on yourself, doesn't work" are simply magical books that are a must buy if you're interested in living a life that's better than anything you have ever experienced before. Their books are a collection of wonderfully written stories about people sharing transformational experiences. The Kanes will share their 3 principles of transformation and show you how you can have your life transformed too without working on yourself. Unlike all other self help books that require you to work hard, their books require you to simply step into the present moment and become self aware. Check out my video to find out just how the Kanes have helped me transform my life. Click the link on Amazon to buy the book and make sure to join us in Cambridge, United Kingdom this summer for their workshop "Money, Success and Happiness" from the 16-18th July 2010. Check out the link for more information [...]

How to Create a Magical Relationship: The 3 Simple Ideas that Will Instantaneously Transform Your Love LifeBeing Here: Modern Day Tales of EnlightenmentWorking on Yourself Doesn't Work: The 3 Simple Ideas That Will Instantaneously Transform Your Life

Stories of Life
This collection of stories, taken from everyday life, touched my heart. A great read to lift your spirits, or to simply treat yourself.

The same authors also wrote Working on Yourself Doesn't Work: The 3 Simple Ideas That Will Instantaneously Transform Your Life and How to Create a Magical Relationship: The 3 Simple Ideas that Will Instantaneously Transform Your Love Life, books full of insight about living in the moment. I have found their advice extremely practical and easy to apply.

I strongly recommend all three books!

A Must!
"Being Here" is a great and enjoyable read for anybody who is searching for themselves, awareness and enlightenment.

The secret seems to be the simplicity of the Kanes' approach. Their simple and light tales both amused me and moved me to tears. They had a deep impact on my life: In this complex world that we live in these days, Ariel and Shya Kane brought me back to what I have forgotten in the struggle of day to day living: Humanity. Bravo!
... Read more

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This classic scripture of Mahayana Buddhism and Zen emphasizes spiritual practice in the midst of secular life. Composed in about the second century CE,The Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra tells the story of a householder named Vimalakirti who lived a worldly life while following the Bodhisattva path. This sutra is particularly applicable to Western students of Buddhism because it teaches that people in the secular life can practice Buddhism as effectively as members of monastic communities. The translator provides an accurate and accessible text complete with explanatory notes and a glossary. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Recommended for Buddhist Studies reference collections
Translated into English and deftly edited for contemporary readers by life-long student of Buddhism Charles Luk, Ordinary Enlightenment: A Translation Of The Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra presents the enduring story of Mahayana Buddhism and Zen, about a householder named Vimalakirti who balances a worldly life with the way of the Bodhisattva. Explanatory notes and a glossary complement this classic, scholarly resource, which is very highly recommended for Buddhist Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists. ... Read more

Product Description
In the history of America's founding, the names of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and other founding, fathers loom large. But few Americans today would recognize the role played by such men as Francis Hutchinson, Adam Smith, Thomas Reid, Dugald Stewart, David Hume, and other philosophers of the Scottish Enlightenment.

In this book, Robert W Galvin, retired Chairman of the Board of Motorola, Inc. and one of America's most respected corporate leaders, reminds us of the fundamental debt that our founding fathers and this nation owe to this extraordinary group of Scottish thinkers. In the Scottish Enlightenment, America's founders themselves found the philosophical underpinnings for a conceived government and defined with the intent to promote economic programs, in commerce, based on private capital means.

Concise and accessible, America's Founding Secret will forever change the way Americans look at their nation's beginnings and will remind us again of the fundamental connection between private enterprise and freedom that remains; at the heart of the American experiment.  ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Very quick overview
There is very little depth or insight in this book. It outlines the important figures of the Scottish Enlightenment and sums up their contributions. I read this after reading Arthur Herman's book on the Scots, so I was disappointed to say the least.

America's Founding Secret
Easy read with insights into some of our founding fathers and their education from Scottish scholars and the "Enlightenment" after many years of poverty and wars in Scotland.A good extension of "How the Scots Invented the Modern World" by Arthur Herman to help understand additional history on why America exists and it's founding principles. One key insight to America is the deliberate plan to foster commercial industry that can enrich the citizens and therefore support a limited government that sets and enforces the rules for that commerce.Individual freedom and the opportunity for prosperity based on intellectual contributions (copyright and patent laws) are fundemental to America and defined in the Constitution.This may be a blend of both books.
Midlander

There are much better titles
I had recently read "How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World & Everything in It" and since I have a fondness for Scotland and its people I purchased the current volume. The book is very short and the writing is a bit disjointed.While many Scottish Englightenment ideas are addressed in the book, the connection to the American founding fathers is not always direct.In such a short book, that lack of attention to the title is distracting.It is a however a quick read and not completely wihtout merit if you are not looking to devote yourself to a heavy tome.

Short Intro To The Scottish Enlightenment/U.S. Connection
Robert W. Galvin is not the most eloquent writer, but his enthusiasm for his subject matter makes up for the excess use of passive voice in America's Founding Secret.The Scottish Enlightenment was a wonderful and exciting period in history and the Scots had a major influence on the Founding Fathers.Galvin enthusiastically and accurately relates this information in a series of short essays.This book would be a good choice to introduce a somewhat reluctant reader to this subject before exposing them to longer works such as Alexander Broadie's The Scottish Enlightenment: The Historical Age of the Historical Nation or Arthur Herman's How The Scots Invented The Modern World.America's Founding Secret is evidence that someone outside of academia can get a charge out of heavy intellectual exercise.If buying/owning/reading a SHORT book bothers you, avoid this book and track down a copy of one of the other books mentioned in this review.If you want a short introduction to the Scottish Enlightenment and its effects on the founding of the United States, I recommend this book.

Avoid this book like the plague
This is the worst book I have ever read. The only enlightenment it brings is in its title. Its irrelevant illustrations, very large type, and slabs of UPPER-CASE text give the impression of a confused and average high school term-paper that has been specifically written for people who move their lips when they read. The book is a complete waste of money; and I found myself constantly checking the title page to reassure myself that it had not been "vanity published" by a some very rich business tycoon. The comments of David Litterick in his review of "The Mark of the Scots: Their Astonishing Contributions to History, Science, Democracy, Literature, and the Arts" are also strongly applicable to this appalling work -- and David Litterick has expressed himself far better than I could (and I would suggest you read his review). It would seem that Galvin, with his constant stress on the importance of American "big business", has tried to write a 21st century version of Hubbard's "A Message to Garcia". ... Read more

Product Description
The ensō is one of the most prevalent images of Zen art, and it has become a kind of symbol of the clean and strong Japanese aesthetic. It has been subject to a rich variety of interpretations—seen as everything from a rice cake to a symbol of infinity. But regardless of how it is understood, the ensō is above all an expression of the mind of the artist who brushes it. It is said that the state of the Zen practitioner can be clearly read in his or her execution of the circle.

Audrey Yoshiko Seo brings together a collection of the best examples of ensō art to show the wonderful variety of the form and its variations, from the seventeenth century to the present, each with facing commentary. The commentary focuses on the meaning of the art and its historical context and provides an analysis of each artist’s technique. Also included are biographies of the artists, many of whom are important Japanese Zen teachers.
 

 
Pages 74–75

 

 
Pages 118–119





Pages 124–125

 


Pages 126–127 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A great guide to the philosophy and beauty of Zen Circles of Enlightenment
As someone who has had a life long interest in Asian martial arts, brush/ink arts, Haiku and Enso(Zen circles), I found this to be an excellent guide to the philosophical aspects of Zen circles.I never realized how many types of circles could be made and all are unique in themselves.The introduction explains the relationship between Zen and the circle.The circle is often used in Zen to teach, enlighten and look into ourselves.Each brush stroke is unique in itself. In conclusion, this is a book anyone who is into Shodo (Japanese Calligraphy) and Enso (Zen circle of enlightenment)will love.Rating: 5 stars.Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Season of the Warrior: a poetic tribute to warriors, Never Trust a Politician, PR-24 Police Baton Advanced Techniques).

Great work!Inspires me to try it!
It is a wonderful teaching illustration of Zen writing and artistic expression throughout history.It is a rich work for those particularly drawn to the Circle whether from the East or West.

Zen Circles
This is an excellent consideration of both the circles and the accompanying texts that are part of the enso experience.There is a perceptive description of each of the monks (and occasionally a nun) who created the ensos selected and an interesting analysis of both the art of the circle and the calligraphy of the individual work he or she created.As an artist I found the material in this book stimulating and productive. ... Read more

Product Description
The eighteenth-century Enlightenment marks the beginning of the modernage, when the scientific method and belief in reason and progress cameto hold sway over the Western world.In thetwentieth century, however, the Enlightenmenthas often been judged harshly for its apparently simplistic optimism. Now a master historian goesback to the sources to give a fully roundedaccount of its true accomplishments. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

essential, but extremely heavy and for scholars
This book is about the education of the intellectuals of the Enlightenment. While it is very interesting to trace how their minds developed - how they mastered and began to question the works of the masters of antiquity in a manner far more daring than the scholars of the Renaissance - it is so encylopediac that it impedes the narrative. In other words, I got bored and literally set it down for years. However, this is the work of a first-rate historian and so may have been too sophisticated for an amateur like me. (I like history, but this guy has READ EVERYTHING in the original, which I cannot.) Once I picked it up again, I did indeed enjoy it. Rather heavy handedly, Gay argues that what they concluded was that Christianity was a fiction and could not be true. Readers should know this. While I am somewhere on the spectrum between atheism and agnosticism, what I interpreted as Gay's atheism is even a bit too much for me.

I learned an immense amount about this period here, perhaps the most pivotal of the modern world. While a bit much, if taken in the right way it is a great guide to many of the debates that continue to this day and that originated with these intellectuals. However, I look forward to reading the next book, which is about what they did in a practical institutional sense rather than what and how they thought (covered by this first volume).

Recommended, but it is serious scholarly study rather than vacation reading!

i have read dozens of books on the enligtenment, but
I always knew i needed to read this foundational volume from the last generation, although i am a strong Christian traditionalist opponent of the so-called enlightenment.

I was surprised by how fair Prof. Gay was in deftly criticizing the philosophes, with whom he obviously agreed.He agrees that they have a specticism which amounts to a dogmatic religion.It is easy to be a critic, but most critics of pre and post enlightenment have no idea of the loving essence of Christianiy, merely cynically attacking clericalism.I love and will use Gay's phrase on p. 145, that the philosophes and their contemporary disciples are "secular fideists."I am glad that Gay shows how Jefferson and Franklin were influenced by one of the most radical pre-philosophes, Pierre Bayle.Some of Gay's best chapters concern how the clerics of the enlightenment, the treason of the clerics, were either asleep, or gave too much credit to their enemies.Gay concludes that "those who are amused are already half converted," so opponents of the enlightenment need to be amusing, as well as having a content which shows how negatively devastating the so called enlightenment has been to Western and American culture."

Where to Begin Your Study of the Enlightenment
Two volumes in one, originally published in 1966 (The Appeal to Antiquity; The Tension with Christianity), these works combined in one volume are fundamental to any study of the the XVIIIth century and the Enlightenment.

There is one conspicuous and paradoxical omission. In more than 555 pages of text, notes and bibliography, professor Gay mentions Freemasonry only once - in citing the title of Lessing's masonic dialogue. The book is strewn with names of famous men long known to have been Masons without any attempt to show the contacts between them that the fraternity is known to facilitated. This serious flaw, by a Yale professor of history, has been corrected by Jacobs in her several books on Freemasonry and 18th century society. For a good start, see: Living the Enlightenment: Freemasonry and Politics in Eighteenth-Century Europe.

This inexplicable omission obscures the ubiquitous presence and impact Freemasonry had on XVIIIth century societies, forms of government as well as intellectual discourse and exchange. One example of how ignorance of Freemasonry's presence in eighteenth century affairs distorts an historical interpretation is found in Prof. Gay's labeling of Voltaire as an atheist. No atheist can be made a Mason. Three months before his death,Voltaire was initiated in the presence of Benjamin Franklin, at the Lodge of the Nine Sisters in Paris, on February 7, 1778.

Finally, a word of caution about the various exposés or monitors one may find about Freemasonry, whether online or in bookstores. Differences from jurisdiction to jurisdiction (Grand Lodge to Grand Lodge) and over time result in discrepancies in ritual wording and practice. As one who has examined visitors Masonically, I can tell you that even if one has read exposés, he will not be able to accurately perform convincingly unless he has actually been initiated. It simply is not possible to "crash" a Masonic meeting. Also, as the variety of books above attest, no one person speaks for Freemasonry.

Furthermore, even if one possesses an accurate monitor (to say nothing of the dangers of relying on a masonic cipher), the experience of the ritual is not the same as reading about it. Imagine the experiential difference between eating a cake and reading a recipe!

Breaking the "sacred circle"
Before I read The Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Paganism and The Enlightenment: The Science of Freedom by Peter Gay, I had no idea that one could study the history of intellectual thought, even though I had read and studied almost all of the authors he discusses in detail in these seminal books.

Gay argues that there was in fact an Enlightenment (an issue hotly debated during my college years). The essential elements -- convergent rationalism, critical skepticism and anticlericalism -- created modern Western thought. Gay writes brilliantly, with great clarity, and his analyses of ancient and modern thinkers provided me with a number of important insights that my teachers and I had missed when reading the originals. Gay's bibliography is particularly illuminating.

Gay discusses the Greek and Roman philosophers in his first volume, and argues that thinkers of the Enlightment agreed wholeheartedly with Gibbons:

"If a man were called to fix the period in the history of the world, during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus."

At the same time, Gay is blunt in his judgments:

"History has been far from gentle with its hopes and predictions. The world has not turned out the way the philosophers wished, and half expected it would. Old fanaticisms have been more intractable, irrational forces more inventive than the philosophers were ready to conjecture.... Problems of race, of class of nationalism, or boredom and despair in the midst of plenty have emerged, almost in defiance of the philosopher's philosophy. We have known horrors, and may know horrors, that the men of the Enlightenment, did not see in their nightmares."

Gay does not, however, trace out the consequences of these philosophies but instead focuses on the study of the ideas themselves, and in particular the revolt of the philosophers against Chrisitanity and their return to classical (i.e. pagan) and secular thought.

Gay communicates the sense of excitement the men of the Enlightenment shared, a sense of adventure and daring. They were aware they were breaking with a thousand year old tradition with a great deal at stake.

I wished Gay had covered more ground in these two volumes; his modern Enlightment is limited to England, France and Germany in large measure, and ignores some intellectual leaders even in those countries like Gustavus of Sweden and Joseph of the Holy Roman Empire. In particular I would have liked to read his analysis of how the Enlightenment played out in the American colonies.

Nevertheless, this a splendid history, beautifully written, a truly exciting intellectual journey.

2009 Addendum

Peter Gay has been an important intellectual historian during my adult reading life. His "Enlightenment" reinforced and greatly enhanced my two years in college participating in the Integrated Liberal Studies program.

In the 1980s I was fascinated by Freud: A Life for Our Time, which was based primarily on original sources.

In the 1990s I browsed with great pleasure (but never studied seriously his five-volume "The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud."

I found his memoir, My German Question: Growing Up in Nazi Berlin, compelling and enlightening, and browsed with pleasure through Modernism: The Lure of Heresy, a survey of modernism in prose and poetry, music and dance, architecture and design, drama and the movies.

I feel very lucky to have had access to his works over these many years.

Robert C. Ross 1970 2009

Note: One of twelve NY Times "Editors' Choice" books for 1969; see first Comment.

Balanced and Erudite
Gay apparently spent several years on this book, and it shows in a work or painstaking and dramatic erudition. He provides, and clearly grasps, the context of the Enlightenment. To provide context in time he discusses the fall of classical paganism and the eclipse of reason in the Christian period. He covers the modes of thinking that arose during the Middle Ages and the elements of classical reason and creativity which are now increasingly accepted to have obtained during this traditionally dark episode of European history. He works through the rise of reason that had already started to occur with the Renaissance and on which the Enlightenment was built, indicating that the courage of the Enlightenment's revolution was not as visceral as it is sometimes portrayed; in effect, the Enlightenment philosophes were both surfing and fanning a wave whose relentless motion had already started, with the Church playing Canute before them.

To provide context in place he works through the sometimes startlingly bitter conflict in which the philosophes saw themselves as being engaged, a conflict for no less than the hearts and minds of all Western civilisation. They saw themselves, make no mistake, as in a struggle for survival with Christianity.

Here Gay is in my opinion almost too scrupulous, since he makes clear that the philosophes fought a tiger whose teeth were already falling out and thereby diminishes their courage, while at the same time impugning their fairness. Executions for blasphemy were not unknown in their Europe, but in practical effect the philosophes, and certainly the late philosophes, were not really in danger of their lives. For purely partisan reasons this almost leads me to dock a star off my rating, since this was a battle which had to be fought and from which we have all benefitted, while at the same time even now the beast of unreason stirs fitfully. Gay's philosophes were irascible, cantankerous and utterly combative, and regardedtheir battle too sententiously to be appealing as individuals. (Apart from the relentlessly cheerful Hume.) In fact, they remind me eerily of Richard Dawkins, which seems fittingly non-coincidental since he continues their battle.

As Gay indicates, this was the rise of modern paganism. Not the invention of paganism. Not the invention of reason. The Greeks and the Romans were there first. Not the invention of the social contract, nor the rights of man, nor the scientific method, nor the republic. All these grew from seeds already sown. What it was, instead, was the restoration and the ascendancy of these concepts. While we do not owe many concepts of Enlightenment thought fully to the originality of thephilosophes of the Enlightenment, we owe it to them that these concepts and values have become so unquestioned a part of our world that the primacy of reason is barely noticed for the historical anomaly it is. This is no small debt.

Gay's work is of startling and prodigious erudition. It took me two tries to read it, the first time being unprepared for such a wealth of historical detail. On the second try, more widely read, I devoured the book with joy. Gay is fair, in my opinion sometimes too fair, and he gives the Christian adversaries of the Enlightenment much credit for reasonableness and for greater intellectual sophistication than the philosophes alleged. This made it all the more worth reading, since it forced me to justify my own parallel tendency to the same simplifications. At the same time he paints a more nuanced picture of the aggressive and sometimes devious nature of the philosophes than is customary. My distaste for the establishment tormentors remains undiminished but perhaps more subtly coloured. Gay's fairness is a challenge, and a greatly rewarding one at that. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (5)

A Nightstand Staple
I've had a rough couple of weeks...feeling a bit chewed up and knocked around. I found this little gem in the middle of my despair, and it lifted my spirits as only a dog's soft paw can do. The Lazy Dog's Guide to Enlightenment has blessed me with its simple and profound wisdom. Its pages bring me oh-so-close to the beautiful clarity of canine consciousness. I can only strive to be as evolved as my dog. I highly recommend it as a daily inspirational.

The Lazy Dog's Guide to Enlightment
This is one of those cute little books that is a good gift for dog lovers instead of giving them a greeting card. When I bought it I was thinking of a gift so I was happy with the book.

A New Classic of Dog Wisdom
This is a classic epic of dog wisdom to be read repeatedly and passed along to the next generation. Dogs hold the key to balance and their message is offered with unconditional love. The photography is stellar, and the authors offer gold nuggets of enlightenment.It is the perfect gift for any dog lover!

loved this book


this book has wonderful canine wisdom to share,and it is funny,
and i am going to recommend it to ALL my dog loving friends!!!

Big smile!
I wore a big grin the whole time as I read this charming little book.The fundamental and, until now, unrevealed truth of its message -- that our dogs are truly enlightened and we can learn much from them -- is what makes this book so witty and delightful.The artistry of the dog photos is worth noting. I kept going back to admire the variety of pooches pictured.I kept smiling....and contemplating.... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

My favorite book of all time . . . honest!
This book was published over ten years ago and yet, as I write this, it has gotten only two reviews here on Amazon. It deserves far better than that, although I respect and agree with the reviews that precede this. But let me say a bit more.

The 19th century was a pivotal time, especially in the field of religion, spirituality, and inner experience. The beginnings of anthropology and the theories of Darwin threw conventional religion for a loop and induced many seekers to pursue the twilight zones of Spiritualism, the Occult, Theosophy, and Magic. Godwin takes the reader on a tour of the highways and byways of this milieu and does so in a delightfully droll manner. We are introduced to a marvelous cast of eccentric thinkers -- including those who were inclined to think that all religion could be traced back to "worship of the generative organs" as the Victorians put it.

Despite all my reading about the 19th century occult revival, I don't think I ever really got a handle on it in its totality until I read Godwin's book. I've found it invaluable ever since. In fact, I pull this book off the shelf every year or two and read it through again -- finding new things every time.

Were I forced to choose ten "desert island books" to take with me, this would head my list. No doubt this is not true for everyone, but if the names of Godfrey Higgins, Bulwer Lytton, Anna Kingsford, Emma Hardinge Britten, Madame Blavatsky, or Cagliostro ring a bell, then this is the book for you.

A History of Occult Ideas and Personalities
Godwin's work is vital for those who truly wish to understandAnglo-speaking occultism. While the book claims that the TheosophicalMovement is more influenced by the skeptical Enlightenment, I do not findthe evidence for that point compelling, since for Godwin what he means by"the Enlightenment" is really anti-Christian resentment.Thebook should be read as a history of occult ideas in the 18th and 19thcenturies of Britain and America, not as a judge on the TheosophicalMovement as a whole. As a history of that subject, it is wonderful, and noother books like it exist.

A unique work on an important topic
This is an as yet unequalled study on an aspect of the cultural history of the West (and in particular of the English-speaking world) which has up to now been under-rated. The so-called occult, despite its important place inthe dynamics of cultural interaction, has not been granted its proper placein history, not so much because of any particular "conspiracy"but rather due - paradoxically - to a "Victorian" view by which"history" is mainly or exclusively limited to political, militaryand economic problems. The early aspects of the impact of the Theosophicalmovement on Anglo-American culture have been documented here, and it is tobe hoped that it will stimulate other researchers to explore thismany-faceted topic. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the incredible story of Tenzin Palmo, a remarkable woman who spent 12 years alone in a cave 13,000 feet up in the Himalayas.

At the age of 20, Diane Perry, looking to fill a void in her life, entered a monastery in India--the only woman amongst hundreds of monks---and began her battle against the prejudice that had excluded women from enlightenment for thousands of years.

Thirteen years later, Diane Perry a.k.a. Tenzin Palmo secluded herself in a remote cave 13,000 feet up in the Himalayas, where she stayed for twelve years. In her mountain retreat, she face unimaginable cold, wild animals, floods, snow and rockfalls, grew her own food and slept in a traditional wooden meditation box, three feet square. She never lay down.

Tenzin emerged from the cave with a determination to build a convent in northern India to revive the Togdenma lineage, a long-forgotten female spiritual elite. She has traveled around the world to find support for her cause, meeting with spiritual leaders from the Pope to Desmond Tutu. She agreed to tell her story only to Vicky Mackenzie and a portion of the royalties from this book will help towards the completion of her convent.Amazon.com Review
It sounds like a legend out of medieval Tibet: the ascetic wholeaves home to join the Buddhist order, then spends 12 years in acave, 15 hours a day in a meditation box. This is no legend, but youcould call Tenzin Palmo legendary in her single-minded pursuit ofhigher realizations. From the East End of London to halfway up theHimalayas, she is now back in society, attempting to pull medievalTibetan Buddhism into the modern era--women's rights and all.Asbiographer Vickie Mackenzie says by way of background, a group ofelite women practitioners called "Togdemnas" still existed justdecades ago. Tenzin Palmo, having studied with her male counterparts,is now canvassing the planet, welcoming women into full participationin Tibetan Buddhism and building support for an academy of Togdemnasthat she plans to establish in the Himalayas. Mackenzie helps raiseawareness for women's roles in Tibetan Buddhism by going into somedetail about obstacles still faced by women as well as heroines whohave overcome those obstacles, such as Yeshe Tsogyel (Sky Dancer) andMachig Lapdron, a mother who started her own lineage. If Mackenzie hasit her way, it won't be long before Tenzin Palmo joins that list ofheroines.--Brian Bruya ... Read more

Customer Reviews (35)

More hagiography than biography
Tenzin Palmo's story is certainly an inspiring one - a great accomplishment for any Westerner and all the more so for a woman, alone in Asia (where women, generally, are not quite so well-respected as in many Western countries - to understate the matter). Palmo has undoubtedly blazed a trail for women Buddhists looking for an example to follow, and for this she is to be commended.

This book, on the other hand, has little to recommend it but Tenzin Palmo herself. As others have noted, it is really quite terribly written and is in need of a very talented copy editor - rather inexplicable grammatical errors and typos abound througout the book. I also thought the whole weight and organization of it by Mackenzie was a little off: I agree that the excessive emphasis on Palmo's early romantic encounters are a bit over the top and do reek of Mackenzie trying to prove that Palmo could have been a good household woman but had to renounce all that instead, as if trying to aggrandize an already pretty incredible story.

I also have to take issue with what others have noted, that Tenzin Palmo did not live in a 'cave.' Ihad always wondered how this could be possible through the Himalayan winters, only to read on and discover that one wall was constituted by a mountain face, the rest of her retreat was a small hut with windows and big walls and a stove that she and her helpers built... this doesn't really detract from her incredible efforts (don't get me wrong, I would never go do what she did, hut or not hut) but it seems a dishonest title and just plain inaccurate if nothing else. The book also spends a huge amount of time on Palmo's pre- and post-'cave' activities but very little on the 12 whole years she spends there meditating.

Before I continue this daitribe, let me again stress that I am deeply impressed in many ways by what Tenzin Palmo accomplished and in particular her serving as a role model for female Buddhists, of which there are precious few...

But even in this capacity her 'attainments' seem a little dubious. Her first teacher was Chogyam Trungpa, whose legacy is enough to make anyone wince a little. As for Palmo herself, allegedly meditating to cultivate great compassion for all beings (among other things of course), she receives the news that her mother is dying of cancer during her all-important 3-year retreat, and doesn't deign to go be by her side. Consequently her mother dies without saying goodbye to her only child, which Palmo later admits ise of the biggest regrets of her life (unsurprisingly!). Perhaps the compassion training wasn't going all that well... More distressing is her behavior after she finally leaves India (incidentally, like so many of us who get wrapped up in Asia, she didn't bother to keep her visas in order --- after skipping her mother's slow death to not break her retreat, in the end a petty customs official ruins it all to come kick her out of the country!) Leaving the Himalayas, she decides to 'chill out' in Italy, at the expense of some admirers, where she quickly gets hooked on espresso and tiramisu... I dunno, I love both those things as much as the next guy, but is this really the conduct of an enlightened, or halfway-to-enlightenment perhaps, kind of being? The whole relevance and efficacy of such a long and arduous retreat seems to be called into question when the results are so... well, ambiguous, to say the least!

The final fault here is Mackenzie's constantly fawning tone throughout the book - Palmo is clearly the big sister she never had... hence my title for this review:Mackenzie seems more to be recommending Palmo for sainthood than telling a life story.

Interesting but deeply flawed; give it a read though if you're interested in high mountain retreats and some of the first Westerners to get involved in Tibetan Buddhism.

I was amazed at this woman mental strenght
this woman's book impressed me a lot. I was amazed at what I was reading. However I wished she would have revealed more information on what happened to her during meditation in all those years she spent in the cave. I understand she is not allowed to reveal that information because of her religion, however, there are many movies and documentaries out there that do reveal some information on what happens during meditation. so I wished she would have revealed that information. I also am very disappointed with her that she discriminates against western women who want to come and study at her monastery. she only wants Asian women there. this is very discriminatory.

Fine Reading for a Start
Anything worth doing is worth doing well...Tenzin Palmo's spiritual journey is extraordinary in that she invests all she has into it with a passion and intensity that is worth applause. However, this whole business of 'enlightened' she is after is what makes me squirm in my seat. If, as she says, enlightenment is nothing out of the ordinary then what is the great desire for it? Just be. One of the Togdens put it very well when he told Ms Palmo that there is nothing that they(the Togdens) knew that she did not, except that "we practice it"!

I am also wondering whatever happened to the madhyamika (middle) path that the Buddh (the missing 'a' at the end is not a typo but deliberate - it leads to the universal mispronunciation Buddhaa) advised? At the end I was left wondering if the austerities were indeed necessary, let alone warranted? Again, it is one person's journey, one human's endeavor and she has the right to go about it any way she wishes to...interesting read though.

Powerful story, powerful woman!!
This true story is extremely well written, I love the authors style of prose. Clearly, Tenzin Palmo (heretofore referred to as T.P.) is certainly a force to be reckoned with.While the external story of T.P. was captivating and inspiring - I couldn't do for a month what she did for many years; what I had hoped to find were her insights, what did she discover on the internal journey?Unfortunately when pressed to express her truths T.P. responded with a nonchalant "it's too private" sort of response.This is the part of the story that blows my mind: Some of the major themes of Buddhism are love and compassion, well where is the compassion in withholding one's internal discoveries, the candid discussion of which might assist others in overcoming their own illusions?Also, if Buddhists are so "enlightened" how have they been able to ignore/dominate/exclude their mothers/sisters/daughters for so long?My hope is that T.P. and Vicki Mackenzie will sit down and articulate the internal story of T.P.'s path, the subtleties of mind and illusions she explored and overcame - or didn't overcome.That's where the treasures are!Should have been 5 stars, but in good conscience I can only give 4.

True Tale of a Bodhisattva-to-Be
In 1961, a 21 year-old English girl named Diane Perry embarked on an extraordinary journey towards becoming only the second Western woman ever ordained as a Buddhist nun. Adopting the Tibetan name Tenzin Palmo, this young Cockney girl, daughter of a poor single mother working as a cleaning woman in south London, went on to transform herself into a cross-cultural spiritual pioneer, devoting her next 20 years to steeping herself in the rarefied higher teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, and bridging enormous barriers of culture and gender to pursue a deeply felt spiritual calling.

For most of the next two decades, Palmo lived among the exiled Tibetan monastic communities in India, at one point spending twelve years - yes, that's twelve years - in solitary retreat in a Himalayan cave. Since then, she has become a leading advocate for women in Buddhism, and a widely respected teacher leading Buddhist meditation retreats worldwide and working towards completing her convent for Tibetan nuns.

In the years since her long Himalayan solitude, Palmo has also taken a solemn vow - one that non-Buddhists may find outlandish, but that Palmo herself undoubtedly takes quite seriously - to dedicate her current and future lifetimes (as Tibetan Buddhists believe) towards attaining enlightenment in the female form, transforming herself into a full-fledged female bodhisattva.

Mackenzie, a former Times of London journalist, has written a captivating account of this remarkable woman�s life, including fascinating vignettes about her early encounters with Tibetan luminaries such as the great meditation master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a young Dalai Lama, and her lifelong teacher and guru Kamtrul Rinpoche, who recognized her immediately upon their first meeting as a reincarnated Tibetan lama in the Kargyu tradition.

A reluctant biography subject (agreeing to the project only after much heartfelt persuading by Mackenzie, an unabashed admirer), Palmo comes across as a deeply humble, holy figure, possessed of a profound inner wisdom and much practical sense.

This book is that rare find of a biography, in which we meet a remarkable but hitherto uncelebrated figure, whose life story provides an object lesson in moral virtue and grace.

I would recommend this book to men, women, Buddhists, non-Buddhists, and others.
... Read more

Product Description
World-renowned Buddhist teacher Roshi Kapleau brings a new introduction to his twenty-five-year-old classic. Useful to both initiates and long-term disciples alike, the comprehensive guide is an overview of the profundities of Buddha. (Philosophy) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (52)

Great
If you're interested in Zen, read this.You might like it.I certainly found it very inspirational and put me on a path I didn't know what there.It's clear language and fun to read.Kaplau has done a nice job of de-mystifying the mystical orient for us dudes.If you are not interested Zen, or are looking for something that might confirm your ideas of what you think Zen is, don't read it.You may not like it.That's pretty much all there is to it.

Finally: clarity
Five stars for a number of reasons: 1) This book has proven to be the most useful and clear read I've had on the subject.2) Terms are clearly defined, and should one slip your mind, the glossary is easy to use and does not waste time or focus with unnecessary jargon or editorial comments.3) Although I wouldn't call the book concise, the repetitive nature of some sections actually helped me to retain and recall difficult concepts.4) There is enough of a nod towards Western practitioners to make things easier to digest.

Now the drawbacks: 1) The aforementioned repetitiveness can sometimes bog down the read.2) Some scholars or etc. contradict the statements made previously by others in the book (which really shouldn'tsurprise the readers of Zen).3) I found the first-hand accounts of achieved kensho by contemporary practitioners to be less than inspiring.Actually, I was left with the feeling that some were more invested in the euphoric experiences/results of said accomplishment than in the investment of equanimity in the continued pursuit of zazen.Call me crazy, but it lends the whole process an air of the same old "pie in the sky" desires.

Still, yes, I recommend this book wholeheartedly, especially for those who are new to Zen (or Buddhism or meditation in general) or have been utterly stumped for a while now.This book is a great gateway "drug" because you'll find yourself well equipped to traverse the territories of more difficult books on the subject.

Outstanding Edition
I really enjoyed this book.It gave me some very basic insight into Zen Buddhism.I am a practicing Nichiren Buddhist but am interested in increasing my knowledge about other Buddhist schools.If you are interested in gaining more information regarding on the world's largest Buddhist schools, then this book might fill the bill for you.

great book
i really liked this book... well ballanced between elemets. liked the inclusion of a glossary as well.

If we could only take one book on Zen to a new civilisation...
This is it!
~
The accounts of enlightenment experiences are particularly inspiring and useful.

Kensho is definitely attainable in this lifetime. Moroever, satori is the birthright of every human being.

It's not some badge to be gained - it's an essential for human beings to live contentedly, peacefully, intelligently, and ethically. To find one's true home, to see the true relationship between Being and 'objects', and to know with certainty the interconnectedness of all things and the inalienable dignity of all beings, respectively.

In speaking about it, it's great to retain the wonder, because this helps draw people to the dharma.

However, all this speaking in hushed tones about the unattainable loftiness of enlightenment - the Tibetans, with their 'high teachings' and 'secret instructions' are often the worst offenders - is only hiding water from a man dying of thirst.

Anyone who really WANTS to attain enlightenment, who maintains a high level of pure (ethical) intention and action, practices diligently (even if that can only be in short intense bursts) and gets the right guidance, will definitely "see the ox", "enter the stream" - and quite possibly in this lifetime.

The rest flows on inevitably.

Zen is by far the tradition that most arises out of this orientation, and it's a welcome balance to other traditions in this respect.

[Speaking of the Tibetans!: Rainbow Painting (Urgyen Tulku), Primordial Experience: an introduction to rDzogs-Chen Meditation (Norbu), Self-Liberation Through Seeing with Naked Awareness (Reynolds & Norbu), and Flight of the Garuda (Dowman) are all recommended. For something that is not as precision-oriented in its expression but has more of the personal flavour of oral instructions, go for The Great Seal:Limitless Space and Joy (Nydahl).] ... Read more

Product Description
Death and the Enlightenment is an unusual survey of the daily rituals, customs, and attitudes surrounding death and dying in 18th-century France.Focusing on the tension between the faithful and the growing ranks of unbelievers bred on Enlightenment philosophy, McManners charts the course of pestilence and plague, and examines the terrible fears connected with childbirth, disease, disfigurement, mortality, and the hereafter.He also examines suicide, public execution, and the rites surrounding the deathbed, and demonstrates how the period's ever-present concern with death and dying was transformed into the Romantic cult of melancholy that occupied the creative imagination of generations to come. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

fantastic
This is a fantastic book from a REAL Buddhist. Written by a man who has studied under some of the great teachers of his time, he cuts away all the weeds of confusion and leaves a beautiful flower intact. ... Read more