THE INNER SCIENCE OF BUDDHIST PRACTICE: Vasubandhu's Summary of the Five Heaps with Commentary by Sthiramati
commentary by Sthiramati, introduced and translated by Artemus B. Engle

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July, 2009      155939322X, 9781559393225
472 pages
#INSCBU    $34.95 cloth    Special Sale! $27.96

The Inner Science of Buddhist Practice contains translations of texts by two historically important Indian buddhist scholars: Vasubhandhu's Summary of the Five Heaps and Sthiramati's commentary on Vasubandhu's root text. The subject matter is the traditional Buddhist analysis of ordinary experience. These two works provide rich resources for a bridge connecting classical Buddhist and Western interpretations for the study of the psychology of spiritual development.

Engle's lengthy introduction explores how the material contained in the two translations can improve practice of the Tibetan teaching system known as Lamrim, or "Stages of the Path." Each of the three divisions of the Lamrim teaching is examined in an effort to demonstrate how an understanding of such doctrines as the five "heaps," or experiential constituents, can bring a deeper conviction regarding that portion of the instruction.

Artemus B. Engle has studied Tibetan Buddhism for more than thirty-five years. He is currently a fellow at the Tsadra Foundation. He lives in New Jersey.

CHÖD PRACTICE IN THE BON TRADITION
by Alejandro Chaoul, foreword by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

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July, 2009      1559392924, 9781559392921
118 pages, 12 b&w photographs
#CHPRBO    $18.95 paper    Special Sale! $15.16

This book is the first to trace the history of Chöd practice in Tibet's indigenous Bön tradition. Chod ("cutting through") is a meditative practice in which the practitioner imagines offering his or her body in sacrifice through elaborate contemplative visualization. Although a meditative practice, Chod is not done sitting comfortably on a cushion in a shrine room, but instead is often practiced in terrifying places like cemeteries or charnel grounds. The feelings of fear that result are used by the Chod practitioner to "cut through" his or her own ego. Chod contains elements of early shamanism, of sutric and tantric teachings also found in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, and of the Tibetan highest school of Dzogchen.

"In the last few years the interest in chod has suddenly re-emerged, and a few books have been written about it from the Buddhist perspective. Chaoul's work on chod from the Bon's perspective could not be more timely. His thorough analysis of this syncretic and fascinating religious practice and the use of the metaphor of cutting as a way to go beyond assumed boundaries, provides a broader picture of chod and sheds light on the interrelation of Buddhism and Bon."—Giacomella Orofino, University of Naples

Alejandro Chaoul obtained his Ph.D. at Rice University and has also completed the seven-year program at the Ligmincha Institute for the study of the Bon-Buddhist tradition of Tibet. He is currently Assistant Professor at the John McGovern Center for Health, Humanities and the Human Spirit in University of Texas Medical School at Houston, where he teaches meditation and yoga to patients. He lives in Houston, Texas.

AMY & GULLY WITH ALIENS
by W. W. Rowe

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September, 2009      1559393289, 9781559393287
84 pages, 10 b&w illustrations
#AMGUAL    $6.95 paper    Special Sale! $5.56

In this adventure story, two kids are beamed aboard an alien spacecraft. Amy and Gully manage to outwit their captors—only to realize that they may have made things worse.

But appearances prove deceptive. Soon they are given interactive "tests" involving a magical movie screen. The story they see resembles the life of Siddhartha (the young Prince who eventually became the Buddha). Eventually, Amy and Gully discover that they are able to enter the magic screen and participate in the "movie" itself! The kids even meet and aid the enlightened Prince in a dangerous but humorous episode. Amy and Gully learn about the interconnectedness of all life, selfless compassion, and the power of pure intention. This is an independent sequel to Amy and Gully in Rainbowland.

Praise for Amy and Gully in Rainbowland:

This captivating book reads like a thriller."—Mindful Parenting

W. W. Rowe is the author of seven books about Russian literature and numerous children's stories. He lives in Sedona, Arizona with his wife Eleanor and their imperious dachshund, Princess Ozma.

TRANSCENDENT WISDOM
by The Dalai Lama, translated, edited and annotated by B. Alan Wallace

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September, 2009      1559393297, 9781559393294
144 pages
#TRWI2E    $16.95 paper    Special Sale! $13.56

New Revised Edition!

This extraordinarily clear exposition on the wisdom section of the Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life is based on an oral teaching given in India by His Holiness the Dalai Lama before an audience of thousands of Tibetans and Westerners in 1979.

Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life is one of the most important texts in the Mahayana tradition of Buddhist practice. Its ninth chapter, the section on transcendent wisdom, is known among Buddhist scholars as a challenging exposition of Madhyamika philosophy, difficult to understand without a commentary. This invaluable volume, with its precise elucidation of core issues of Tibetan Buddhism, stands as a key work in Buddhist literature.

"In this book we have the Dalai Lama at full strength...a profound work."—Parabola

Tenzin Gyatso was born in Amdo, Tibet in 1935 and was recognized as the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet. Since the Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1959, he has served as head of the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. Today he is known the world over as a great spiritual teacher and a tireless worker for peace.

B. Alan Wallace has taught Buddhist meditation since 1976. Having devoted fourteen years to training as a Tibetan Buddhist monk, ordained by H.H. the Dalai Lama, he went on to earn an undergraduate degree in physics and the philosophy of science at Amherst College and a doctorate in religious studies at Stanford University. He is the founder and president of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies.

ENTRANCE TO THE GREAT PERFECTION: A Guide to the Dzogchen Preliminaries
by Jigmé Lingpa, compiled, translated, and edited by Cortland Dahl

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October, 2009      1559393394, 9781559393393
260 pages
#ENGRPE    $29.95 cloth    Special Sale! $23.96

Entrance to the Great Perfection: A Guide to the Dzogchen Preliminaries serves as an accessible introduction to the history and practices of the Great Perfection, one of the most profound systems of meditation in Tibet. In addition to providing background information on the origins and development of this tradition, Entrance to the Great Perfection also offers practical guidance on its so-called "preliminary practices."

Unlike most works on Tibetan Buddhism, which tend to offer either traditional teachings or a modern perspective on Buddhist practice, this work blends these two perspectives. It includes a classic commentary on the preliminary practices by the eighteenth-century Tibetan saint Jigmé Lingpa and a lively contemporary discussion by filmmaker, author, and renowned spiritual teacher Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentsé which approaches these practices from a modern perspective, discussing how to incorporate them into the fast-paced lifestyle of the Western world. In addition, a lengthy introduction introduces the reader to the world of Tibetan Buddhism and its meditative practices.

"In this inspiring book, with Jikmé Lingpa's original work alongside Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche's brilliant and practical guide, we have a perfect blend of ancient and modern, offering us nothing less than a path to enlightenment."—Sogyal Rinpoche

Jigme Lingpa was one of the great saints of eighteenth-century Tibet.

Cortland Dahl Cortland Dahl graduated from Naropa University in 2000 with a Master's degree in Buddhist Studies and Tibetan language. Since that time, he has worked as an instructor at Kathmandu University's Center for Buddhist Studies, a translator at the Nitartha Institute, and as interpreter for various lamas. He currently works as director of the Rimé Foundation (www.rimefoundation.org), which he founded in 2004, and as co-director of Tergar International (www.tergar.org), under the direction of Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. Cortland is also a member of the Nitartha Translation Network and has worked extensively with the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Other published works include Great Perfection, Volumes I & II.

Cortland lives with his wife Tenzin and little boy Sangye, dividing his time between Kathmandu, Nepal, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Bodhgaya, India.

HEART ESSENCE OF THE VAST EXPANSE: A Story of Transmission
by Anne Carolyn Klein

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October, 2009      1559392835, 9781559392839
231 pages, 96 color photographs, 32 line drawings, with accompanying CD
#HEESVA    $32.95 Cloth    Special Sale! $26.36

This book is for anyone who appreciates the splendor of landscape, the beauty of spiritual music, anyone with an anthropologist's eye for other cultures, and especially for Western practitioners of Buddhism, members of the large community that takes "Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse" as central to its practice. Tibetan tradition lives through the performance of its religious texts—transmission through songs, images, and words. This book offers elements of all three, and is designed as a beautiful gift for the mind, the eye, the ear, and above all, the heart.

The first-ever chantable English translation of one of the most beloved and widely used of practice texts, this multimedia edition also provides a CD of the chanted text and a selection of rare photographs of sacred sites in Tibet. The vocalist, Jetsun Kacho Wangmo, is a Tibetan Buddhist teacher and singer.

Anne Carolyn Klein, author of Unbounded Wholeness, is professor of religious studies at Rice University. She lives in Houston.

INTRODUCTION TO EMPTINESS: As Taught in Tsong-kha-pa's Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path
by Guy Newland

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October, 2009      1559393327, 9781559393324
144 pages
#INEMRE    $14.95 paper    Special Sale! $11.96

New Revised Edition!

Readers are hard-pressed to find books that can help them understand the central concept in Mahayana Buddhism—the idea that ultimate reality is "emptiness." In clear language, Introduction to Emptiness explains that emptiness is not a mystical sort of "nothingness," but a specific truth that can and must be understood through calm and careful reflection.

Newland's contemporary examples and vivid anecdotes will help readers understand this core concept as presented in one of the great classic texts of the Tibetan Tradition, Tsong-kha-pa's Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. This new edition includes quintessential points for each chapter.

"Written with illumination from a terrific scholar."—Jeffrey Hopkins, author of A Truthful Heart and translator of How to See Yourself as You Really Are and Becoming Enlightened by H.H. the Dalai Lama

"This magnificent, readable, and thoroughly engaging work is a modern classic in the making."—Anne Carolyn Klein, author of Unbounded Wholeness and Meeting the Great Bliss Queen

"Introduction to Emptiness is a marvelously clear, marvelously precise exposition of Tsong-kha-pa's understanding of emptiness and of the two truths as presented by Nagarjuna and Chandrakirti.... While the exposition is rich in technical detail and textual reference...it is absolutely accessible to the beginning student. It will be required reading in my Buddhist philosophy courses."—Jay L. Garfield, author of Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way

"Understanding emptiness is the key to the most important aspects of Buddhism—wisdom, compassion, tantra—but is difficult to teach. Guy Newland has drawn on long experience with college students to write a short but rich and pithy guide to emptiness that brims with common sense and apt examples. Anyone interested in Buddhism would benefit from reading it."—Daniel Cozort, author of Buddhist Philosophy and Highest Yoga Tantra

"Introduction to Emptiness is an open-armed invitation into an important and all-too-often forbidding realm of study."—Andrew Merz, Tricycle

Guy Newland is Professor of Religion and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Central Michigan University. He is an editor of the three-volume translation Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment.

THE COURAGE TO FEEL: Buddhist Practices for Opening to Others
by Rob Preece

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November, 2009      1559393335, 9781559393331
160 pages
#COFEBU    $14.95 paper    Special Sale! $11.96

When circumstances are challenging, how do we react? This book offers methods to help us develop greater inner strength and openness to life by changing the habit of what Rob Preece calls "self-preoccupation"—the tendency to act from a narrow perspective dominated by insecurity and isolation. When we learn to look outside this mentality and truly cherish others as well as ourselves, we create a happier, relaxed mind and more fulfilling relationships, as well as realizing our life's purpose in a meaningful way.

A long-time Buddhist practitioner and psychotherapist, Preece shares traditional meditations and practices for awakening the mind and heart including tonglen, but he also offers a Jungian perspective on these and his own sense—cultivated during many years' experience—of the ways in which Westerners may need to re-see these practices to benefit most from them. Preece's insightful fusion of East and West will help readers tap inner resources of compassion and integrity in order to flourish in times of uncertainty and ultimately generate the altruistic aspiration to realize the awakend mind for the benefit of all living beings. Rob offers meditation practices at the end of many chapters to help the reader digest and integrate the book's information.

Rob Preece has been a practicing Buddhist since 1973, principally within the Tibetan Tradition. He has spent many years in intensive retreat in the Himalayas under the guidance of eminent Tibetan lamas. Preece has been working as a psychotherapist since 1987 and gives workshops on comparative Jungian and Buddhist psychology. An experienced meditation teacher and thangka painter, he lives in London and is the author of The Wisdom of Imperfection and The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra.