A collection of inspiration and wisdom, seen through the tales of housewives and kings, monks and bandits, and the deep mountains of Korea. In this new collection of thirty-three stories, one of Korea’s foremost Seon(Zen) masters introduces the richness and depth of Korea’s Buddhist tradition. With humor and insight, Seon Master Daehaeng shows us our inherent potential and demonstrates how we can face the challenges of life with wisdom and vigor. (DRM free) Praise for Seon Master Daehaeng’s No River to Cross No River to Cross speaks directly and simply from the heart, much in the manner of Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. Master Daehaeng's ability to penetrate the skin with plain and pointed words should give this work the same longevity.—Francisca Cho, Georgetown University, translator of Everything Yearned For “This first taste of a fresh female voice leaves you hungry for more." —Shambhala Sun

A beautifully illustrated gift book to help us uncover and trust the innate goodness in ourselves and others. We receive so many messages from our culture meant to divide us from one another or turn us against ourselves. Yet when we stop judging, stop avoiding, stop trying to resist that which makes us afraid or ashamed, we open to our true nature—a boundless field of awareness that is innately fearless and loving. This recognition of our essential human goodness may be the most radical act of healing we can take. “The gold of our true nature can never be tarnished,” says Tara Brach. “In the moments of remembering and trusting this basic goodness of our Being, we open to happiness, peace, and freedom.” In Trusting the Gold, Tara draws from more than four decades of experience as a meditation teacher and psychologist to share her most valuable practices for reconnecting with the beauty of our humanity—from timeless Buddhist wisdom to techniques adapted to the specific challenges of our modern age. Here you’ll explore three pathways of remembering and living from your full aliveness: • Opening to the Truth of the present moment • Turning toward Love in any situation • Resting in the Freedom of our natural, radiant awareness “Even in the midst of our deepest emotional suffering, self-compassion is the pathway that will carry us home,” Dr. Brach writes. “What a joy to pause and behold our basic goodness, and to see how it shines through each of us. Seeing that secret beauty, we fall in love with all of life.”

Did Our Hearts Not Burn Within Us... The mystics have always known that the heart is the most important center of consciousness. We can gain visions through the third eye, enlightenment through the crown. But the true fount of cosmic consciousness is always in the heart. How do we develop our heart-the chakra of Divine Love? How can we be increase the fire of the heart? How can we expand the threefold flame, the very source of life within us? Within Initiations of the Heart, the ascended masters reveal the mysteries of the heart. Most importantly, as we enter into their Word, each one offers a transfer of light-a unique initiation of the heart. The apostles felt the fire of the heart in their encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus. May you also experience that fire through your encounter with the masters in this age.

Informative interviews and profiles of the likes of Ram Dass, Tina Turner, Jane Goodall, and more, plus other writings offer insight on the Buddhist life. From Andrea Miller—an editor and staff writer at Lion’s Roar, the leading Buddhist magazine in the English-speaking world—comes a diverse and timeless collection of essays, articles, and interviews. Miller talks to Buddhist teachers, thinkers, writers, and celebrities about the things that matter most and she frames their wisdom with her own lived experience. In Awakening My Heart, we hear Tina Turner on the power of song, Ram Dass on the importance of service, Jane Goodall on the compassion that exists in the natural world, and Robert Jay Lifton on the darkest deeds of humanity—and how to prevent such things from ever happening again. Moreover, Miller—with her gently probing questions—gets to the bottom of the friendship between Zen master Bernie Glassman and Hollywood’s Jeff Bridges, and she also takes a playful look at the difference between Michael Imperioli, the serious Buddhist practitioner, and the unhinged mobster character he played in The Sopranos. Insight teacher Gina Sharpe coaches Miller on how to start facing the racism that exists even in the most liberal communities, while Robert Waldinger, a Zen priest and the leader of the world’s longest running study of human happiness, teaches her the key to being truly happy. Miller also brings the wisdom of a thirteenth-century Zen text into her very own galley kitchen and takes a look at animals through a quirky dharma lens. Finally, she goes on retreat with two of the world’s most beloved contemporary Buddhist teachers, Pema Chödrön and Thich Nhat Hanh, and travels to India to follow in the footsteps of the Buddha himself. Praise for Awakening My Heart “A lovely repast of stories and inspiring conversations with Buddhist masters and celebrities, reminding us to relax and smile. The good medicine of the dharma comes in a thousand forms.” ―Jack Kornfield “This book is a concise, witty, and intelligible way to understand Buddhism.” ―bell hooks, author of All About Love “Andrea Miller is one of contemporary Buddhism’s most original and arresting voices. Awakening My Heart has that rare combination of insight and empathy that distinguishes the very best spiritual literature. It is an inspiring, expansive, and probing exploration of what it means to be alive and practicing the dharma today.” —Shozan Jack Haubner, author of Zen Confidential “These lovely pieces span a huge, eclectic range from rock stars and actors to gurus and birds. There is joy in these pages, and the stories here will cause you to love life, and people, all the more.” ―Barry Boyce, Editor-in-Chief, Mindful magazine

A huge Sancho tree stands in a corner, with branches and leaves connected together, lush and lush, and even the sunlight can't penetrate into it. It is cool and comfortable under the tree, which is the perfect place to play chess.

When Mark Mayfield's business fails he remembers a solid gold Buddha that he saw in Thailand while on leave from the Vietnam conflict. He presuades himself that to steal a hunderd pounds of gold from the statures back would really hurt no-one. He enlists three life long friends to join the adventure. Mark spemds severasl months in Thailand building a yacht. The others arrive, the temple is breached, the gold is secured and secreted in the keel of the yacht. Mark falls in love, his sweetheat is kidnapped by drug smugglers and he goes to the rescue. Sailing home they are attacked by Thai pirates and they meet intrigue in Kuwait where there is a plot to steal the gold. Finally the four adventurers are on a plane that is hijacked and headed for the middle east. The story is full of action and as near factual as research can make it.