Everybody wants to be happy. Unfortunately, relatively few achieve bliss. Eli Jaxon-Bear explores how it is possible to achieve lives filled with gratitude and love. True happiness and meaning are achieved, he asserts, when we wake up, stop our minds, and open our hearts. It is then that we discover our true selves; our core identity that is part of the ultimate living intelligence of the universe; our true source. Like Gangaji, Jaxon-Bear uses a method of self-investigation called “self-inquiry.” In the light of direct self-inquiry, limitations that once seemed to define ourselves are discovered to be more like transparent lines drawn on water. They exist only on the surface of consciousness in one’s imagination. When these illusions of mind are clearly exposed, true limitless being reveals itself. This is a book that will appeal to those who are fans of Gangaji, Byron Katie, and Eckart Tolle. It is an articulate and helpful expression of a path to fulfillment for those wrestling with questions of identity and meaning.

Buddhist Faith and Sudden Enlightenment explains how sudden enlightenment occurs through the awakening of patriarchal faith. This is the non-dual affirmation that one is already Buddha as opposed to the doctrinal, dualistic faith that one can become Buddha. The essence of the presentation is that patriarchal faith forms the basis for sudden enlightenment in Zen meditation. For the practitioner, this book establishes the Zen method of mind-cultivation on a higher level by introducing a new understanding of awakening right faith. Included is extensive material on the history of faith in Buddhism with the main attention devoted to Ch'an (Zen) and Hua-yen. There are also substantial discussions of Buddhist antecedents to these schools and of the Pure Land School. This is the first book in English to examine the central role of faith in Mahayana Buddhism. The author's approach develops from his personal experiences as a son (Zen) monk of the Chogye order, which was heavily influenced by the integration of meditation and scriptural study established by Chinul.

This volume examines the historical basis of the debate over sudden versus gradual approaches to enlightenment in Chinese Buddhism seeing it as part of a recurrent polarity in Chinese history and thought. Sudden and Gradual includes essays by Luis O. Gomez on the philosophical implications of the debate in China and Tibet, Whalen Lai on Taodheng`s theory of sudden enlightenment, Neal Donner on Chih-i`s system of T`ien-t`ai, John R. McRae on Shen-Hui`s sudden enlgihtenment` and its precedents in Northern Ch`an, Peter N. Gregory on Tsung-.i`s theory of sudden enlightenment .

Discover hidden practices, secretly transmitted in authentic Zen lineages, of using body, speech, and mind to remove obstructions to awakening. Though Zen is best known for the practices of koan introspection and "just sitting" or shikantaza, there are in fact many other practices transmitted in Zen lineages. In modern practice settings, students will find that Bodhidharma's words "direct pointing at the human mind" are little mentioned, or else taken to be simply a general descriptor of Zen rather than a crucial activity within Zen practice. Reversing this trend toward homogeneous and superficial understandings of Zen technique, Hidden Zen presents a diverse collection of practice instructions that are transmitted orally from teacher to student, unlocking a comprehensive path of awakening. This book reveals and details, for the first time, a treasury of "direct pointing" and internal energy cultivation practices preserved in the Rinzai Zen tradition. The twenty-eight practices of direct pointing offered here illuminate one's innate clarity and, ultimately, the nature of mind itself. Over a dozen practices of internal energetic cultivation galvanize dramatic effects on the depth of one's meditative attainment. Hidden Zen affords a small taste of the richness of authentic Zen, helping readers grow beyond the bounds of introspection and sitting to find awakening itself.

The first modern, comprehensive resource on spiritual awakenings, this pragmatic, clear guide covers everything from the first step on a spiritual journey to enlightenment, and the different types of spiritual awakenings, from mild to dramatic, we may go through. Using the concept of the twelve layers that cover an awakened state Mary Mueller Shutan addresses every step of the spiritual journey, starting with the Self and showing how family, ancestral, past lives, karmic, archetypal, and other larger layers such as societal, cultural, global, and cosmic energies condition us to sleep and obscure our realization of an awakened state. Instructions for how to navigate through each of these layers and how to recognize where we are in our spiritual journey are included each step of the way along with common physical, emotional, and spiritual symptoms that may be experienced. By addressing post-awakening states, oneness, dark nights of the soul, ego death, near-death and severe illness, psychic abilities, addictions, dietary changes, the God self, personal and collective shadow, and psychosis vs. awakening we understand the experiences we may go through while struggling with spiritual awakenings. This practical book opens new understandings of how to live in the world while going through an awakening process, and offers the revolutionary idea that we are meant to be humans, to have a physical body with physical, sensate experiences and emotions. We are meant to live in the world and be a part of it even as fully awakened individuals. This guide proposes a look at the possibility of leading a grounded, earth-bound life of work, family, friends, and other experiences in an awakened state.

“Jan Frazier shows us the anatomy of epiphany and reminds us of the ever-present possibility of healing and freedom and grace.” —Rachel Naomi Remen, MD, New York Times–bestselling author of Kitchen Table Wisdom In August 2003, virtually overnight, Jan Frazier experienced “a dramatic falling away of fear”—not just the immediate fear of her annual medical test but, as she learned as time went on, her fear of everything. She was “flooded with a causeless joy that has never left me.” In this book, the commonplace belief that enlightenment is only for saints comes apart at the seams. Anyone can be enlightened, and all we need to do is ask. This rare and beautiful account puts Jan Frazier solidly in the tradition of enlightened teachers from J. Krishnamurti to Byron Katie. Guns and money aren’t going to buy peace of mind. Giving up fear is. “A breathing translation into language of an advance in evolution that is available to the focused heart and the fortunate intention.” —Stephen Levine, bestselling author of Unattended Sorrow: Recovering from Loss and Reviving the Heart “Read this delicious, liberating, radical book.” —Jack Kornfield, bestselling author of No Time Like the Present “If you have ever wondered of a life filled with freedom and free of fear was possible, then this is the book for you. Jan Frazier shares her personal journey with a level of intimacy normally saved for one’s closest confidantes. The result is a book that serves as a beacon for anyone who is ready to experience joy on every level.”—Shelly Rachanow, author of If Women Ran the World, Sh*t Would Get Done