Category: Books
Is This the Spiritual Awakening that We Seek?
In the introduction from his new book, Loving the World as Our Body: The Nondual Path in a Dangerous Time, David R. Loy asks us to consider what we could have learned from our religions, and how we might bring about what we need today: a spirituality that loves this world.
The Worst of Times, the Best of Times
In this excerpt from Girl in a Box: Seeking Enlightenment as a Tibetan Buddhist Nun, Paldrom Catharine Collins discovers that sometimes it’s bad times that lead to big breakthroughs.
A Translator’s Journey Into the Tibetan Language
Ana Carla Vergara Calvar on how she found her way into translating the dharma — and how you might, too.
David Chadwick, chronicler of San Francisco Zen Center Community, has died
He was the author of the classic biography, Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Zen Teaching of Shunyru Suzuki, as well as Thank You and OK: An American Zen Failure in Japan, and, most recently, Tassajara Stories.
Making Sense of Buddhism’s “Six Realms”
“Here,” writes Timothy Addison in this piece adapted from Turning the Mind, the second book in his new series, Like Honey Amidst Bees, “is what helped me understand the six realms in a way that felt both intellectually honest and transformative.”
The Surprising Good News of Karma
No Buddhist teaching is as challenging to the modern mind as karma. Is it determinism, cosmic justice, or the simple truth that unwholesome states of mind create suffering and virtuous states of mind produce happiness? In this excerpt from her book A New Way of Seeing, Dominique Side draws on the Abhidharma teachings of Buddhist psychology to explain Buddhism’s nuanced and ultimately hopeful view of karma.
Self-Care for Liberation
The new book Emergent Dharma (North Atlantic Books) is a ground-breaking collection of Asian American feminist Buddhist voices. In this excerpt, the book’s editor Sharon Suh says Asian American women need to prioritize self-care to liberate themselves from shame culture, stigmatization, and the Model Minority stereotype.
Spanish translation of The Heart of Tibetan Language – Volume 1 released
“The main purpose of this Spanish edition is to offer all Spanish speakers — whether they know English or not — the opportunity to learn Tibetan and appreciate its nuances without relying on materials in other languages," says translator Ana Carla Vergara Calvar.
A Buddhist Response to “Climate Overshoot”
“Catastrophic climate chaos has become a fact," writes Colin H. Simonds. “Once-in-a-generation disasters have become near-yearly events thanks to anthropogenic climate change. In the midst of these effects of our climate overshoot paradigm, what is a Buddhist to do?"
True Dharma Brothers
A snapshot of the special friendship between Larry Rosenberg and Jon Kabat-Zinn — two leading lights of the American vipassana and mindfulness movements — from Madeline Drexler’s introduction to the new Rosenberg book, The World Exists to Set Us Free: Straight-Up Dharma for Living a Life of Awareness. We begin in the early days, after Rosenberg had set aside a successful academic career to dive into dharma and meditation.
Queer Theory Meets Buddhist Non-duality and Emptiness
Read an excerpt from Queer Engaged Buddhism, by Kody Muncaster (Sumeru Books, 2025).
“Negation After Negation You Attain Liberation”: Shosan with Suzuki Roshi
Sit in on the Q&A session with Shunryu Suzuki Roshi at the end of the second sesshin ever at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. An excerpt from David Chadwick’s new book, Tassajara Stories.
You Don’t Have to Fear Death — But You Should
In the new book How to Live and Die: The Transformative Power of Meditating on Impermanence (Wisdom Publications), Lama Zopa Rinpoche says death is just a mental construct, but it’s helpful to fear it anyway.
Reclaiming Chinese Buddhism’s Modern Story
Despite its foundational role in East Asian Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism has long been marginalized in the West. This excerpt from Buddhist Masters of Modern China: The Lives and Legacies of Eight Eminent Teachers, edited by Benjamin Brose, explores how 20th-century Chinese monks and nuns defied extinction and sparked a powerful renewal.
Breathing Mindfulness: Discovering the Riches at the Heart of the Buddhist Path
Read a review of Sarah Shaw’s Breathing Mindfulness: Discovering the Riches at the Heart of the Buddhist Path, published by Shambhala Publications.
Buddhist Masters of Modern China: The Lives and Legacies of Eight Eminent Teachers
Read a review of Buddhist Masters of Modern China: The Lives and Legacies of Eight Eminent Teachers edited by Benjamin Brose, published by Shambhala Publications.
Footsteps of Buddha: Buddhist Pilgrimage in India
Read an excerpt from Footsteps of Buddha, the upcoming photography book by James Gritz—a visually rich and spiritually grounded reflection on twenty years of pilgrimage to India’s most sacred Buddhist sites.
Orient: Two Walks at the Edge of the Human
Read a review of Orient: Two Walks at the Edge of the Human, by David Hinton, published by Shambhala Publications.
Just Awakening: Yogacara Social Philosophy in Modern China
Read a review of Just Awakening: Yogacara Social Philosophy in Modern China, by Jessica X. Zu, plus an excerpt courtesy of its publisher, Columbia University Press.
Meditation on Emptiness
Read a review of Meditation on Emptiness, Second Revised Edition, by Jeffrey Hopkins, plus an excerpt courtesy of its publisher, Wisdom Publications.