Things as they are by Ajaan Maha Boowa Nanasampanno
Posted on | May 17, 2012 | No Comments
Things as the are are talks originally given to the monks at Acariya Maha Boowa’s monastery, Wat Pa Baan Taad, in Udorn Thani Province, Thailand. As might be expected, they deal in part with issues particular to the life of Buddhist monks, but they also contain much that is of more general interest. Since the monks who had assembled to listen to these talks were at different stages in their practice, each talk deals with a number of issues on a wide variety of levels. Thus there should be something of use in these pages for every reader interested in the training of the citta. Download it here (224 pages):
Things As They Are
Ishadarshanam – The Philosophy of God
Posted on | May 15, 2012 | No Comments
Ishadarshanam – The Philosophy of God has been written by Dr. Baldev Raj Sharma. He teaches Advaita and Vedanta Philosophy at the University of Delhi in India and hes done so for several decades along with meditation and research. He has published a number Public domain books in readable form for the benefit of all. Some of these books are well acclaimed internationally. Ïshadarshanam-Philosophy of God” is one of the masterpieces in his research and publications. It was published in 2011 and printed in 500 copies. The book is bilingual, written in English and Hindi. Thanks to Salija Download it here (254 pages):
Ishadarshanam
Snow in the Summer by Sayadaw U Jotika
Posted on | May 14, 2012 | No Comments
Snow in the Summer is a compilation of extracts from letters written by Sayadaw U Jotika, a Burmese Buddhist monk living in the forest, to his Western students. Sayadaw U Jotika writes in this book on several topics such as mindfulnes, meditation, solitude, relationships etc. The book is written to be picked and read from any page. You do not need to read it in any particular order. Download it here (104 pages) :
Snow in the Summer
Tags: Burmese Buddhist > meditation > Mindfulnes > monk > relationships > Sayadaw > solitude
Fathers of the Desert VOL I+II
Posted on | May 14, 2012 | No Comments
Fathers of the Desert was first published in English in 1867. The book describes the beliefs, lives and practices of a number of individual desert fathers and groups like the Anchorites. It also goes into details about the general spiritual life in the first six centuries in the Middleast. Fathers of the Desert is despite the old English easy to read and the description of their whereabouts is entertaining and often dramatized. For a more precise and historical correct work on the desert fathers I would suggest The Ante Nicene Fathers. Download Fathers of the Desert here:
Fathers of the Desert VOL I
Fathers of the Desert VOL II
Forest Desanas by Ajaan Maha Boowa Nanasampanno
Posted on | May 12, 2012 | No Comments
Forest Desanas by Ajaan Maha Boowa Nanasampanno is a compilation of detailed instructions from the Thai Forest tradition. Ajaan Maha Boowa is widely recognized as living Buddhist saint and a master in the Thai Forest tradition. In 1955 he established the Wat Pa Baan Taad monastery and this book outlines his teachings. The fundamental problem that besets human beings, according to Ajaan Mahā Boowa, is that they have taken fake and false things as their true self and lack the necessary power to be their ‘own true self’; they allow the wiles and deceits of the mental defilements to generate fear and anxiety in their minds. Download the book here (324 pages):
Forest Desanas
Tags: 1955 > Ajaan Maha Boowa > Forest tradition > fundamental problem > Monastery > Thai > Wat Pa Baan Taad
Introduction to Insight Meditation
Posted on | May 8, 2012 | No Comments
Introduction to Insight Meditation is a basic and straightforward introduction to the practice of Insight Meditation as taught within the tradition of Theravada Buddhism. This book was written at and published by the Amaravati Monastary in England. The purpose of Insight Meditation is not to create a system of beliefs, but rather to give guidance on how to see clearly into the nature of the mind. In this way one gains firsthand understanding of the way things are, without reliance on opinions or theories, a direct experience. The term `Insight Meditation’ (samatha-vipassana)* refers to practices for the mind that develop calm (samatha) through sustained attention, and insight (vipassana) through reflection. A fundamental technique for sustaining attention is focusing awareness on the body. The guide begins with some advice on this. Download it here:
Introduction to Insight Meditation
Tags: Amaravati > insight meditation > samatha > samatha-vipassana > Theravada Buddhism > Vipassana > vitality
The Four Mindfulnesses
Posted on | May 2, 2012 | No Comments
The Four Mindfulnesses
The Four Mindfulnesses – On the basis of a poem by the seventh Dalai Lama with commentary by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche, written as transcripts of talks held by Gelek Rimpoche in 2005 and 2006. Download the entire ebook here (193 pages):
The Four Mindfulnesses
Into the Stream
Posted on | April 29, 2012 | No Comments
Into the Stream - A Study Guide on the First Stage of Awakening by. The Pali Canon, the scripture of the Theravada Buddhist Tradition written 29 BCE, recognizes four levels of Awakening. The first of which is called stream entry. The name indicates a stream that will inevitably lead to enlightenment. This study guide on stream entry is divided into two parts. The first deals with the practices leading to stream entry; the second, with the experience of stream entry and its results. Download the ebook here:
Into the Stream
Tags: Awakening > enlightenment > Pali Canon > Scripture > stream entry > Theravàda
Art of Attention
Posted on | April 27, 2012 | No Comments
Art of Attention is written by Pannyavaro, who founded Buddhanet.net back in 1993 – one of the oldest and most comprehensive Buddhist websites. This book was written to be published on the site. The author states in the foreword that the art of attention is the common thread underpinning all schools of Buddhist meditation: Mahamudra in the Tibetan tradition, Zazen in Zen Buddhism and Vipassana meditation in Theravada. Download the Art of Attention ebook here in PDF-format:
Art of Attention
Tags: attention > Mahamudra > Pannyavaro > Vipassana > Zazen > Zen
Nagualism
Posted on | April 26, 2012 | No Comments
Nagualism with the subtitle – A Study in Native American Folk-lore and History – must have been the raw material from which Carlos Castaneda wrote his books on Yaqui sorcery. It was written by Danial G. Brinton and read before the American Philosophical Society in 1804. His respect and descriptions of the tribes, their visions and beliefs suggests that he might have tasted the little smoke or similar compounds himself. Download the classic Public Domain work on the native american shamanism known as Nagualism here:
Nagualism
Straight From the Heart
Posted on | April 23, 2012 | No Comments
Straight From the Heart is based on transcriptions of 84 talks by Ajaan Maha Boowa Nanasampanno which he gave to a dying woman staying at the Wat Pa Baan Taad monestary in Thailand during 1975 and 1976. The total of the talks have been printed in Thai in a two-volume set totaling more than 1.000 pages. This is a 258 page translated version focusing on meditation instructions and specially the development of Panna - the Pali word for the Buddhist concept of Wisdom. In order to properly understand these teachings the author suggest the reader to consult the two works: Wisdom Develops Samadhi and Forest Dhamma. Download Straight From the Heart here:
Straight From the Heart
Tags: meditation > Ñāṇasampanno > Panna > Straight From the Heart > Wat Pa Baan Taad
Philokalia – the complete set of volumes
Posted on | April 22, 2012 | No Comments
Philokalia is a collection of spiritual instructions from the Eastern Christian tradition. The oldest are from the 4th century and the latest are from the 15 century. The collection was compiled in the eighteenth-century by St. Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth and they have only been partially available for the English speaking world since the 1950s. This may be because of the esoteric teachings and practices like “Theoria” or ”Watchfulness” – practices very similar to Buddhist and other spiritual traditions. Philokalia is also the primary source on the Christian term “hesychasm” (“maintaining guard over heart and intellect”), an inner spiritual tradition dating back to the Desert Fathers. This practice include quiet sitting, and recitation of the Jesus Prayer. Nikodemos, in his introduction, described the collected texts as “a mystical school of inward prayer” which could be used to cultivate the inner life and to “attain the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Nikodemos stressed that “unceasing prayer” should be practiced by all. Download the book here containing all the four volumes currently translated to English – a fifth volume is still to be translated (1.246 pages):
Philokalia
Tags: Desert Fathers > Eastern Christian tradition > esoteric teachings > hesychasm > Jesus Prayer > Philokalia > spiritual instructions > St. Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain > Theoria > Watchfulness
Codex Borbonicus or Codex Cihuacoat
Posted on | April 8, 2012 | No Comments
Codex Borbonicus also known as Codex Cihuacoat was written just a few years before the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Only a few of these codices are known, since the fourth tlatoani Itzcoatl ordered them all burnt because it was “not wise that all the people should know the paintings”. Like all pre-Columbian codices, Codex Borbonicus is entirely pictorial, although some Spanish descriptions were later added.
Codex Borbonicus can be divided into three sections. The first section is one of the most intricate surviving divinatory calendars (or tonalamatl). Each page represents one of the 20 trecena (or 13-day periods), in the tonalpohualli (or 260-day year). The second section of the codex documents the Mesoamerican 52 year cycle, showing in order the dates of the first days of each of these 52 solar years. The third section is about rituals and ceremonies, particularly those that end the 52-year cycle, when the “new fire” must be lit. Download the Codex Borbonicus here:
Codex Borbonicus or Codex Cihuacoat
Tags: Aztec Empire > ceremonies > codex > Codex Borbonicus > Codex Cihuacoat > Mesoamerican > rituals > Spanish conquest > tlatoani Itzcoatl > tonalamatl > tonalpohualli > trecena
Cantares Mexicanos – Songs of the Aztecs
Posted on | April 6, 2012 | No Comments
Cantares Mexicanos – Songs of the Aztecs is the English translation of the original Aztec text written in Nahuatl. Three times during the last century scientists have failed to decipher the Cantares Mexicanos. It was finally translated in 1985 by John Bierhost, this is the result. Cantares Mexicanos is considered a cornerstone in American Indian literature. It consists of hundreds of pages of Aztec poetry and it was written sometime between 1499-1590. Download the pdf ebook here (571 pages):
Cantares Mexicanos – Songs of the Aztecs
Tags: american indian > Aztecs > John Bierhost > literature > Nahuatl > poetry
The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Posted on | April 4, 2012 | No Comments
The Tibetan Book of the Dead – or the Bardo Thodol is the English translation of the famous Tibetan death text, The Great Liberation upon Hearing in the Intermediate State. Bardo Thodol means “liberation by hearing on the after death plane”, it was originally written in the Tibetan and is meant to be a guide for those who have died as they transition from their former life to a new destination. The Tibetan Book of the Dead has been traditionally attributed to Padma-Sambhava, an Indian mystic who was said to have introduced Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th century. We have a range of more detailed works and commentaries on The Tibetan Book of Dead her on the site, do a search, or download the ebook here:
The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Tags: Bardo > Buddhism > death plane > Indian mystic > intermediate state > Liberation > Padma Sambhava > thodol > Tibet > Tibetan Book
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