A Saint In Seattle

Exiled from his native land by the Communist Chinese, Tibetan lama Dezhung Rinpoche arrived in Seattle and continued his role as a teacher of teachers, mentoring some of the most prominent Western scholars of Tibetan Buddhism today.

An exploration of an extraordinary group of female meditation masters from the Buddhist tradition in Tibet whose determination and accomplishments can serve as a great example for meditators the world over. Among Tibetan spiritual biographies there are many life stories of exceptional male wisdom-holders or vidyādharas. But biographies of religious women are few. This book focuses on the hidden world of the great female spiritual adepts who were born into a prominent lineage of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. For centuries, this family of wisdom holders has been committed to helping others alleviate their suffering and develop a strong dedication to spiritual practice.

Utilizing both words and images this book animates the lives of a selection of holy men who labored on the North American continent in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries to give birth to the Orthodox Church in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Some of these have been formally glorified as saints and others may yet be. This book is much more than a simple historical account or retelling of their lives and particular service in North America: it is a spiritual manual, which strives to inspire and encourage its readers in their own struggle for the attainment of the holiness that adorns the lives of those recounted here.Chronologically the lives described herein span the years from 1854 to 2019 and focus on the time each man spent laboring in North America. None of them spent all their life on this continent but they left a legacy on these shores that endures to this day and will surely continue. The text is interspersed by an extensive collection of both black and white photographs and pen and ink drawings that, together with a final section of rich color photography, contribute greatly to bringing the reality of their life and times to us.

This is the first thorough historical account of Chief Seattle and his times--the story of a half-century of tremendous flux, turmoil, and violence, during which a native American war leader became an advocate for peace and strove to create a successful hybrid racial community. When the British, Spanish, and then Americans arrived in the Pacific Northwest, it may have appeared to them as an untamed wilderness. In fact, it was a fully settled and populated land. Chief Seattle was a powerful representative from this very ancient world. Historian David Buerge has been researching and writing this book about the world of Chief Seattle for the past 20 years. Buerge has threaded together disparate accounts of the time from the 1780s to the 1860s--including native oral histories, Hudson Bay Company records, pioneer diaries, French Catholic church records, and historic newspaper reporting. Chief Seattle had gained power and prominence on Puget Sound as a war leader, but the arrival of American settlers caused him to reconsider his actions. He came to embrace white settlement and, following traditional native practice, encouraged intermarriage between native people and the settlers, offering his own daughter and granddaughters as brides, in the hopes that both peoples would prosper. Included in this account are the treaty signings that would remove the natives from their historic lands, the roles of such figures as Governor Isaac Stevens, Chiefs Leschi and Patkanim, the Battle at Seattle that threatened the existence of the settlement, and the controversial Chief Seattle speech that haunts to this day the city that bears his name.

One of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of the Year Winner of the Christopher Award Winner of the Catholic Press Association Book Award WITTY, WRYLY HONEST, AND ALWAYS ORIGINAL, My Life with the Saints is James Martin’s story of how his life has been shaped by some surprising friends—the saints of the Catholic Church. In his modern classic memoir, Martin introduces us to saints throughout history—from St. Peter to Dorothy Day, St. Francis of Assisi to Mother Teresa—and chronicles his lifelong friendships with them. Filled with fascinating tales, Martin’s funny, vibrant, and stirring book invites readers to discover how saints guide us throughout our earthly journeys and how they help each of us find holiness in our own lives. Featuring a new chapter from Martin, this tenth-anniversary edition of the best-selling memoir updates readers about his life over the past ten years. In that time, he has been a New York Times best-selling author, official chaplain of The Colbert Report, and a welcome presence in the media whenever there’s a breaking Catholic news story. But he has always remained recognizably himself. John L. Allen, Jr., the acclaimed Catholic journalist, contributes a foreword that shows how Martin has become one of the wisest and most insightful voices of this era. “An outstanding and often hilarious memoir.” —Publishers Weekly“One of the best spiritual memoirs in years.” —Robert Ellsberg“Remarkably engaging.” —U.S. Catholic“Martin’s final word is as Jungian as it is Catholic: God does not want us to be Mother Teresa or Dorothy Day. God wants us to be most fully ourselves.” —The Washington Post Book World