Becoming The Buddha

Becoming the Buddha is the first book-length study of a key ritual of Buddhist practice in Asia: the consecration of a Buddha image or "new Buddha," a ceremony by which the Buddha becomes present or alive. Through a richly detailed, accessible exploration of this ritual in northern Thailand, an exploration that stands apart from standard text-based or anthropological approaches, Donald Swearer makes a major contribution to our understanding of the Buddha image, its role in Buddhist devotional life, and its relationship to the veneration of Buddha relics. Blending ethnography, analysis, and Buddhist texts related to this mimetic reenactment of the night of the Buddha's enlightenment, he demonstrates that the image becomes the Buddha's surrogate by being invested with the Buddha's story and charged with the extraordinary power of Buddhahood. The process by which this transformation occurs through chant, sermon, meditation, and the presence of charismatic monks is at the heart of this book. Known as "opening the eyes of the Buddha," image consecration traditions throughout Buddhist Asia share much in common. Within the cultural context of northern Thailand, Becoming the Buddha illuminates scriptural accounts of the making of the first Buddha image; looks at debates over the ritual's historical origin, at Buddhological insights achieved, and at the hermeneutics of absence and presence; and provides a thematic comparison of several Buddhist traditions.

An intriguing and captivating introduction to the story of Buddhism.

In this antidote to business books that advocate predatory strategies, a leading Buddhist author and a bestselling business writer present advice that applies Buddhist values to the workplace.

Lama Surya Das, the most highly trained American lama in the Tibetan tradition, presents the definitive book on Western Buddhism for the modern-day spiritual seeker. The radical and compelling message of Buddhism tells us that each of us has the wisdom, awareness, love, and power of the Buddha within; yet most of us are too often like sleeping Buddhas. In Awakening the Buddha Within, Surya Das shows how we can awaken to who we really are in order to lead a more compassionate, enlightened, and balanced life. It illuminates the guidelines and key principles embodied in the noble Eight-Fold Path and the traditional Three Enlightenment Trainings common to all schools of Buddhism: Wisdom Training: Developing clear vision, insight, and inner understanding—seeing reality and ourselves as we really are. Ethics Training: Cultivating virtue, self-discipline, and compassion in what we say and do. Meditation Training: Practicing mindfulness, concentration, and awareness of the present moment. With lively stories, meditations, and spiritual practices, Awakening the Buddha Within is an invaluable text for the novice and experienced student of Buddhism alike.

Becoming Buddha compiles the invaluable teachings of contemporary Buddhist teachers who have sought to illuminate the ways of the Buddha in a manner that is comprehensible to a wide audience. These lectures comprise easy to follow dialogues, with anecdotes from the Buddha s own life as well as the lives of ordinary people, to explain how everyone can attain Buddhahood. The message underlying these teachings is that becoming Buddha is not an unattainable ideal. Each person can be a Buddha by becoming the perfect spiritual practitioner, one who wants enlightenment for all fellow creatures. This is not achieved simply through prayers or offerings but through the practical application of Buddha s wisdom to our own lives. The book reaffirms the significance of taking responsibility for our actions and instructs us to cherish all sentient beings in this life. The friendly, empathetic tone puts the reader at ease, reducing the distance between teacher and disciple. Becoming Buddha includes a previously unrecorded lecture by the Dalai Lama, rare photographs of the other educators who speak through this book and an article by eminent Buddhist scholar Professor Robert Thurman, which locates enlightenment in a socio-historical context, establishing that it is not merely a spiritual desire but an essential tool for survival today.

"Siddhartha: The Prince Who Became Buddha is a compelling reconstruction of the life of the man who became Buddha. Siddhartha Gautama was a historical character that was born in a century of great ferments and in a country where the spiritual search has been a priority for a long time. The salient episodes of the life of the Buddha are introduced in the first part of the work, getting information from various literary sources, such as the Buddhist Canon or the Chinese pilgrims' reports, with an iconographic support of works produced in different times and countries. In the second part it is human feeling of the Buddha that is tried to express, going the same way that one day saw him tireless pilgrim, with a specially commissioned search of modern images, that remembers the suffered run of Siddhartha, tragically stricken by a universal pain and determined to find an antidote, not only for the people of his time and his country, but forever and for everybody."--BOOK JACKET.

Best-selling American Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön presents a friendly and encouraging guide to spiritual practice for all those who want to take up the path of the bodhisattva--one who aspires to live life with courage, generosity, patience, fearlessness, and compassion. The Way of the Bodhisattva has long been treasured as an indispensable guide to enlightened living, offering a window into the greatest potential within us all. Written in the eighth century by the scholar and saint Shantideva, it presents a comprehensive view of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition’s highest ideal—to commit oneself to the life of a bodhisattva warrior, a person who is wholeheartedly dedicated to the freedom and common good of all beings. And it has inspired many of the tradition’s greatest teachers, providing a remarkable source of insight on the means by which we may heal ourselves and our troubled world. These essential teachings present the core of the Buddhist path, from cultivating deep-seated confidence to infusing one’s life with selflessness, joyfulness, kindness, and compassion. Pema Chödrön here invites you to journey more deeply into this liberating way of life, presenting Shantideva’s text verse-by-verse and offering both illuminating stories and practical exercises to enrich the text and bring its timeless teachings to life in our world today. Previously published under the title No Time to Lose.