Buddha Betrayed

This volume seeks to answer the question of how the Buddhist monks in today's Sri Lanka—given Buddhism's traditionally nonviolent philosophy—are able to participate in the fierce political violence of the Sinhalese against the Tamils.

This volume seeks to answer the question of how the Buddhist monks in today's Sri Lanka—given Buddhism's traditionally nonviolent philosophy—are able to participate in the fierce political violence of the Sinhalese against the Tamils.

American Buddhism has been shaken by sex scandals and inappropriate relationships between teachers and students for years. This book addresses the pitfalls that occur in spiritual relationships: the idealization of the teacher, the way students give away their power and how priests betray the trust and good will of the vulnerable. "A brilliant and deeply important book. Schoen is consistently insightful and often revelatory, and her clear, fluid writing is a pleasure to read. Anyone who has--or wants--a spiritual teacher needs to read Buddha Betrayed and take it to heart." Scott Edelstein, author of "Sex and the Spiritual Teacher" Praise for "Buddha Betrayed": "American Buddhism is a relatively young transplant from Asia. It has a lot of growing up to do and recently several major scandals have become widely public, revealing for all to see the growing pains. Everyone who has associated with a Buddhist teacher hopes they have done the personal work necessary to transcend our primitive primal selfish nature that is always seeking to have enough and then some more, but this is not always the case. Some adepts have done sufficient work to open their minds fully to the multi-dimensional universe we are all seamlessly a part, but have not done the inner psychological work to master their base instincts, needs and desires. If these adepts are raised prematurely to teacher status, fed admiration, power and nearly unconditional deference and respect, with little peer review or supervision, this can be a dangerous combination leading to abuse of power and position. Gerti Schoen in her book: "Buddha Betrayed - When Spiritual Relationships Go Awry" has done a great job examining the fallout and investigating the process that has led to such abuses. It is particularly a must read for anyone who has experienced this kind of situation first hand. Schoen provides the analysis and cautions needed for American Buddhism to take its next steps towards a truly mature American practice." Genjo Marinello, head teacher, Chobo-ji, Seattle

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.

Can you come sit at the table? Tammy Letherer’s husband of twelve years spoke these words on a Tuesday night, just before Christmas, after he had put their three children in bed. He had a piece of paper and two fingers of scotch in front of him. As he read from the list in his hand, his next words would shatter her world and destroy every assumption she'd ever made about love, friendship, and faithfulness. In The Buddha at My Table, Letherer describes―in honest, sometimes painful detail―the dismantling of a marriage that encompasses the ordinary and the surreal, including the night she finds a silent, smiling Thai monk sitting at the same dining room table. It’s this unexpected visitation, this personification of peace, that sticks with her as she listens to her husband reveal hurtful, shocking things―that he never loved her, he doesn’t believe in monogamy, and he wants to “wrap things up” with her in four weeks―and allows her to find the blessing in her husband’s betrayal. Ultimately, it’s when she realizes that she is participating in her life, not at its mercy, that she discovers the path to freedom.

The strange verbal paradoxes called koans have been used traditionally in Zen training to help students attain a direct realization of truths inexpressible in words. The two works translated in this book, Mumonkan (The Gateless Gate ) and Hekiganroku (The Blue Cliff Record), both compiled during the Song dynasty in China, are the best known and most frequently studied koan collections, and are classics of Zen literature. They are still used today in a variety of practice lineages, from traditional zendos to modern Zen centers. In a completely new translation, together with original commentaries, the well-known Zen teacher Katsuki Sekida brings to these works the same fresh and pragmatic approach that made his Zen Training so successful. The insights of a lifetime of Zen practice and his familiarity with both Eastern and Western ways of thinking make him an ideal interpreter of these texts.

The book shows a complete picture of the controversy on that aspect of religion, and challenges the reader to judge for themselves.Interest in Buddhism has exploded in the last couple of decades, and millions of people around the world view Tibetan Buddhism as the religion's most pure and authentic form. Yet, a political conflict among Tibetan lamas themselves is now poised to tear the Tibetan Buddhist world apart and threaten the ntegrity of its thousand-year old teachings. On August 2, 1993, Rumtek monastery was attacked. Its monks were expelled and the cloister was turned over to supporters of a boy-lamas appointed by the Chinese government. But Rumtek was not in China, and its attackers were not Communist troops. Rumtek was in India, the refuge for most exiled Tibetans. And it was Tibetan lamas and monks themselves who led the siege. Yet, evidence shows that Chinese agents directly supported Tibetan lamas and monks who attacked Rumtek monastery. While a complete picture of this controversy has been blurred by the media's focus on international Buddhist celebrities, Buddha's Not Smiling challengers Readers to Judge for themselves the health of Tibetan Buddhism today

Deepak Chopra brings the Buddha back to life in this gripping New York Times bestselling novel about the young prince who abandoned his inheritance to discover his true calling. This iconic journey changed the world forever, and the truths revealed continue to influence every corner of the globe today. A young man in line for the throne is trapped in his father's kingdom and yearns for the outside world. Betrayed y those closest to him, Siddhartha abandons his palace and princely title. Face-to-face with his demons, he becomes a wandering monk and embarks on a spiritual fast that carries him to the brink of death. Ultimately recognizing his inability to conquer his body and mind by sheer will, Siddhartha transcends his physical pain and achieves enlightenment. Although we recognize Buddha today as an icon of peace and serenity, his life story was a tumultuous and spellbinding affair filled with love and sex, murder and loss, struggle and surrender. From the rocky terrain of the material world to the summit of the spiritual one, Buddha captivates and inspires—ultimately leading us closer to understanding the true nature of life and ourselves.