The Great Realizations

Selected by Today as a book "to ease kids’ anxiety about coronavirus.” We all need hope. Humans have an extraordinary capacity to battle through adversity, but only if they have something to cling onto: a belief or hope that maybe, one day, things will be better. This idea sparked The Great Realization. Sharing the truths we may find hard to tell but also celebrating the things—from simple acts of kindness and finding joy in everyday activities, to the creativity within us all—that have brought us together during lockdown, it gives us hope in this time of global crisis. Written for his younger brother and sister in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Tomos Roberts’s heartfelt poem is as timely as it is timeless. Its message of hope and resilience, of rebirth and renewal, has captured the hearts of children and adults all over the globe—and the glimpse it offers of a fairer, kinder, more sustainable world continues to inspire thousands every day. With Tomos Roberts’s heartfelt poem and beautiful illustrations by award-winning artist Nomoco, The Great Realization is a profound work, at once striking and reassuring, reminding readers young and old that in the face of adversity there are still dreams to be dreamt and kindnesses to be shared and hope. There is still hope. We now call it The Great Realization and, yes, since then there have been many. But that’s the story of how it started . . . and why hindsight’s 2020.

Previous ed. published as: Buddhism: pure and simple. 2001.

"Sutra on the Eight Realizations of the Great Beings explains the virtues of simplicity, generosity, and compassion.

"Hugh Hood skillfully presents the penultimate book in his ambitious and highly acclaimed 12-volume New Age series, which poignantly animates the social fabric of Canada in the latter part of the 20th century and beyond."

A pithy guide to the Buddha's instructions to unlock the powerful insights that make us "great"—by wise, warm, and humorous Brother Phap Hai, the most senior Australian Dharma teacher ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh In this essential sutra for sincere practitioners, the Buddha says, "If you would like to be enlightened, take on these eight subjects for meditation and apply their corresponding insights to your daily life." Brother Phap Hai's lively, down-to-earth explanation of spirituality's original self-help manual makes this book a must-read for all seeking inspiration on the path of self-realization and compassion. Beginning with a brief historical overview of the sutra's origins, Brother Phap Hai explores each of the eight realizations and shares a story in each chapter from his own journey to become a monk himself. Ordaining as a Buddhist monk in 1997 while still in his twenties, Brother Phap Hai has been practicing mindfulness on a daily basis for much of his adult life. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh authorized him to teach in 2003, and since then, he has guided and mentored thousands of students in meditation. Brother Phap Hai calls the Buddha's Discourse on the Eight Realizations of Great Beings his "'Desert Island Sutra' because it distills the essence of the Buddhist path." In his words, it is everything you need in a practical meditation manual, "a very structured exposition of realizing the entirety of the Buddhist path for yourself."

The 8 Realizations featured in Healing Our Bloodlines by G. K. Hunter reveal a path to liberation from the cyclic pain passed down from elders to children. These realizations were gleaned from 15 years of multi-cultural workshops and client sessions where participants bravely faced their family trees to discover the invisible burdens that they had inherited. As they lifted those burdens, they found their special gifts that were germinating deep inside. Those who have embodied the 8 Realizations were rewarded with 8 Birthrights, the very nourishment that empowered them to release their past hurt, embrace their true passion, and celebrate their most authentic identity. By walking this path, you become a Catalyst for generational change. New York Times Bestselling Author Andrew Carroll endorsed Healing Our Bloodlines, saying: "History has a way of leaving indelible, even deep scars on a lineage, and those wounds often find their way to the next generation of the family tree. But Hunter has discovered an empowering way to lift the sometimes painful remnants of the past, demonstrating to his readers an approach that sheds this melancholy and helps them to become the living legacy of a healed and inspiring lineage." More Endorsements:"I have spent my life transmitting tradition as a vital and profound means of confronting and celebrating life’s hard earned truths. George Kamana Hunter has shown me that trauma can be transmitted along with tradition and has distinguished between storytelling and burden dumping. His insights are deep, his wisdom profound, his strategy fascinating and his goals admirable. I have learned much from Healing Our Bloodlines. It has put into words and into exercises some of struggles of a lifetime of learning, wrestling with the past and trying to create a better future for myself and for the world in which I live. The great Hasidic Master Menachem Mendel of Kotzk once said: 'Nothing is as whole as a heart that has been broken and mended.' G. K. Hunter shows us why." -Michael Berenbaum, original Project Director for the U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum & Author of The World Must Know: The History of the Holocaust “Healing Our Bloodlines is a powerful tool for understanding the trauma which affects us all. George Kamana Hunter eloquently and poignantly shares, with unique personal vulnerability, wisdom on how to find a path to freedom and healing. It is an unveiling of truths which are sorely need today." -Joanne Shenandoah, Grammy Award winning artist, multi-cultural peace advocate, & Native America’s most celebrated musician.

These works, transmitted from Arya Maitreya - the fifth and future Buddha of this fortunate age - to Arya Asanga some time in the third century, comprise one of the major foundations of Mahayana Buddhism, the unbroken transmission and practice of which continues today. The focus of this text is the Prajnaparamita teachings. There are two main ways of approaching the meaning of the Prajnaparamita, the direct and indirect approach, with both approaches revealing the meaning of emptiness. Many students these days are familiar with the direct approach to understanding emptiness as shown in texts such as those by Nagarjuna. However, the indirect approach is perhaps less familiar and is what Maitreya is focussing on in this text. The indirect approach to emptiness reveals the hidden meaning of the Prajnaparamita sutras by examining the five paths and spiritual levels. Through this approach one understands how emptiness is realized, how this wisdom is developed and what is removed by this wisdom. Maitreya received the full transmission and meaning of these teachings directly from the Buddha and is therefore able to convey the meaning clearly and directly for us. This was his main motivation for composing this particular work and also that by understanding the Prajnaparamita teachings beings would be able to accomplish Buddhahood.

Two Treasures contains two sutras: The Sutra On The Eight Realizations Of Great Beings and The Discourse on Happiness. They explain in practical detail how to progress step-by-step towards realization of the Buddhist ideals of simplicity, generosity, compassion, and ultimately enlightenment. Entirely in accord with both the Mahayana and Theravada tradition, The Sutra On The Eight Realizations Of Great Beings contain eight essential subjects for meditation. Although simple in form, their content is extremely profound. With a new introduction by Thich Nhat Hanh (The Sutra On The Eight Realizations Of Great Beings was previously published as a stand-alone booklet, ISBN: 0-938077-07-4. The Discourse on Happiness was originally published as part of the Plum Village Chanting And Recitation Book, ISBN:0-938077-91-0).