From ljacobs at shambhala.com Wed Mar 16 13:15:37 2005 From: ljacobs at shambhala.com (Leonard Jacobs) Date: Wed Mar 16 13:15:57 2005 Subject: [Kenwilber] News from Shambhala Publications Message-ID: <42383179.17499.531C9F8D@localhost> Dear Shambhala Friends: Although more from Ken will be coming soon, we thought you might appreciate this note sent to our more general reader list. Hope you find something of interest in this note: Two intriguing works of literature head off this month's list of newly published books: ALMOST PARADISE: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS AND TRANSLATIONS by Sam Hamill If it's true, as Sam Hamill has said, that "poetry is discovered in the making of the poem," maybe it's also possible that the poet is discovered in the reading of the poem. There are a lot of things about Sam Hamill that are impressive: his monumental body of published work, his numerous awards, his political activism, and his life of determined dedication to his art. But you might actually discover more about him by getting acquainted with one of his poems. Here's a favorite from ALMOST PARADISE: NOT MEANING, BUT BEING For Jim Farmer In the darkening days of October, I stand in fog and drizzle, under the great trees, splitting maul in hands that a week ago held golf clubs on a warm bright autumn afternoon. Splitting the wood, building the fire, I think of the fire in my belly over a round of golf, which, like Zen, is about character and nothingness. I enjoy the company of a few men. Solitude. has always been my way. But now, as the year begins to close, I think of the comfort I have known along the fairways with a man who shares my passion for the game. My wife would ask, "How's Jim?" "Fine," I'd say, and she'd ask, "What did you talk about?" And I'd say truthfully, "Nothing. Nothin' much. We just played golf." But of course there were things said, mostly unimportant because the matter at hand was a five iron or a putter, deep rough or that one clean perfect swing that always brings us back again. Golf is about nothing, I suppose. Like a life reflected on, it's nothing but what we bring to it. "Meaning" has little meaning in the end. And yet we love and live and work and play and die within the borders of that grand nothing that lies at the heart of things. What did we talk about? Nothing. Nothing at all. Because he is my friend. http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/ISBN/1-59030-184-6.cfm THE CHANGELING: A NOVEL by Kate Horsley "It was a time when fleas began to outnumber fairies." So begins this haunting tale of Ireland in the fourteenth century, the story of a girl who is raised as a boy in order to avoid her father's wrath, and who undergoes an amazing series of transformations of identity, all set against the backdrop of one of the most difficult periods in human history. Grey is the name of the protagonist who goes from boy to girl to whore to warrior to mother in the course of this unusual tale. It's fun as a historical novel, but it's more than that: It's also an insightful exploration of how incredibly elus ive the thing called "identity" is. Try as she might, Grey finds that none of the various identities she finds herself with ultimately works completely, and that there is actually wisdom in learning to live with the knowledge that the question "Who am I?" is ultimately unanswerable. This is the p aperback of the book that we first published in hardcover in 2003. Publishers Weekly called it "Middlesex in the Middle Ages." http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/ISBN/1-59030-194-3 THE GREAT PATH OF AWAKENING: THE CLASSIC GUIDE TO LOJONG, A TIBETAN BUDDHIST PRACTICE FOR CULTIVATING THE HEART OF COMPASSION by Jamgon Kongtrul, translated by Ken McLeod Now in a Shambhala Classics edition is this little book that was really the first to introduce lojong--the practice of working with 59 slogans to awaken bodhicitta--to an English-speaking audience. In the years since its first publication in 1987, there have been a number of other wonderful books o n the topic, among them Chogyam Trungpa's TRAINING THE MIND and Pema Chodron's START WHERE YOU ARE. But it's still worth going back to this particularly simple and effective presentation. It provides everything you need to develop a heart of compassion in the midst of everything you do. This editio n includes a revised translation of the slogans' root text by the Nalanda Translation Committee that makes them even more clear and accessible than before. http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/ISBN/1-59030-214-1.cfm CLASSICS OF BUDDHISM AND ZEN: THE COLLECTED TRANSLATIONS OF THOMAS CLEARY C. S. Lewis once wrote: "There is a strange idea abroad that in every subject the ancient books should be read only by the professionals, and the amateur should content himself with the modern books." He then went on to suggest that "amateurs" who actually tried reading the ancient texts might fin d them to be in many cases quite accessible, and might also find their ancient authors to be teachers and friends. Lewis was speaking of classic Christian works, of course, but the principle applies as well to Buddhist texts. Many of us modern people feel the need to have Buddhism interpreted for us by our contemporaries, shying away from the classic texts for fear they might be beyond our comprehension. The publication of this monumental collection in paperback (at last) is a good opportunity to challenge that assumption: to get acquainted with the ancient masters of Buddhism and Zen and to see that they taught in ways that were entirely accessible. They were concerned with conveying their experie nce of truth in the best way possible, and very often it still works for us today. Here's what the five volumes contain: VOLUME ONE: ZEN LESSONS--A guide to enlightened conduct for people in positions of authority, based on the teachings of several great Chinese Zen masters. ZEN ESSENCE--From the records of Tang and Song dynasty Zen masters, here are the most open and direct forms of instruction in the entire Zen canon. THE FIVE HOUSES OF ZEN--Teachings of the masters from the five great teaching lineages of Zen characteristic of ninth-century China. MINDING MIND--Cleary's digest of the teachings on meditation of the great Chan and Zen masters of China, Korea, and Japan (including Dogen and Chinul) is as good an introduction to meditation as there is--and it's all in the words of the great masters themselves. INSTANT ZEN--Dharma talks by Foyan (1067-1120), the great Song dynasty Zen master known for fostering a spirit of autonomy and freedom of exploration in his students. http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/ISBN/1-59030-218-4.cfm VOLUME TWO: TEACHINGS OF ZEN--A digest of talks, sayings, and records of heart-to- heart encounters with teachers from various periods. ZEN READER--A treasury of quotations from the great masters, to be turned to for instruction and inspiration. ZEN LETTERS--Teachings in the traditional epistolary form by Yuanwu (1036-1135)--addressed to friends, disciples, associates; women as well as men, householders as well as monastics, advanced students as well as beginners. SHOBOGENZO--The great work of the most famous religious figure in Japanese history, Ehei Dogen (1200-1253), considered the founder of the Soto school, but whose influence spreads far beyond any sectarian divisions. THE ECSTASY OF ENLIGHTENMENT--Early texts on Buddhist tantra-- translated from the Old Bengali. http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/ISBN/1-59030-219-2.cfm VOLUME THREE: THE SUTRA OF HUI-NENG--Teachings of the renowned Sixth Patriarch of Chinese Zen. Hui-neng (638-713) is concerned especially with direct insight into the essential nature of awareness. DREAM CONVERSATIONS--Teaching letters of the fourteenth-century Japanese Zen master Muso to laypeople. KENSHO--Texts on the experience of enlightenment by the great masters Chinul and Hakuin, and selections from the Book of Ease, a classic collection of koans and commentary. RATIONAL ZEN--Dogen's Universal Book of Eternal Peace, and a text from his Treasury of the Eye of True Teaching, with an extensive introduction. ZEN AND THE ART OF INSIGHT--Texts that deal with the basic question, "How do we know what we know and how do we know we know it?" http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/ISBN/1-59030-220-6.cfm VOLUME FOUR: TRANSMISSION OF LIGHT--How to attain satori. The first English translation of the Denkoroku. UNLOCKING THE ZEN KOAN--The koan classic Wumenguan, accompanied by Cleary's selection of comments by Chinese Zen masters. ORIGINAL FACE--An anthology of writings from the Rinzai school of Zen (the school most concerned with koans) from the thirteenth through eighteenth centuries. TIMELESS SPRING--A Soto Zen anthology. ZEN ANTICS--100 quirky and charming tales about people who got enlightened, and what it looked like when it happened. RECORD OF THINGS HEARD--A text from Dogen's renowned Treasury of the Eye of the True Teaching. SLEEPLESS NIGHTS--Subtitled "Verses for the Wakeful," these masterpieces of Buddhist poetry mock the folly of tyrants and celebrate the indominability of life. http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/ISBN/1-59030-221-4.cfm VOLUME FIVE: DHAMMAPADA--The most beloved of all Buddhist scriptures, with a popularity that even transcends Buddhism. THE BUDDHIST I CHING--The only full-length interpretation of the Classic of Changes by a Chinese Buddhist meditation master. STOPPING AND SEEING--This monumental work by the sixth-century Chinese master Chi-i is one of the most comprehensive manuals ever written on these two essential elements of meditation practice. ENTRY INTO THE INCONCEIVABLE--An introduction to the philosophy of the Hua-yen school. BUDDHIST YOGA--The Sandhinirmochana-sutra, or "Scripture Unlocking the Mysteries," a revered text of the Vijnanavada or Yogachara school. http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/ISBN/1-59030-222-2.cfm You can buy these, and all other Shambhala books, at a 20 percent discount by ordering online at our website: http://www.shambhala.com. And for the next two weeks, you can take advantage of our offer of 35% discount when you order three or more books online from our website. You can also order by phone by calling, toll-free 1-888-424-2329, or by writing us at: Shambhala Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 308, Back Bay Annex, Boston, MA 02117- 0308. Also this month, there are several updates on Shambhala's website. Pema Ch?dr?n?s latest teaching schedule is available at http://www.shambhala.com/html/learn/features/pema/index.cfm Our Buddhism page now features an excerpt from Ajahn Chah?s EVERYTHING ARISES, EVERYTHING FALLS AWAY, at http://www.shambhala.com/html/learn/features/buddhism/index.cfm And our newest featured excerpt from THE YOGA-SUTRA OF PATANJALI is available at http://www.shambhala.com/html/learn/features/yoga/sutras/index.cfm Drop us a line! We love to hear from you. And if you ever want to change or delete your email address, please send a note to EmailList@shambhala.com . P.S. If you've never sampled a copy of the magazine Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, here's an offer that may encourage you to do so. Buddhadharma, the in-depth, practice-oriented journal published by the staff of the Shambhala Sun magazine is making a special offer to subscribers of the Shambhala email newsletter. You can sample several copies of Buddhadharma at no cost by calling their toll-free number (877) 786- 1950 (outside North America, dial (902) 422-8404). They'll send you 2 free issues of their magazine in the coming months, and you'll have an opportunity to sign up for a regular subscription at a special price. Buddhadharma can be an excellent complement to the books we publish. From ljacobs at shambhala.com Wed Mar 16 13:15:37 2005 From: ljacobs at shambhala.com (Leonard Jacobs) Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 13:15:37 -0500 Subject: [Kenwilber] News from Shambhala Publications Message-ID: <42383179.17499.531C9F8D@localhost> Dear Shambhala Friends: Although more from Ken will be coming soon, we thought you might appreciate this note sent to our more general reader list. Hope you find something of interest in this note: Two intriguing works of literature head off this month's list of newly published books: ALMOST PARADISE: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS AND TRANSLATIONS by Sam Hamill If it's true, as Sam Hamill has said, that "poetry is discovered in the making of the poem," maybe it's also possible that the poet is discovered in the reading of the poem. There are a lot of things about Sam Hamill that are impressive: his monumental body of published work, his numerous awards, his political activism, and his life of determined dedication to his art. But you might actually discover more about him by getting acquainted with one of his poems. Here's a favorite from ALMOST PARADISE: NOT MEANING, BUT BEING For Jim Farmer In the darkening days of October, I stand in fog and drizzle, under the great trees, splitting maul in hands that a week ago held golf clubs on a warm bright autumn afternoon. Splitting the wood, building the fire, I think of the fire in my belly over a round of golf, which, like Zen, is about character and nothingness. I enjoy the company of a few men. Solitude. has always been my way. But now, as the year begins to close, I think of the comfort I have known along the fairways with a man who shares my passion for the game. My wife would ask, "How's Jim?" "Fine," I'd say, and she'd ask, "What did you talk about?" And I'd say truthfully, "Nothing. Nothin' much. We just played golf." But of course there were things said, mostly unimportant because the matter at hand was a five iron or a putter, deep rough or that one clean perfect swing that always brings us back again. Golf is about nothing, I suppose. Like a life reflected on, it's nothing but what we bring to it. "Meaning" has little meaning in the end. And yet we love and live and work and play and die within the borders of that grand nothing that lies at the heart of things. What did we talk about? Nothing. Nothing at all. Because he is my friend. http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/ISBN/1-59030-184-6.cfm THE CHANGELING: A NOVEL by Kate Horsley "It was a time when fleas began to outnumber fairies." So begins this haunting tale of Ireland in the fourteenth century, the story of a girl who is raised as a boy in order to avoid her father's wrath, and who undergoes an amazing series of transformations of identity, all set against the backdrop of one of the most difficult periods in human history. Grey is the name of the protagonist who goes from boy to girl to whore to warrior to mother in the course of this unusual tale. It's fun as a historical novel, but it's more than that: It's also an insightful exploration of how incredibly elus ive the thing called "identity" is. Try as she might, Grey finds that none of the various identities she finds herself with ultimately works completely, and that there is actually wisdom in learning to live with the knowledge that the question "Who am I?" is ultimately unanswerable. This is the p aperback of the book that we first published in hardcover in 2003. Publishers Weekly called it "Middlesex in the Middle Ages." http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/ISBN/1-59030-194-3 THE GREAT PATH OF AWAKENING: THE CLASSIC GUIDE TO LOJONG, A TIBETAN BUDDHIST PRACTICE FOR CULTIVATING THE HEART OF COMPASSION by Jamgon Kongtrul, translated by Ken McLeod Now in a Shambhala Classics edition is this little book that was really the first to introduce lojong--the practice of working with 59 slogans to awaken bodhicitta--to an English-speaking audience. In the years since its first publication in 1987, there have been a number of other wonderful books o n the topic, among them Chogyam Trungpa's TRAINING THE MIND and Pema Chodron's START WHERE YOU ARE. But it's still worth going back to this particularly simple and effective presentation. It provides everything you need to develop a heart of compassion in the midst of everything you do. This editio n includes a revised translation of the slogans' root text by the Nalanda Translation Committee that makes them even more clear and accessible than before. http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/ISBN/1-59030-214-1.cfm CLASSICS OF BUDDHISM AND ZEN: THE COLLECTED TRANSLATIONS OF THOMAS CLEARY C. S. Lewis once wrote: "There is a strange idea abroad that in every subject the ancient books should be read only by the professionals, and the amateur should content himself with the modern books." He then went on to suggest that "amateurs" who actually tried reading the ancient texts might fin d them to be in many cases quite accessible, and might also find their ancient authors to be teachers and friends. Lewis was speaking of classic Christian works, of course, but the principle applies as well to Buddhist texts. Many of us modern people feel the need to have Buddhism interpreted for us by our contemporaries, shying away from the classic texts for fear they might be beyond our comprehension. The publication of this monumental collection in paperback (at last) is a good opportunity to challenge that assumption: to get acquainted with the ancient masters of Buddhism and Zen and to see that they taught in ways that were entirely accessible. They were concerned with conveying their experie nce of truth in the best way possible, and very often it still works for us today. Here's what the five volumes contain: VOLUME ONE: ZEN LESSONS--A guide to enlightened conduct for people in positions of authority, based on the teachings of several great Chinese Zen masters. ZEN ESSENCE--From the records of Tang and Song dynasty Zen masters, here are the most open and direct forms of instruction in the entire Zen canon. THE FIVE HOUSES OF ZEN--Teachings of the masters from the five great teaching lineages of Zen characteristic of ninth-century China. MINDING MIND--Cleary's digest of the teachings on meditation of the great Chan and Zen masters of China, Korea, and Japan (including Dogen and Chinul) is as good an introduction to meditation as there is--and it's all in the words of the great masters themselves. INSTANT ZEN--Dharma talks by Foyan (1067-1120), the great Song dynasty Zen master known for fostering a spirit of autonomy and freedom of exploration in his students. http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/ISBN/1-59030-218-4.cfm VOLUME TWO: TEACHINGS OF ZEN--A digest of talks, sayings, and records of heart-to- heart encounters with teachers from various periods. ZEN READER--A treasury of quotations from the great masters, to be turned to for instruction and inspiration. ZEN LETTERS--Teachings in the traditional epistolary form by Yuanwu (1036-1135)--addressed to friends, disciples, associates; women as well as men, householders as well as monastics, advanced students as well as beginners. SHOBOGENZO--The great work of the most famous religious figure in Japanese history, Ehei Dogen (1200-1253), considered the founder of the Soto school, but whose influence spreads far beyond any sectarian divisions. THE ECSTASY OF ENLIGHTENMENT--Early texts on Buddhist tantra-- translated from the Old Bengali. http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/ISBN/1-59030-219-2.cfm VOLUME THREE: THE SUTRA OF HUI-NENG--Teachings of the renowned Sixth Patriarch of Chinese Zen. Hui-neng (638-713) is concerned especially with direct insight into the essential nature of awareness. DREAM CONVERSATIONS--Teaching letters of the fourteenth-century Japanese Zen master Muso to laypeople. KENSHO--Texts on the experience of enlightenment by the great masters Chinul and Hakuin, and selections from the Book of Ease, a classic collection of koans and commentary. RATIONAL ZEN--Dogen's Universal Book of Eternal Peace, and a text from his Treasury of the Eye of True Teaching, with an extensive introduction. ZEN AND THE ART OF INSIGHT--Texts that deal with the basic question, "How do we know what we know and how do we know we know it?" http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/ISBN/1-59030-220-6.cfm VOLUME FOUR: TRANSMISSION OF LIGHT--How to attain satori. The first English translation of the Denkoroku. UNLOCKING THE ZEN KOAN--The koan classic Wumenguan, accompanied by Cleary's selection of comments by Chinese Zen masters. ORIGINAL FACE--An anthology of writings from the Rinzai school of Zen (the school most concerned with koans) from the thirteenth through eighteenth centuries. TIMELESS SPRING--A Soto Zen anthology. ZEN ANTICS--100 quirky and charming tales about people who got enlightened, and what it looked like when it happened. RECORD OF THINGS HEARD--A text from Dogen's renowned Treasury of the Eye of the True Teaching. SLEEPLESS NIGHTS--Subtitled "Verses for the Wakeful," these masterpieces of Buddhist poetry mock the folly of tyrants and celebrate the indominability of life. http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/ISBN/1-59030-221-4.cfm VOLUME FIVE: DHAMMAPADA--The most beloved of all Buddhist scriptures, with a popularity that even transcends Buddhism. THE BUDDHIST I CHING--The only full-length interpretation of the Classic of Changes by a Chinese Buddhist meditation master. STOPPING AND SEEING--This monumental work by the sixth-century Chinese master Chi-i is one of the most comprehensive manuals ever written on these two essential elements of meditation practice. ENTRY INTO THE INCONCEIVABLE--An introduction to the philosophy of the Hua-yen school. BUDDHIST YOGA--The Sandhinirmochana-sutra, or "Scripture Unlocking the Mysteries," a revered text of the Vijnanavada or Yogachara school. http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/ISBN/1-59030-222-2.cfm You can buy these, and all other Shambhala books, at a 20 percent discount by ordering online at our website: http://www.shambhala.com. And for the next two weeks, you can take advantage of our offer of 35% discount when you order three or more books online from our website. You can also order by phone by calling, toll-free 1-888-424-2329, or by writing us at: Shambhala Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 308, Back Bay Annex, Boston, MA 02117- 0308. Also this month, there are several updates on Shambhala's website. Pema Ch?dr?n?s latest teaching schedule is available at http://www.shambhala.com/html/learn/features/pema/index.cfm Our Buddhism page now features an excerpt from Ajahn Chah?s EVERYTHING ARISES, EVERYTHING FALLS AWAY, at http://www.shambhala.com/html/learn/features/buddhism/index.cfm And our newest featured excerpt from THE YOGA-SUTRA OF PATANJALI is available at http://www.shambhala.com/html/learn/features/yoga/sutras/index.cfm Drop us a line! We love to hear from you. And if you ever want to change or delete your email address, please send a note to EmailList at shambhala.com . P.S. If you've never sampled a copy of the magazine Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, here's an offer that may encourage you to do so. Buddhadharma, the in-depth, practice-oriented journal published by the staff of the Shambhala Sun magazine is making a special offer to subscribers of the Shambhala email newsletter. You can sample several copies of Buddhadharma at no cost by calling their toll-free number (877) 786- 1950 (outside North America, dial (902) 422-8404). They'll send you 2 free issues of their magazine in the coming months, and you'll have an opportunity to sign up for a regular subscription at a special price. Buddhadharma can be an excellent complement to the books we publish.