Books & Media

Item Description

These four books cover a wide array of topics and will please anyone who's interested in many different aspects of Buddhism and its effect on today's society.

• Shantideva: How to Wake Up a Hero by Dominique Townsend & Tenzin Norbu
• Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions by His Holiness the Dalai Lama & Thubten Chodron
• Razor-Wire Dharma: A Buddhist Life in Prison by Calvin Malone
• The Dharma of Star Wars by Matthew Bortolin

Shantideva: How to Wake Up a Hero is the retelling of Shantideva’s teachings before a surprised audience, who had thought he was useless and could only eat, sleep, and poop.  Leading his listeners into a superhero training of different kind, he reveals the secret to perfect bravery and unbounded compassion and shows how anyone can develop them.  You don’t need super-strength or magical powers, he says. You just need practice.

Over a dozen illustrations painted in traditional Tibetan style draw readers into this work that will be treasured not only by Buddhist families but by anyone who aspires to become more kind and wise.

Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions: Buddhism is practiced by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, from Tibetan caves to Tokyo temples to redwood retreats.  All these traditions trace their beginnings to the teachings of one man in India 2,500 years ago.  These teachings spread worldwide in all directions and into numerous languages, making Buddhism one of the today’s most influential religions.

In Buddhism, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and American Buddhist nun Thubten Chodron map out the convergence and divergence of the two major Buddhist movements—the Sanskrit traditions of Tibet and East Asia and the PÄ?li traditions of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.

The authors consider Buddhism’s core practices and tenets, such as the four noble truths, the practice of meditation, the cultivation of love, and the meaning of nirvÄ?á¹?a, and how the traditions sometimes agree and sometimes differ in their interpretations.  The authors’ respectful approach illuminates the many ways that all forms of Buddhism, amid their rich diversity, share a common heritage and common goals.

Razor-Wire Dharma: Calvin Malone has plenty to teach us all about ideas that we rarely associate with the penal system: Dignity. Compassion. Freedom behind bars.  He speaks from experience: Malone is nearing the end of a 20-year prison sentence himself.

Razor-Wire Dharma is his eloquent, enlightening, and utterly inspiring personal story how he found Buddhism—and real, transformative meaning for his life-despite being in one of the world's harshest environments.

Some of his stories are hilarious, some are harrowing, but all express Buddhist wisdom as vividly as any practitioner could hope to do.  Malone is living it, and in the unlikeliest of places.  For him, the choice of staying true to his principles often requires that he quite literally jeopardize his life, safety, and the few small comforts available to him to try to do what's right.

Razor-Wire Dharma makes it clear that if Calvin can do what's right in jail, he can do it anywhere. What’s more, it proves that we can, too.

The Dharma of Star Wars:  “What is the Dharma? And what in Sith spit does it have to do with Star Wars? Well, if you’re like me, it has everything to do with that glorious galaxy far, far away…”

Here, the modern space saga and the ancient words of the Buddha illuminate each other in playful and unexpectedly rewarding ways, answering questions such as

• Is Yoda a Zen Master?
• Do Jedis practice mindfulness?
• Did attachment cause Darth Vader’s turn to the Dark Side?

Covering everything from A New Hope to The Clone Wars, this revised and expanded edition provides a unique take on the intergalactic epic and an inspiring introduction to Buddhism.

Item Special Note

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