This is a first-person poetic narrative by a successful middle-aged man, concerning a long spiritual journey. It began when he was twenty-seven, just getting traction with his engineering career, and was awakened from his ego-unconsciousness by mystical experiences that inspired him to scribble out reams of poetryand meet his Muse. Subsequent career demands induced him to deny the mystical experiences, quit writing poetry, and fall back asleep. For two decades he was comfortable in that sleep, but during the third, the emptiness of his successful, ego-life and bouts of depression induced him to wake up enough for him to realize there was something fundamentally wrong with it. After many hours of depression and deep thinking about his life, he realized that he had to regain the sense of meaningful wholeness he had felt when in those mystical states and writing poetry. This allegorical poem is his attempt to describe that struggle to wake up out of his long ego-sleep, regain his mystical wholeness, and through the act of writing this poem, make peace with his betrayed Muse and explicate what he learned during the process.

This volume contains four important texts in the Tiantai Lotus tradition: The Infinite Meanings Sutra, composed as an introduction to the Lotus Sutra, and The Sutra Expounded by the Buddha on the Practice of the Way through Contemplation of Bodhisattva All-embracing Goodness are part of the so-called Threefold Lotus Sutra. The Commentary on the Lotus Sutra is a translation of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra-upadeśa (Jpn. Myōhorengekyō upadaisha), a commentary on the Lotus Sutra attributed to the eminent Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu. A Guide to the Tiantai Fourfold Teachings is a translation of a tenth-century text by the Korean monk Chegwan that presents an introduction to the teachings of Zhiyi (538-597), founder of the Tiantai tradition.

The secret to happiness is to acknowledge and transform suffering, not to run away from it. Here, Thich Nhat Hanh offers practices and inspiration transforming suffering and finding true joy. Thich Nhat Hanh acknowledges that because suffering can feel so bad, we try to run away from it or cover it up by consuming. We find something to eat or turn on the television. But unless we’re able to face our suffering, we can’t be present and available to life, and happiness will continue to elude us. Nhat Hanh shares how the practices of stopping, mindful breathing, and deep concentration can generate the energy of mindfulness within our daily lives. With that energy, we can embrace pain and calm it down, instantly bringing a measure of freedom and a clearer mind. No Mud, No Lotus introduces ways to be in touch with suffering without being overwhelmed by it. "When we know how to suffer," Nhat Hanh says, "we suffer much, much less." With his signature clarity and sense of joy, Thich Nhat Hanh helps us recognize the wonders inside us and around us that we tend to take for granted and teaches us the art of happiness.

"The Lotus Sutra" is one of the world's great religious scriptures and most influential texts. It has been a seminal work in the development of Buddhism throughout East Asia and, by extension in the development of Mahayana Buddhism throughout the world. Taking place in a vast and fantastical cosmic setting, the Lotus Sutra places emphasis on skillfully doing whatever is needed to serve and compassionately care for others, on breaking down sharp distinctions between the ideals of the fully enlightened buddha and the bodhisattva who vows to postpone personal salvation until all beings may share it together, and especially on each and every being's innate capacity to become a buddha.

The Lotus Sutra is regarded as one of the world's great religious scriptures and most influential texts. It's a seminal work in the development of Buddhism throughout East Asia and, by extension, in the development of Mahayana Buddhism throughout the world. Taking place in a vast and fantastical cosmic setting, the Lotus Sutra places emphasis on skillfully doing whatever is needed to serve and compassionately care for others, on breaking down distinctions between the fully enlightened buddha and the bodhisattva who vows to postpone salvation until all beings may share it, and especially on each and every being's innate capacity to become a buddha. Gene Reeves's new translation appeals to readers with little or no familiarity with technical Buddhist vocabulary, as well as long-time practitioners and students. In addition, this remarkable volume includes the full "threefold" text of this classic.

The Dharma Flower Sutra (Lotus Sutra) Seen through the Oral Transmission of Nichiren Daishōnin, translated and interpreted by Martin Bradley: "What is being attempted here is a close study of what it was that made Nichiren realise that the salvation of humankind is to be found within the text of the Dharma Flower or Lotus Sutra. Only at extremely sparse intervals in the course of history have there been a few individuals who have really comprehended what existence is all about. "The message is to devote our lives to and found them on the dimension where existence occurs whose interdependence of cause, concomitancy and effect pervades the entirety of existence and is Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō in Japanese. It is the recitation of the title and subject matter of the Dharma Flower Sutra that makes us realise that the meaning of existence is here and now in each and every moment of our lives and that the white lotus flower-like mechanism is the totality of all the possible reaches of our minds." Martin Bradley

Popular scholar Ravi Zacharias sets a captivating scene between Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha in the first book of the Conversations with Jesus series. Have you ever wondered what Jesus would say to Mohammed? Or Buddha? Or Oscar Wilde? Maybe you have a friend who practices another religion or admires a more contemporary figure. Drop in on a conversation between Jesus and some well-known individuals whose search for the meaning of life took them in many directions--and influenced millions. Through dialogue between Christ and Gautama Buddha, Zacharias reveals Jesus' warm, impassioned concern for all people and explores God's true nature.