NEW BOOKS> Five Works on Mahaprajapati, Silent Illumination

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H-Buddhism NEW BOOKS> Five Works on Mahaprajapati, Silent Illumination, Xutang Zhiyu, a Jonang work on Shambhala, and Mindfulness

Discussion published by Nikko Odiseos on Sunday, March 21, 2021

I am pleased to share five new releases that may be of interest to members of this list.

1. The Woman Who Raised the Buddha: The Extraordinary Life of Mahaprajapati by Wendy Garling

"Using numerous and varied translations of Buddhist texts, Wendy Garling has here reimagined and reconstructed a rich and inspiring life story of Mahaprajapati, the Buddha’s foster-mother and the first Buddhist nun. By doing so, Garling has proven her superb skills as a storyteller and writer." —Jan Willis, author of Dharma Matters: Women, Race, and Tantra and Dreaming Me: Black, Baptist, and Buddhist

"Weaving together dozens of ancient sources and informed by the very best modern scholarship, Wendy Garling’s life story of Mahaprajapati is destined to become the definitive study of this important figure. An extraordinary tale of an extraordinary woman by an extraordinarily gifted writer, The Woman Who Raised the Buddha is an important contribution to the burgeoning literature about the pivotal role women have played in the Buddhist tradition. A must-read." —José Ignacio Cabezón, Dalai Lama Professor, UC Santa Barbara, and president of the American Academy of Religion

"Wendy Garling brings together here a myriad of stories about Mahaprajapati, the mother who raised the Buddha, and shares them with us, sometimes by quotations, other times by retelling them with elegance and grace. This in itself is a great gift, but much more is to be found here. Modeling for us how the imagination can be used as an investigative tool, Wendy Garling traces for us some of the subjective layers, such as a mother’s love and the loyalty between sisters, that are woven into the foundations of Buddhism. She teaches us how to appreciate these beautiful stories about Mahaprajapati and in doing so, she reminds us that human love as well as human suffering lie embedded together at the very core of Buddhist teaching and life." —Charles Hallisey, Harvard Divinity School

PAGES: 272 ISBN: 9781611806694 http://shmb.la/mahaprajapati

2. Silent Illumination: A Chan Buddhist Path to Natural Awakening by Guo Gu (Dr. Jimmy Yu of Florida State University)

The latest in The Core Teachings of the Dalai Lama series http://shmb.la/core-teachings( ), this is a distillation of Tsongkhapa's three volume Lamrim.

PAGES: 160 ISBN: 9781611808728 http://shmb.la/silent-illumination

3. The Realm of Shambhala: A Complete Vision for Humanity’s Perfection by Shar Khentrul Jamphel Lodrö

"This book brings to light the little known Jonangpas’ perspectives on Shambhala and on the formation of the Shambhala tradition in Tibet. Khentrul Rinpoche here argues for various, mutually connected planes of Shambhala’s existence that can be experienced at different stages of practice, and he shows how Shambhala can be experienced in this very life. Therefore, this book will be of interest and benefit not only to scholars and students of Tibetan Buddhism but also to practitioners of the Kalachakra Tantra." —Vesna Wallace

PAGES: 232 ISBN: 9781611808032 http://shmb.la/realm-of-shambhala

4. The Record of Empty Hall: One Hundred Classic Koans by Dosho Port

The Record of Empty Hall was written by Xutang Zhiyu (1185–1269), an important figure in Chinese Rinzai Ch'an and in its transmission to Japan. Although previously little-known in the West, Xutang's work is on par with the other great koan collections of the era, such as The Blue Cliff Record and Book of Serenity.

"All those interested in the study and practice of Zen koans will be grateful for this new translation, with commentary by Dosho Port, of The Record of Empty Hall. This koan collection was compiled by Xutang Zhiyu, a prominent thirteenth-century Chinese Zen master who taught several important Japanese disciples. Port skillfully highlights Xutang’s creative use of terse substitute or alternate phrases in order to bring new light to one hundred fascinating koan cases culled from all the main Zen schools. This collection beautifully complements other important koan commentaries, such as the Blue Cliff Record and the Gateless Gate." —Steven Heine, author of Chan Rhetoric of Uncertainty in the Blue Cliff Record

PAGES: 320 ISBN: 9781611808919 http://shmb.la/record-empty-hall

5. Minding Closely: The Four Applications of Mindfulness by B. Alan Wallace

Bringing in his experience as a Buddhist monk, scientist, and contemplative, Alan Wallace offers a

Citation: Nikko Odiseos. NEW BOOKS> Five Works on Mahaprajapati, Silent Illumination, Xutang Zhiyu, a Jonang work on Shambhala, and Mindfulness. H-Buddhism. 03-21-2021. https://networks.h-net.org/node/6060/discussions/7458900/new-books-five-works-mahaprajapati-silent-illumination-xutang Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 2 H-Buddhism rich synthesis of Eastern and Western mindfulness traditions, along with a comprehensive range of guided meditation practices interwoven throughout the text. The meditations are systematically presented, beginning with very basic instructions, which are then gradually built upon as one gains increasing familiarity with the practice.

This edition includes a new preface and never-before-published translations by Wallace of Asanga (on Mindfulness of Breathing from the Shravakabhumi), Shantideva (Four Close Applications of Mindfulness from the Shikshasamucchaya), and Dudjom Rinpoche (Extracting the Vital Essence of Accomplishment from Ri Cho). http://shmb.la/minding-closely

There are many more recent releases on our website, http://shmb.la/buddhism, as well.

Desk and Exam copies can be requested from our worldwide distributor, Penguin Random House at http://shmb.la/desk-exam.

Best Wishes, Nikko Odiseos, Shambhala Publications