Buddhist Poetry Guides

Women in Buddhism

Women in Buddhism

Women in Buddhism Throughout history women have played a vital role in the preservation and presentation of Buddhism. The Buddha himself expressed deep respect for his mother and as several contemporary Buddhist scholars have pointed out, women have played a significant role in helping to shape and preserve Buddhism. That is certainly true for Buddhism [...]
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Kazuaki Tanahashi: A Guide for Readers

Kazuaki Tanahashi: A Guide for Readers

Kazuaki Tanahashi Learn More A Reader's Guide to Kazuaki Tanahashi, the poet, artist, activist and modern-day Zen master Related Reader Guides Zen in Japan Early Zen in Japan  |  Dogen: A Guide to His Works Rinzai Zen | Hakuin Ekaku: A Reader's Guide The Samurai and Zen  |  Zen up to the Meiji Restoration  Chan [...]
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Doha and Gur: Indian and Tibetan Songs of Realization

Doha and Gur: Indian and Tibetan Songs of Realization

Doha and Gur: Indian and Tibetan Songs of Realization Bhutanese painted thanka of Milarepa (1052-1135) from the late 19th-early 20th Century, Dhodeydrag Gonpa, Thimphu, Bhutan Doha and Gur Doha (Sanskrit) or Nam Gur (Tibetan, Gur for short), is often translated as "Songs of Realization." This form of poetry is often sung or recited spontaneously and is [...]
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Happy Poetry Month 2023!

Happy National Poetry Month! From haiku to the poems of the Beats, from ancient translations to modern free verse, everyone can find a style to love in our poetry collection. Enter your email below for a chance to win a bundle of three poetry books: The Mysterion, Yin Mountain, and The Art of Haiku and receive a code [...]
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Remembering Patricia Donegan

Remembering Patricia Donegan

Patricia Donegan, the great poet, translator, and promoter of haiku, died on Tuesday, January 24th at 6:20pm CST. Her friend Elaine Martin shared the following: "During a recent visit with her brother she stated, 'I go willingly into the sound of the crickets.' Amazing that she uttered such words while moving between confusion, anxiety, and [...]
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Zen and Chan in 2022

Zen and Chan in 2022

Zen and Chan in 2022 Read More We published several books and audiobooks on Zen and Chan Buddhism in 2022 See our other Year in Review Guides: Theravada/Pali/Insight | Zen and Chan | Tibetan Buddhism Yoga | Personal Development | Kids Books We are very happy to share with you a look back at our [...]
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Poetry Month 2022

Poetry Month 2022

Happy Poetry Month! From lyric to free verse, modern words to ancient translations, spiritual to artistic guidance—discover a new poem to love. Sign up below to receive a new poem delivered straight to your inbox each week of April. Featured Books Poetry and Zen$29.95 - PaperbackBy: R. H. Blyth & Norman Waddell Add to Cart [...]
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Poetry Month 2021

Poetry Month 2021

Happy Poetry Month! From lyric to free verse, modern words to ancient translations, spiritual to artistic guidance—discover a new poem to love. Sign up below to receive a new poem delivered straight to your inbox each week of April. Email Address * First Name     *You are agreeing to receive promotional messages from Shambhala [...]
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Remembering Diane di Prima

Remembering Diane di Prima

“the only war that matters is the war against the imagination.” —Diane di Prima Onehandclapping, CC BY-SA 3.0 We just learned that Diane di Prima passed away on October 25th, 2020.  While we did not publish any of her extraordinary stand-alone works, she and her work appear in many Shambhala Publications books.  Though I had [...]
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Michael McClure

Michael McClure

Photo credit: By Onehandclapping - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7751339 The great poet and Shambhala author/contributor/blurber Michael McClure passed away May 4th, 2020. Michael was at the heart of the Beats, always listed as one of the shining lights of this group of explorers and creatives. We published a book of his poetry, Touching [...]
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The Legacy of Master Sheng Yen

The Legacy of Master Sheng Yen

Chan Master Sheng Yen (1930–2009) was a widely respected Taiwanese Chan (Chinese Zen) master who taught extensively in the West during the last thirty-one years of his life. He had numerous teaching centers throughout North America, as well throughout the world. He co-led retreats with the Dalai Lama, and he is the author of numerous [...]
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Milarepa: A Reader’s Guide to Tibet’s Great Yogi

Milarepa: A Reader’s Guide to Tibet’s Great Yogi

Milarepa: A Reader's Guide Learn More There are few figures more beloved in the Buddhist Himalayas than the 11th century yogi-hero Milarepa. Namkading Cave area where Milarepa spent many years in retreat Related Reader Guides: Profiles of early Indian Mahayana figures | Tibetan Masters of the 8th Century | Tibetan Masters of the 10th-11th Centuries The Kagyu Tradition | [...]
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Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan | An Excerpt from The Complete Cold Mountain

Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan | An Excerpt from The Complete Cold Mountain

Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan The Universality of Hanshan’s Writing Though the poems in this collection were written more than twelve hundred years ago, poetry that expresses our common human experience with the unflinching wisdom and truth found in Hanshan’s writing has a way of collapsing time and distance, and even cultural differences, because it [...]
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Tsongkhapa: A Guide to His Life and Works

Tsongkhapa: A Guide to His Life and Works

Tsongkhapa Learn More A Reader's Guide to one of Tibet's most important figures Ganden Monastery, founded by Tsongkhapa Related Reader Guides: Profiles of early Indian Mahayana figures | Lives of the Masters Series | Atisha | Aryadeva The Kadam Tradition | The Gelug Tradition | Madhyamaka  Milarepa | His Holiness the Dalai Lama The Life of Tsongkhapa [...]
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Buddhist Poetry – A Reader Guide

Buddhist Poetry – A Reader Guide

Buddhist Poetry: A Reader Guide Read More Shambhala Publications publishes numerous books of Buddhist poetry, and we’ve gathered some of our favorites here. Jump to sections on this page: Recent Releases | Chan and Zen Poetry | Indian Poetry | Tibetan Poetry | Southeast Asian Poetry | Contemporary Buddhist Poetry Related Books and Articles Recent [...]
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The World Is Round or Spherical | An Excerpt from Gendun Chopel

The World Is Round or Spherical | An Excerpt from Gendun Chopel

from Melong Gendun Chopel contributed both poetry and essays to Melong (“Mirror”), the Tibetan-language newspaper published in Kalimpong by the Tibetan Christian from Khunnu, Dorje Tharchin, also known as Tharchin Babu. Its full title in Tibetan was Mirror of the News from Various Regions. In the June 28, 1938, issue, Gendun Chopel published an essay [...]
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Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche: A Reader’s Guide

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche: A Reader’s Guide

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s impact on the transmission of Buddhism to the West cannot be overstated. In the quarter century he spent in the West, he taught tens of thousands of students, in many cases introducing them to Buddhism for the first time. His legacy is nearly impossible to measure, but one gauge is his literary [...]
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The Art of Haiku

The Art of Haiku

From the introduction to The Art of Haiku: Its History through Poems and Paintings by Japanese Masters This book will trace the history of Japanese haiku, including the poetic traditions from which it was born, primarily through the work of leading masters such as Basho, Buson, Issa, and Shiki, along with a number of other fine poets. [...]
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