Buddhist Poetry Guides
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 [...]
Continue Reading >> 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 [...]
Continue Reading >> 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 [...]
Continue Reading >> 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 [...]
Continue Reading >> 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 [...]
Continue Reading >> 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 [...]
Continue Reading >> 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 [...]
Continue Reading >> 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 [...]
Continue Reading >> “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 [...]
Continue Reading >> 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 [...]
Continue Reading >> 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 [...]
Continue Reading >> 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 [...]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 [...]
Continue Reading >> 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 [...]
Continue Reading >> 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 [...]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 [...]
Continue Reading >> 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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