Thomas Cleary (1949—2021) was one of the twentieth century’s greatest translators of Asian classics. He was extremely prolific, translating and authoring countless works. Shambhala Publications has published over sixty. His books have sold millions of copies and his translations have in turn been translated into over twenty languages worldwide. His first published project, in collaboration [...]

Last week we received the very sad news that Thomas Cleary, one of the greatest translators of our time, passed away on June 20, 2021. Thomas Cleary (1949–2021) was the twentieth century's most prolific translator of Asian classics to English, translating and introducing over eighty works from Chinese, Japanese, Sanskrit, Pali, Bengali, Arabic, and Old [...]

The Samurai and Zen     This is part of a series of articles on the arc of Zen thought, practice, and history, as presented in The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World.  You can start at the beginning of this series or simply explore [...]

Spreading Out the Vision An Excerpt from Hidden Zen Gazing at Distant Mountains The first practice we will examine is a bodily method of direct pointing. Specifically, it uses the eyes and vision to change our way of experiencing. In Zen training, and particularly during zazen, the eyes are used in a specific manner that [...]

The Art of Peace is Required, Not the Art of War The divine beauty Of heaven and earth! All creation, Members of One family. Eight forces sustain creation: Movement and stillness, Solidification and fluidity, Extension and contraction, Unification and division. Now and again, it is necessary to seclude yourself among deep mountains and hidden valleys [...]

One of the greatest joys for me as an editor at Shambhala Publications is when I work on books by people I have long admired. This was most definitely the case when Shambhala had the good fortune to become William Scott Wilson’s publisher several years ago. I first encountered his work when I was a [...]

With the introduction of firearms, the art of bow shooting was in danger of disappearing. However, this art was one of the principal disciplines of bushido, the Way of the Samurai. As a means of keeping this tradition alive, the annual Toshiya archery contest was instituted. The site of the contest was a temple in [...]

Mountain Record of Zen Talks By John Daido Loori   This book, now more than a quarter-century old, is one of the best ways to get acquainted with the late esteemed Zen master John Daido Loori (1931-2009). He was a lineage holder in both Soto (a dharma heir of Taizan Maezumi) and Rinzai schools, and [...]

The Way of Judo$24.95 - PaperbackBy: John Stevens Add to Cart Shambhala: Why did you want to write about Jigoro Kano? JS: Since I have written books on three of the other most important martial artist masters of the 20th century-Tesshu Yamaoka (kendo), Awa Kenzo (kyudo), and Morihei Ueshiba (aikido)-I felt it imperative to write [...]

The following exercise is excerpted from  The Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi  by Peter M. Wayne, PhD, and Mark L. Fuerst. A good way to experience the interactions between gentle, pulsing move ­ments, relaxation, imagery, and intention and their potential to alleviate pain is by practicing a simple exercise I developed called "Hand [...]