A Monastery Within

Dawn of the Bodhisattva Path

Gil Fronsdal

The early history of the Mahāyāna movement has drawn a great deal of attention from scholars over the last half century. Among the various suggestions made about its origins are that it was initially a lay movement, a path of greater stringency for monastics, a stūpa cult, a practice of forest recluses, or even the result of influences from outside the Buddhist tradition. In this study Gil Fronsdal examines the Daoxing jing, a second-century Chinese translation of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines. The Daoxing jing is the earliest version of the Perfection of Wisdom scripture, one of the most important foundational texts of the Mahāyāna movement. In this study Fronsdal challenges many contemporary presumptions, including those about the characteristics of the aspiration for buddhahood and what it means to be a bodhisattva, and offers insight into the early formation of a strain of thought and practice that contributed to what eventually became the Mahāyāna as we know it today.

Es Liegt in Deiner Hand

Gil Fronsdal

Aufsätze über die Übung buddhistischer Achtsamkeit. Eine inspirierende und leicht zugängliche Sammlung von Essays und bearbeiteten Vorträgen über die Übung buddhistischer Achtsamkeit. Gil Fronsdal schreibt, dass die Suche nach dem was zur Hand liegt, die Suche nach dem ist, das uns am nächsten liegt, nach dem, das im gegenwärtigen Augenblick direkt gesehen, gehört, gerochen, geschmeckt, gefühlt und erkannt wird. Gil bringt die Übung der Achtsamkeit nicht nur bei formeller Meditation zum Einsatz, sondern auch bei all den unterschiedlichen Aspekten des täglichen Lebens.

Everything is Practice

Gil Fronsdal

Secularizing Buddhism

Gil Fronsdal

A timely essay collection on the development and influence of secular expressions of Buddhism in the West and beyond. How do secular values impact Buddhism in the modern world? What versions of Buddhism are being transmitted to the West? Is it possible to know whether an interpretation of the Buddha’s words is correct? In this new essay collection, opposing ideas that often define Buddhist communities—secular versus religious, modern versus traditional, Western versus Eastern—are unpacked and critically examined. These reflections by contemporary scholars and practitioners reveal the dynamic process of reinterpreting and reimagining Buddhism in secular contexts, from the mindfulness movement to Buddhist shrine displays in museums, to whether rebirth is an essential belief. This collection explores a wide range of modern understandings of Buddhism—whether it is considered a religion, philosophy, or lifestyle choice—and questions if secular Buddhism is purely a Western invention, offering a timely contribution to an ever-evolving discussion. Contributors include Bhikkhu Bodhi, Kate Crosby, Gil Fronsdal, Kathleen Gregory, Funie Hsu, Roger R. Jackson, Charles B. Jones, David L. McMahan, Richard K. Payne, Ron Purser, Sarah Shaw, Philippe Turenne, and Pamela D. Winfield.

The Buddha before Buddhism

Gil Fronsdal

This easy-to-understand translation of one of the earliest surviving Buddhist texts offers a pathway to awakening that is simple, straightforward, and free of religious doctrine One of the earliest of all Buddhist texts, the Atthakavagga, or “Book of Eights,” is a remarkable document, not only because it comes from the earliest strain of the literature—before the Buddha, as the title suggests, came to be thought of as a “Buddhist”—but also because its approach to awakening is so simple and free of adherence to any kind of ideology. Instead the Atthakavagga points to a direct and simple approach for attaining peace without requiring the adherence to doctrine. The value of the teachings it contains is not in the profundity of their philosophy or in their authority as scripture; rather, the value is found in the results they bring to those who live by them. Instead of doctrines to be believed, the “Book of Eights” describes means or practices for realizing peace. Gil Fronsdal’s rigorous translation with commentary reveals the text to be of interest not only to Buddhists, but also to the ever-growing demographic of spiritual-but-not-religious, who seek a spiritual life outside the structures of religion.