Search results for ""author ratnaguna""

It is all too easy either to think obsessively, or to not think enough. But how do we think usefully? How do we reflect? Like any art, reflection can be learnt and developed, leading to a deeper understanding of life and to the fullness of wisdom. Drawing on his own experience and on Buddhist teachings, Western philosophy, psychology and literature, Ratnaguna provides a practical guide to reflection in its many forms. This is a book about reflection as spiritual practice, about its importance, about "what we think and how we think about it". It is a book about contemplation and insight, and reflection as a way to discover the truth.

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Ratnaguna presents a commentary on the three Pure Land Sutras - the Shorter and Longer Sukhavati-vyuha Sutras and the Amitayur-Dhyana Sutra. Looking at them as a practising Buddhist inspired by the Sutras, he shows how they describe Sukhavati and Amitabha/Amitayus, Sukhavati's relationship with faith and practice, explain how they came about (a 'mythical history'), and tell us how we can be reborn there. The Sutras all discuss the aspiration to be reborn in Sukhavati but can also be understood metaphorically - rebirth taking place in this very life, and Sukhavati being a description of the Enlightened Mind. The Sutras put forward a path of faith and grace, as well as effort and practice. Using a practical and imaginative approach, Ratnaguna explores the main themes from the texts, including the '3-fold Goodness' or '3 acts of merit' necessary to be reborn into Sukhavati, and the 13 meditations given by the Buddha. This book will appeal to both practising Buddhists and anyone interested in Buddhism from a practical point of view.Includes translations of the three Pure Land sutras by Sraddhapa.

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