Many Dharma books give advice on how to meditate or reflect: others offer maps of the mind as an aide to working with ethics and our mental states. But this week we’re giving away a book of a different kind; a book of stories of practice.
How does the Dharma work? How does it transform us in the individual and unique situations we find ourselves in?
Based on 22 stories, Challenging Times: Stories of Buddhist practice when things get tough is a compelling read. You can download it here until 8 June.
Vishvapani introduces this edited book with a question that links these powerful stories. Each person in the book faced some sort of situation or change and had to ask themselves “What can I do now that I have a difficulty that can’t be fixed by continuing to act as I usually do, and I am suffering?”
You might recognise some of the people who share the details of their practice or turning points in their lives in these pages: Subhadramati, Vidyamala, Joan Halifax Roshi, Stephen Batchelor, Vishvapani and others.
Perhaps it’s easy to think that the path from suffering to liberation runs in a straight line. But these stories show how we gain our freedom through retreats here, insights there, radical acceptance of what is actually happening, and moments when new truths become clear. Whatever your situation, you will find courage and inspiration from their stories.
Last week’s There’s more to dying than death is still available to download until 1 June. And this is the last week you can buy discounted books in our May Stay at Home Sale.
Thank you again for your donations, big and small, when you check out with the free eBooks. With book shops closed, these sales and donations are keeping us up and running.
With all best wishes,
from the Windhorse Publications team: Dhammamegha, Michelle and Helen