Showing results by narrator "Brian Nishii" in All Categories

The study of budo, or the Japanese martial arts for self-cultivation, is a lifelong path toward perfection of character. Here, Dave Lowry, a sword master who has practiced and taught budo for over 40 years, addresses the myriad issues, vagaries, and inconsistencies that arise for students of karate-do, judo, kendo, kenjutsu, aikido, and iaido as their training develops.

Trevor Corson takes us behind the scenes at America's first sushi-chef training academy, as eager novices strive to master the elusive art of cooking without cooking. He delves into the biology and natural history of the edible creatures of the sea, and tells the fascinating story of an Indo-Chinese meal reinvented in 19th-century Tokyo as a cheap fast food.

Half-Korean, half-Japanese, Masaji Ishikawa has spent his whole life feeling like a man without a country. This feeling only deepened when his family moved from Japan to North Korea when Ishikawa was just thirteen years old, and unwittingly became members of the lowest social caste. His father, himself a Korean national, was lured to the new Communist country by promises of abundant work, education for his children, and a higher station in society. But the reality of their new life was far from utopian.

This audiobook contains both of the very popular Lama Yeshe booklets, Becoming Your Own Therapist and Make Your Mind an Ocean. These lectures explore the general topics of Buddhism and the mind and are followed by question-and-answer sessions that include a fascinating historic exchange between Lama and a group of psychiatrists illuminating the differences between Western and Buddhist concepts of mental health.

Murasaki Shikibu, born into the middle ranks of the aristocracy during the Heian period (794-1185 CE), wrote The Tale of Genji - widely considered the world’s first novel - during the early years of the 11th century. Expansive, compelling, and sophisticated in its representation of ethical concerns and aesthetic ideals, Murasaki’s tale came to occupy a central place in Japan’s remarkable history of artistic achievement and is now recognized as a masterpiece of world literature.

Lord Yamada is called away - one last time - from his newly restored estates in Kamakura to help Prince Kanemore ensure that Princess Teiko's son, Takahito, inherits the Chrysanthemum Throne. Unfortunately, assuming the throne proves to be the easy part. Yamada must then help Takahito renounce that throne in such a way as to hobble the power of the Fujiwara clan forever!

Yuki Hirano is just out of high school when his parents enroll him, against his will, in a forestry training program in the remote mountain village of Kamusari. No phone, no internet, no shopping. Just a small, inviting community where the most common expression is “take it easy.” At first, Yuki is exhausted, fumbles with the tools, asks silly questions, and feels like an outcast. Kamusari is the last place a city boy from Yokohama wants to spend a year of his life. But as resistant as he might be, the scent of the cedars and the staggering beauty of the region have a pull.

Two dozen tales of future shock and twisted history from an undisputed king of cyberpunk science fiction, including Nebula Award finalists “Sunken Garden” and “Dori Bangs.”

About 1,000 years ago, the great Indian pandit and yogi, Dipamkara Shrijnana (Atisha), was invited to Tibet to reestablish the Buddhadharma which had been suppressed and corrupted for almost two centuries. One of Atisha's main accomplishments in Tibet was his writing of the seminal text A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, in which he extracted the essence of all 84,000 teachings of the Buddha and organized them into a clear, steplike arrangement that makes it easy for any individual practitioner to understand and practice the Dharma. This genre of teachings is known as lam-rim, or steps of the path, and forms an essential part of every school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Nothing wrecks an already bad day faster than almost getting hit by a car. But then he rescued me. My mysterious, sexy savior wore danger as easily as he wore his black-on-black clothes. And still, I wasn't afraid of him. I should've been. Because after one misunderstanding, the man I thought would love me forever showed me just how ruthless and cold he really is. I trusted him with my heart once and it broke me. I can't afford to make that mistake again.

“From exactly midnight until daybreak, the Namiya General Store advice box will be reopening for one night only.” When three delinquents hole up in an abandoned general store after their most recent robbery, to their great surprise, a letter drops through the mail slot in the store’s shutter. This seemingly simple request for advice sets the trio on a journey of discovery as, over the course of a single night, they step into the role of the kindhearted former shopkeeper who devoted his waning years to offering thoughtful counsel to his correspondents.

Newly minted an Elder of the Verdant Green Waters sect, sword prodigy Elder Cheng Zhao Wan—the Sundering Blade—is forced to leave the sect to fulfill an old obligation. A benefactor from the past is injured and has demanded Elder Cheng locate his assailant. Forced to listen to the ramblings of a dying old man, amidst a small and unfamiliar sect, who Elder Cheng can trust is unknown. Was the injury nothing more than happenstance, or is something more dire afoot?

Having won the battle with the demon, Yang Wu leaves Thunder Pearl behind to study at the Lion Academy. Ahead of him lie underhand struggles of clans and secret societies, ancient secrets, and dangerous enemies. He will have to go through many trials and fights, putting his life and health on the line. To survive and stay on the top, Yang will have to get to know himself better and master his new powers. A champion never gives up. He stares death in the eye as he prepares himself for his next fight, chanting the ancient mantra in his head.

The distinguished filmmaker chronicles his life, from his birth in 1910 to the worldwide success in 1950 of his film Rashomon, and provides a provocative account of the Japanese film industry.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama provides intimate details on an advanced meditation practice called Dzogchen using a visionary poem by the 19th-century saint Patrul Rinpoche, author of the Buddhist classic Words of My Perfect Teacher. The Dalai Lama deftly connects how training the mind in compassion for other beings is directly related to - and in fact a prerequisite for - the very pinnacle of Buddhist meditation.

This highly regarded war memoir was a best seller in both Japan and the United States during the 1960s and has long been treasured by historians for its insights into the Japanese side of the surface war in the Pacific. The author was a survivor of more than one hundred sorties against the Allies and was known throughout Japan as the Unsinkable Captain.

The teachings of Shunryu Suzuki have served for innumerable people as the gateway to Zen practice and meditation. In Zen Is Right Now, devoted student and biographer David Chadwick sheds new light on Suzuki’s presence and teachings through selected quotes from his lectures and a variety of stories told by his students.

Akira Kido is a divorce attorney whose own marriage is in danger of being destroyed by emotional disconnect. With a midlife crisis looming, Kido's life is upended by the reemergence of a former client, Rié Takemoto. She wants Kido to investigate a dead man - her recently deceased husband, Daisuké. Upon his death she discovered that he’d been living a lie. His name, his past, his entire identity belonged to someone else, a total stranger.

Just yesterday, Ian Raven was a champion in Vale Tudo. His fighting spirit and the desire to win led him to the top of the fighting Olympus. Having met death in battle, Ian made a deal with a mysterious entity wearing the mask of a demon and found himself in a new body and a new world. A world that lives by old traditions. A world in which the law is the will of ruthless clans. A world with disturbed balance. A world hurtling toward the abyss.

We are in the midst of an obesity epidemic, but despite being inundated with diet advice we are only getting fatter. We count calories and exercise regularly, yet still the pounds won't budge. Why? In this highly enjoyable and provocative book, Dr Jason Fung sets out a groundbreaking new theory: that obesity is caused by our hormones, rather than a lack of self-control. He reveals that overproduction of insulin in the body is the root cause of obesity and obesity-related illnesses including type 2 diabetes