Buddhist Fiction

Often considered the highest achievement in Korean fiction, The Nine Cloud Dream poses the question: Will the life we dream of truly make us happy? Written in 17th-century Korea, this classic novel's wondrous story begins when a young monk living on a sacred Lotus Peak in China succumbs to the temptation of eight fairy maidens. For doubting his master's Buddhist teachings, the monk is forced to endure a strange punishment: reincarnation as the most ideal of men.

Author and painter Mark McGinnis has collected over 40 of these hallowed popular tales and retold them in vividly poetic yet accessible language, their original Buddhist messages firmly intact.

This is the story of a springer spaniel and her half-sister, who set out to discover the reason their owner meditates and is so interested in the teachings of the Buddha. Ably assisted by a bookshelf, who holds a fountain of knowledge, they embark upon a quest to discover the secrets of meditation and uncover the path to ancient wisdom. As they progress along the road to enlightenment, they not only transform their own perception of life, but also the lives of those around them.

Buddhism is practiced by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, from Tibetan caves to Tokyo temples to redwood retreats. To an outside viewer, it might be hard to see what they all have in common. In Buddhism, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and American Buddhist nun Thubten Chodron map out with clarity the convergences and the divergences between the two major strains of Buddhism - the Sanskrit traditions of Tibet and East Asia and the Pali traditions of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.

In this contemporary story, Tash lives in Tibet, where as a practicing Buddhist she must follow many rules to avoid the wrath of the occupying Chinese soldiers. Lately, things have been relatively peaceful, as long as Tash and her family hide their religion and don't mention its leader, the Dalai Lama. Then a man publicly sets himself on fire in protest. Soldiers seize Tash's parents. She narrowly escapes, and soon she and her best friend, Sam, along with two borrowed yaks, flee across the mountains, where they face blizzards, hunger, a treacherous landscape, and the threat of capture.

Who knew that escaping reality might just be the way we destroy it? Will Robin does what no one should: pluck microchips from people’s heads. In an age where AI has been fully integrated with human life, Will clearly sees what everyone else doesn’t; that it’s a ploy for control and power. What started out as using his skill to exercise his own free will quickly became a passion and a mission to free the world around him. Even if it’s just one pluck at a time. When the government gets wind of this, they target Will, and it sets off a cascade of events that threatens to take the one ...

Hojoki is an introspective poem written in the 13th century by the enigmatic Japanese hermit Kamo no Chomei, who as a young man served in the capital as official court poet, but later in life withdrew from society.

Over the course of twenty-five centuries, Buddhism spread from its place of origin in northern India to become a global tradition of remarkable breadth, depth, and richness. Donald S. Lopez Jr. draws on the latest scholarship to construct a detailed and innovative history of Buddhism—not just as a chronology through the centuries or as geographic movement, but as a dense matrix of interconnections.

In Atlas of the Heart, Brown takes us on a journey through 87 of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. As she maps the necessary skills and an actionable framework for meaningful connection, she gives us the language and tools to access a universe of new choices and second chances - a universe where we can share and steward the stories of our bravest and most heartbreaking moments with one another in a way that builds connection.

366 daily doses of profound and practical Buddhist teachings for true transformation.

An accidental death launches a brother into strange, foreign adventures Thomas is a laid-back handyman until his mother asks him to go to Kathmandu and scatter the ashes of his older brother Paul. He is totally unprepared for travel, especially to exotic Nepal. He uncovers Paul’s past as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal. There was a lover, Helen, who stayed behind to embrace Buddhism. Her parents are still there working with Tibetan refugees. He meets Eike, an unlikely Buddhist shaman, or healer. He dabbles in meditation and Tantric sex, flirts with Helen, and makes some big mistakes. The...

From a young age Kerouac was a spiritual thinker and questioner, and he always considered himself a spiritual writer. Buddhism gave more meaning to Jack’s work as a writer: he was working not for personal accomplishment and glory but for human betterment. And Buddhism justified his lifestyle: with its vision of the material world as empty and illusory, he was free to do what he wanted.

In his second unexpected plunge 400 years into the future, a smart, charismatic time traveler is guided in a profound exploration of human potential and the interconnectedness of events and time by the ultimate spiritual authority - the Dalai Lama himself… In Dalai Lama and the Multiverse, Alex, a former IT professional, again finds himself waking up in a Utopian world vastly different from the one he once knew. As he tries to make sense of his new reality, he meets a truly unexpected companion - the Dalai Lama. Together, they embark on a mind-bending journey that explores the profound ...

A Dark Odyssey of Inspiring Wisdom. He’s a ruthless Wall Street businessman with one goal - money. But an emotional meltdown forces Carey to a remote California beach to reflect. There he meets a mysterious boy Lucifer who leads him to a dilapidated café. Once inside, Carey is plunged into an alternate reality, far beneath the surface of the everyday, and ensnared by an ancient demon that plays with a supernatural deck of cards. This deadly game traps Carey in other worlds: the luxurious but scheming Realm of the Gods, the cannibalistic Kingdom of the Hungry Ghosts and the horrific ...

A wise and colorful collection of ten Buddhist fables, this modern telling of ancient Indian stories, centering around animals and nature, teaches vibrant and timeless life lessons.

“Fresh and engaging—rich with symbolism and great imagery!” Little Hyat’s Book Reviews. When demons kidnap Ariel’s mother, her search leads to a hidden realm where demons feed on fear. While being hunted as the one destined to destroy them, Ariel must awaken the power of her mind and fearlessly vanquish the demons before they achieve their aim of enslaving the human race. Guided by a quirky old wise man and accompanied by a dangerously attractive young warrior, she navigates both inner and outer landscapes filled with peril. The stakes couldn’t be higher. If Ariel fails, ...

This book is not meant to convince people to become Buddhists. That is a decision people have to make on their own. You won't be able to convert to Buddhism overnight by listening to this book, but you will learn the basics of the religion's history and what becoming a Buddhist would entail if you were to become one. Aside from learning about Buddhism, you may learn about how to deal with your own suffering or the suffering of those around you.

At first glance, the death of media mogul “Big Bill” Argosy appears to be suicide. But his widow, Laila, thinks otherwise. Because Big Bill made enemies - lots of them. And he’d rather fight to the death than take his own life. When the authorities refuse to investigate, Laila turns to the one person who can see connections in the universe where others can’t: Zip Ono, a young private investigator - and practicing Buddhist. Zip quickly learns that there’s no shortage of suspects who might very well want Argosy dead.

Spinning Karma is the story of Rinpoche Edward Schwartz, reluctant figurehead of Mind of Pure Enlightenment (MOPE), a once-popular New Age group whose current membership has sunk to an all-time low. In an ill-conceived effort to bring the group and its teachings back into the limelight, Schwartz heads to Taiwan to film a fake “religious oppression” video—starring a group of clueless language students who believe that they're taking part in an English conversation class.

Borobudur in Central Java has been described as the eighth wonder of the world. It is the world's largest Buddhist temple, built out of 1.6 million blocks of worked volcanic stone and containing three miles of relief carvings and 504 statues of Buddha. Yet for 1,000 years it lay deserted in the jungle until it was rediscovered by none other than the famous Englishman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles.