Zara Houshmand – författare

In Persia in 1924, when a child still had to worry about hostile camels in the bazaar and a nanny might spin stories at her pillow until her eyes fell shut, the extraordinary and irresistible Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian was born. From the enchanted basement storeroom where she played as a girl to the penthouse high above New York City where she would someday live, this is the delightful and inspiring story of her life as an artist, a wife and mother, a collector, and an Iranian. Here we see a mischievous girl become a spirited woman who defies tradition. Both a love story and a celebration of the warmth and elegance of Iranian culture, A Mirror Garden is a genuine fairy tale of an exuberant heroine who has never needed rescuing.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Centered around the Four Immeasurables—loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity—is a rich suite of practices that open the heart, counter the distortions in our relationships to ourselves, and deepen our relationships to others. Wallace weaves together ancient Buddhist wisdom with contemporary insight, offering a holistic approach to understanding and alleviating suffering. The Four Immeasurables explores the intricate dynamics of meditation, ethical discipline, and the nature of existence, inviting readers to embark on a journey of self-discovery and interconnectedness.Readers will gain valuable insight into shamatha practice, which cultivates a stable and serviceable mind, empowering them to navigate life’s complexities with grace and mindfulness. Wallace’s teachings provide practical guidance on cultivating loving-kindness and compassion. By integrating these principles into daily life, readers can foster a more compassionate and harmonious existence, ultimately leading to liberation from suffering. The Four Immeasurables serves as a beacon for those seeking to deepen their spiritual practice and enhance their understanding of self and reality.Wallace offers a compelling exploration of the mind’s potential, challenging conventional beliefs and encouraging readers to embrace the transformative power of meditation and compassion. With its rich tapestry of Buddhist philosophy and practical wisdom, along with guided meditations and lively discussions on the implications of these teachings for daily life, this book is an essential guide for anyone yearning to cultivate a deeper connection with themselves and the world around them.

Designed as a conversation between the Dalai Lama and Western neuroscientists, this book takes readers on a journey through opposing fields of thought—showing that they may not be so opposing after all Is the mind an ephemeral side effect of the brain’s physical processes? Are there forms of consciousness so subtle that science has not yet identified them? How does consciousness happen? Organized by the Mind and Life Institute, this discussion addresses some of the most troublesome questions that have driven a wedge between Western science and religion.   Edited by Zara Houshmand, Robert B. Livingston, and B. Alan Wallace, Where Buddhism Meets Neuroscience is the culmination of meetings between the Dalai Lama and a group of eminent neuroscientists and psychiatrists. The Dalai Lama’s incisive, open-minded approach both challenges and offers inspiration to Western scientists.   This book was previously published under the title Consciousness at the Crossroads.

"Enlightened beings only appear to come and go, making themselves available for a time in this faltering world, but in reality they are never gone. Enlightened beings are always present here and now if you truly yearn to see them..."Born in India to a prominent Hindu Brahmin family, the Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi was only six years old when he began having visions of a mysterious mountain peak, and of men with shaved heads wearing robes the color of sunset. "It was as vivid as if I were watching a scene from life," he writes. And so at the age of ten, he ran away from boarding school to find this place--taking a train to the end of the line and then boarding a bus to wherever it went. Strangely enough, he ended up at a Buddhist monastery that was the place of his dreams. His frantic parents sent scouts to find him and, after two weeks, located him and brought him home. But he continued to have visions and feel a strong pull to a spiritual life in a tradition that he had never heard of as a child. Today, he is a revered monk and teacher as well as President & CEO of The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he works to build bridges among communities and religions. Running Toward Mystery is the Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi''s profound account of his lifelong journey as a seeker. At its heart is a story of striving for the unseen, the vital importance of mentors in that search, and of the many remarkable teachers he met along the way, among them the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Mother Teresa. "Teachers come and go on their own schedule," Priyadarshi writes. "I clearly wasn''t in charge of the timetable and it wasn''t my place to specify how a teacher should teach..." But arrive they did, at the right time, in the right way, to impart the lessons that shaped a life of seeking, devotion, and deep human connection across all barriers. Running Toward Mystery is at once the bracing and beautiful story of a singular life compelled to contemplation, and the riveting narrative of just how exciting that journey can be.