Paul R. Fleischman Knihy

The way to inner peace is illuminated in this accessible guide to tending one's inner landscape. The lives of outstanding figures such as the Buddha, Walt Whitman, and Gandhi are used to connect the ideal of inner peace with how real people cultivate peace in their everyday lives. Peacefulness as dynamic, selective, and egoless is shown through the constructive act of choosing different ways of life, such as having a smaller family or a more modest career. A message of hope and inspiration permeates this pragmatic approach and is exemplified by the author's own practice of meditation. ( This title was previously published under ISBN 9781928706250. Due to technical issues a new ISBN had to be assigned. Rest assured that both versions of this title are exactly the same.)

This collection of prose poems is based upon the teaching of the Buddha. The selections have been chosen for inspiration, rather than representing the full span of the teaching. We have previously presented them as slides, or read them aloud to friends, on various occasions, such as after workshops, following assistant teacher meetings, around fireplaces in national parks, or after evening metta. They have consistently been received with appreciation, and have evoked multiple requests for their publication. All of these compositions combine the Buddha’s thoughts with contemporary phrasing. They cannot be considered direct quotes from the Pali Canon, because we have worked only with English language translations, and because we have combined similar passages, or modified the language for readability. But at the same time, we can’t claim that these words are original to us because they are in the spirit of the Buddha. They are brief, poetic, re-speaking of some of the Buddha’s most important ideas. They are sparks from the campfire that continue to glow in the dark.

We have lived in an era during which the spirituality intrinsic to science has become obvious.The universe is not random. It contains patterns and paths. This is called the information-state of the universe, and it organizes the materials and energies that form our bodies and minds. We are each microcosms; downloaded into our small selves are a vast array of directives and limits, the laws of science, that govern stars as well as our hearts and minds. We can gain access to some of the wisdom of this universal, lawful reality through meditation. As we observe our body sensations with equanimity, we come in contact with basic laws of physics, like entropy, or the decay of aggregates over time, and we also encounter basic laws of psychology, like the fact that social love, Mettā, leaves us happier than anger or fear. We may become self-balanced to face contingencies. It is science, not mysticism or religion, that reveals the value of Vipassana as a vestibule to ultimate realities, and highlights it as a practical guide to the psychology of well-lived lives. We are each unique snowflakes, patterns and lace, melting in the cosmic storm. We arise and pass inside a universe, a web, a Dhamma. We become aware of the scriptures that are inscribed inside us and that guide our wellbeing.