Jonathan Landaw - Buddhism For Dummies

Buddhism For Dummies, 2nd Edition

by Jonathan Landaw, Stephan Bodian, and Gudrun Bhnemann

Buddhism For Dummies, 2nd Edition

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2011932088

ISBN: 978-1-118-02379-2 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-12067-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-12068-2 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-12069-9 (ebk)

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About the Authors

Jonathan Landaw was born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1944 and attended Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. While there, he took a course in Asian religions taught by one of the leading authorities on Chinese thought, Professor Wing-tsit Chan (19011994). This course provided Jon with his first formal exposure to the teachings of the East and sparked his lifelong interest in Buddhism. This interest remained dormant while Jon attended graduate school in English literature at the University of California in Berkeley and then served in the Peace Corps, teaching the English language in Iran for three years. Not long after his stint in the Peace Corps, he was living overseas again, this time in northern India and Nepal, where he stayed throughout most of the 1970s. There he first encountered and was inspired by the living tradition of Buddhism as preserved by the refugee community that had recently fled from Chinese oppression in Tibet. By 1972, Jon was studying Buddhism full time and working as English editor of the texts being produced by the Translation Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, India. Although he received training in other traditions of Buddhism during this time, the majority of his study and practice has been under the guidance of Tibetan lamas, particularly Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey (19251995), Lama Thubten Yeshe (19351984), and Lama Zopa Rinpoche (born in 1946). In 1977, Jon returned to the West, though hes managed to make periodic visits to India and Nepal since then. While living in England, the Netherlands, and now in the United States, he has continued his studies and his work editing Buddhist books for publication. He has also authored books of his own, including Prince Siddhartha, the story of the Buddhas life retold for children, and Images of Enlightenment, an introduction to the sacred art of Tibet. In addition, hes been leading meditation courses at Buddhist centers worldwide for more than 25 years. He now resides in Capitola, California, with his wife and three children.

Stephan Bodian began practicing Zen meditation in 1969 and was ordained a monk in 1974 after studying Buddhism and other Asian religions at Columbia University. He had the extraordinary good fortune to train under the guidance of several Zen masters, including Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, Kobun Chino Roshi, and Taizan Maezumi Roshi. In 1982, after a period as head monk and director of training at the Zen Center of Los Angeles, he left the monastic life to study psychology. Shortly thereafter, he married and helped raise a family.

During this period, he continued his spiritual practice by studying with several Tibetan teachers, including Sogyal Rinpoche and Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche. In 1988, he met his guru, Jean Klein, a master of Advaita Vedanta and Kashmiri yoga, with whom he spent ten years inquiring into the nature of truth. Eventually, Stephan completed his Zen training and received dharma transmission (authorization to teach) from his teacher, Adyashanti, in a lineage dating back to the historical Buddha.

In addition to authoring several books, including Meditation For Dummies, and numerous magazine articles, Stephan was editor-in-chief of the magazine Yoga Journal for ten years. Currently, he practices as a licensed psychotherapist, personal coach, writing consultant, and spiritual counselor, while offering intensives and retreats dedicated to spiritual awakening. You can reach him at www.meditationsource.com.