Sherab Chödzin

Samuel Bercholz

Originally published as Entering the Stream, this book offers a simple and inspiring answer to the question "What is the Buddha's teaching?" primarily in the words of the Buddha and other masters. This anthology draws on traditional Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan sources as well as teachings by contemporary Buddhist masters. Among the contributors, both classical and modern, are: Ajahn Chah, Pema Chödrön, The Second Dalai Lama, Dogen, S.N. Goenka, Dainin Katagiri, Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi, Milerepa, Padmasambhava, Reginald Ray, Shunryu Suzuki, Nyanaponika Thera, Thich Nhat Hanh, Chögyam Trungpa, and Burton Watson.

The Buddha and His Teachings

Sam Bercholz was devoting himself to teaching Buddhism after retiring from his successful publishing company, when suddenly he was blindsided by a heart attack. As he succumbed to clinical death in the hospital, he found himself entering a classic near-death experience--but the last place he expected to end up was Buddhist hell. And not just one hell, but numerous horrific hell regions, both hot and cold, where countless beings suffer unspeakable pain due to their own mental conceptions. A sublime being appears and tells Sam- You have been brought here to witness and understand the suffering of human beings. Thus begins a nightmarish expedition that evokes both horror and awakening as Sam is guided though a gallery of hell-denizens by a feminine embodiment of wisdom, who ultimately redeems him and returns him to life. Powerful storytelling is matched by the illustrations of master painter Pema Namdol Thaye. Comic-book drawings illustrate Sam's life story and hospital ordeal, while fantastic color paintings of his hell experience bring a startling modern spirit of imagination to the sacred art of Asia.

Samuel Bercholz

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