Everyday Dharma: Seven Weeks to Finding the Buddha in You

Everyday Dharma: Seven Weeks to Finding the Buddha in You offers a simple guide to achieving real and lasting personal transformation. This book appeals to any who are open to Buddhism in the broader context, whether one subscribes to a specific religious view or to no view at all. Dharma, a Buddhist term for the actions taken to find one’s inner-wisdom, is really a universal concept. "If wisdom were a destination," Lama Willa says, "Dharma—played out in our thoughts and actions—is the path leading there." By applying Dharma’s essential truths to the modern world, Everyday Dharma teaches you how to do the spiritual, emotional and psychological work in order to bring about day-to-day well-being. Lama Willa believes the art of being happy is the true enlightenment available to us all! Drawing from her personal progression from a young and inquisitive college student into an ordained Tibetan Buddhist minister, Lama Willa offers sincere, insightful guidance with the early questions that so naturally surface when beginning a spiritual journey of any kind. Questions such as "How does one awaken their life-intention?" and "How does one become mindful?" are approached with practical clarity. Speaking in a language that is friendly and easy to understand, this workbook is particularly accessible to the Western spiritual student. Everyday Dharma is patient, relaxed, and best of all, fun! To be used individually or in a group setting, this seven-week initiation composes a chapter per week, with each day outlined for study. Through daily exercises, inspirational passages, and insightful tips, Lama Willa creates a non-dogmatic system for putting the wisdom behind Buddhist thought into real-life practice. Quotes from inspiring minds such as Maya Angelou, Helen Keller, and John F. Kennedy color each day with heart-warming support. Daily exercises include feel-good tasks—for instance—smiling at three people you wouldn’t ordinarily and demonstrating three acts of giving.

About the author: Lama Willa has studied and practiced Tibetan Buddhism since 1987, and was ordained a lama (Tibetan Buddhist minister) in 1999 after completion of ten years of study and retreat. Before and after her retreats, she spent time in Nepal, Tibet, and India, studying Buddhism and engaging in service work. She has an M.A. in Buddhist Studies from the University of Virginia, and is working towards a PhD at Harvard University. She currently lives with her husband and two dogs in Cambridge, MA, where she teaches Buddhist practice and philosophy with the Natural Dharma Fellowship. She is known for emphasis on retreating, meditation technique, Tibetan yoga, and the integration of Buddhist practice into daily life. For more information visit: http://www.lamawilla.org.