Andy James Author. Teacher of Insight Vipassana Meditation, Taijiquan, and Qigong

The Message Of All My Books...

…is the urgent need for radical change with the goal of what the Buddha called “the ending of suffering” or enlightenment. We need this urgency for personal transformation, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that it is also required in our collective lives and for meeting our unprecedented global challenges. Our power to create and destroy has grown massively and rapidly, but our consciousness and behavior have remained relatively unchanged, resulting in a highly dangerous imbalance. Nuclear, biological and AI warfare can devastate humanity; the planet and its creatures have already suffered immense damage from our actions. We are neither separate from each other nor from our abused mother planet, but we act as if we are islands bounded by our skins.

The positive news is that we can change, starting now, and all it takes is the will, skill and perseverance to look within. All our actions arise from within so we must look within if we are to understand their origins and appropriateness and what is necessary to change them. 2500 years ago, the Buddha taught a simple but profound truth: life is continual change and we suffer because we try in vain to deny and resist this fact. The internet, social media and AI are making the fact of continual and interactive change ever more obvious, but we still resist it. What to keep and what to let go? My books explain not only the urgent reasons for seeking real change, but how to achieve it.

 My own life was transformed over 55 years ago on discovering the Buddha’s teachings and I have also witnessed fundamental changes in many students over 42 years of teaching. I draw on these experiences in my teachings and in my books.

My latest book is called “Head On Fire: The Path To Personal And Collective Transformation Now.” Click here to read about  my other books.

Endorsements

Prof, Jerry Alan Johnson, Executive Director of the International Institute of Medical Qigong.

“A master instructor internationally recognized by his peers for his mastery of the most esoteric aspects of the internal arts, Shifu James is eminently qualified to present this information to the public, and I am pleased to be introducing him and this book (Spiritual Legacy of the Shaolin Temple) to you.

Dhiravamsa, Meditation Master and Author

"Andy James, in addition to his mastery of Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong, received a complete training course under my instruction and guidance in the method of the Unique Buddhist Meditation known as Vipassana. He did it well and accomplished his studies in all of the teachings related to Vipassana and its practice so that he could impart his knowledge and experience far and wide."

Jamie Magnusesen. Ph.D, Assoc Prof, University of Toronto

"What better than an autobiographical reflection on decades of practice on how the author and teacher came to embody Buddhist teachings and be a renowned practitioner of Daoist internal arts. He explains how Buddhism and Daoism ‘came together’ for him, not in terms of philosophical musings, but rather in terms of the practicalities of life as husband, father, friend, and teacher. Andy James’ new book (Head on Fire) is must-read."

Cindy Stone, M.A., Reg, Psychotherapist, Author

"Andy James is a profound thinker whose writing transcends the individual, weaving together threads of philosophy, psychology, and Vipassana meditation with politics, culture and the human experience. I find myself returning to his books often for inspiration."

Carl Gruden, IT Architect

"Head on Fire is a profound testament to his deep insights into the world around us and our role within it. His unique voice of inclusiveness, that there is a space for ’both-and’, helps me participate fully in each moment, opening my heart to the immense variety life has to offer. Andy calls on us to take up the challenge of self-transformation to bring about real change in the world."

Sister Georgene Wilson, OSF

"We will be called naive for thinking that spirituality will make relational living possible in this rational domination of corporations. But I'm all for such naivety. Been accused of it all my life........."a dreamer that all can be in harmony" I've been called. Well, it's a wonderful "calling" to believe that one person of ONE-consciousness and one more and one more ....can change consciousness. It celebrates the quantum leap of consciousness theory. Thanks for calling on us to consciousness."

Michael Schwartz, Assoc, Prof, Augusta State University

"I’m grateful for your work.. all the years you have spent as an integrated Asian oriented teacher…What I see you doing is now is bringing this out into the world."

Annyse

"I saw Andy when I was in my first trimester of my second pregnancy and was very ill. I was sick multiple times a day and my morning sickness lasted all day long. After his qigong treatment, the next morning I felt like a new person. I wasn't sick at all that day and although it did not rid me of the morning sickness all together it was a definite turning point for me. I will be forever grateful that he helped me with this extremely challenging situation."

Daniel P

"Starting Vipassana in earnest with Andy for about 3 or 4 years now, has made all the difference. Despite 4 decades of attempts with other meditative practices this deceptively simple practice has been taking me to unimaginable depths and recently allowed me to survive my wife's almost lethal illness, which affected me physically beyond any expectation. So I would agree a regular Vipassana practice is foundational. I am hooked. And will continue with it the rest of my life."

Helen L

"Thank you Nicola and Andy for such a beautiful weekend! Coming back to Toronto I already feel different. There’s been a few small moments where I look at the sunrise and observe life happening and just feel amazed at how beautiful it all is- things I wanted to notice before but struggled to. I think this is the beginning of a really cool journey for me."

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