The Peaceful Stillness of the Silent Mind, by Lama Yeshe

I've written before about Lama Yeshe and the wonderful job the people at the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mayahana Tradition are doing in making books about Buddhism readily available, in particular through the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.   This is another wonderful collection of transcribed talks from the starter pack.

In this book, Lama Yeshe talks about religion and its relationship to the practice of Buddhism, and about calmness.   Asked how to control emotions, he says:

"Instead of letting your emotions run wild with your mind, unable to forget whatever it is that's bothering you, sit down, relax, and focus your mind on the flow of your breath -- watch exactly how your breath flows into your nervous system on inhalation and out of it on exhalation.... When you concentrate on your breath, you automatically calm down.... I can guarantee that if you watch your breath for just twenty-one cycles, your nervous emotions will vanish."

I highly recommend this book.