Mindfulness in Plain English, Updated and Expanded Edition
- ISBN13: 9780861713219
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
With his distinctive clarity and wit, “Bhante G” takes us step by step through the myths, realities, and benefits of meditation and the practice of mindfulness. We already have the foundation we need to live a more productive and peaceful life — Bhante simply points to each tool of meditation, tells us what it does, and how to make it work. This expanded edition includes the complete text of its bestselling predecessor, as well as a new chapter on the cultivation of loving kindness, an especia
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(out of 118 reviews)
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Review by for Mindfulness in Plain English, Updated and Expanded Edition
Rating:
Ever start reading a really cool looking
meditation book only to find that the picture on
the cover is the only thing that makes any sense?
Have you ever wondered why the author or
translator never bothers to tell you what those
weird words mean, “Samahadi…”,
“Vipassana…”, “Dukka…”
Have you finished a meditation book and
understood about half of what was talked about and
figured that half is better than none? (a very ‘enlightened’
but often frustrating outcome
especially when these books aren’t cheap)
This little known book seems to have addressed
and solved all those problems and more. It is a book
written for people who have no clue how to
start meditating and for those who have started, but
don’t know where to look for the answers to
questions that come up during their practice.
The best thing about this book is in
its title,’plain English’.It seems to gently
lead one by the hand through the mystery and
confusion of meditation with a sense of humor
and patience rarely given to the subject.
I have been meditating for nine years now and
have built up a small library of books on the
subject. When friends ask me about meditation
I dig around in all the books with great
covers and reach for “Mindfullness In Plain
English” every time.
Review by Saturnino Garcia for Mindfulness in Plain English, Updated and Expanded Edition
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Mindfulness is not an easy concept to explain in words yet H. Gunaratana does a nice job of doing just that. First and foremost, this book is a beginner’s guide to the practice of Vipassana (or Insight) meditation. Having it’s roots in the Gutama Buddha’s life over 2500 years ago, Vipassana meditation is a skill that takes only a short while to learn but a lifetime of dedication to master.The introduction gives a brief look at the roots of the practice and tells the reader that meditation is intrinsically experiential so the best way to get started is to just sit and try it. In the following chapters, Gunaratana helps the reader to understand exactly what meditation is and what it isn’t. From there he goes into more detailed instructions as to what your mind and body should be doing while you meditate. This is accompanied with useful tips on dealing with problems that may arise in your practice, including the 5 major hindrances that nearly all meditators face. The book wraps up with a more in depth look at exactly what “mindfulness” is and how to “take it from the cushion” and integrate it into our daily lives.I found this book very easy to read and understand and feel it would be an excellent guide for people just getting into Buddhism and meditation. Already being the owner of a collection of books on Buddhism, this book didn’t offer any new revelations but I was extrememly pleased with the sections on mindfulness and have already used some of the author’s suggestions on integrating it into daily life. The main reason I did not give the book 5 stars is because it offers much more for the new reader than it does for one with more experience.If you buy this book and still feel like you could use more detailed instructions on meditation, I recommend you also purchase “Change Your Mind: A Practical Guide to Buddhist Meditation” by Paramananda (ISBN: 0904766810).
Review by Missing in Action for Mindfulness in Plain English, Updated and Expanded Edition
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Sometimes when I pick up titles on meditation, yoga, or other practices associated with Eastern philosophy, mysticism or relgion, I am overcome with the author’s inability to say what they mean in language that is useful to the rest of us. My relief was enormous, therefore, when a friend gave me this book by Venerable Henepola Gunaratana! This book is exactly what the title implies…easy to read and understand because it is not written in mystic hokum, rather it is written in plain english. The result is a manual for the beginning student of meditation that is sufficient to get you well on your way to benefitting from the practice of Insight Meditation. In “Mindfulness” you will gain an understanding of what mindfullness is, how to cultivate it both during sitting practice and the rest of the time, tips on how to sit and how to overcome some of the most common distractions (including your feet going to sleep and your back hurting), and what to look for and what to avoid. I have not been practicing meditation for long, and this book was of enormous value in helping me identify the things I was doing that served as barriers to effective insight meditation, as well as giving me ideas on how to enhance the effectiveness of my meditation. This is an extremely practical book for the western practitioner. It draws heavily upon the Buddhist paradigm, but the techniques for effective meditation cross all sect boundaries, and the beginning practitioner of any faith will find this book of enormous benefit. I would strongly encourage the reader to suppliment this book with “The Miracle of Mindfulness” by Thich Nhat Hahn. The two together are a delightfully easy to read but complete and well rounded introduction to the practices of Insight Meditation. If you want to know how but don’t want to hire a Yogi to translate, this book is the place to start.
Review by for Mindfulness in Plain English, Updated and Expanded Edition
Rating:
I am a rationalist. I am not a mystic. I do not believe in chakras, yogic flying, psychic visions or tantric orgasm. I have a western scientific mind, and a very short patience for BS. I loved this book.Mindfulness in Plain English is a meditation manual that’s been brutally stripped of superstitious hokus pokus. It’s focused, straight-forward, practical, yet profound. It says what it means and it means what it says. And if you practice, really practice, you’ll find the techniques it describes can honestly change your entire outlook on life in a frighteningly short period of time.If you’re a skeptic, and you’re interested in meditation as a psychological exercise rather than a mystical mystery, you’ll do well with this book. If you need your chakras petted, look at any of its 10,000,000 lesser competitors in your local flaky pseudo-eastern bookshop.
Review by John Skoyles for Mindfulness in Plain English, Updated and Expanded Edition
Rating:
One third of what you will learn about meditation will come from your teachers and your fellow class and retreat meditators; one third from yourself on your own patient journey – and one third from a good book. That book will sometimes seem the least important third, sometimes the most important part. Having read a shelf full, I find, Mindfulness in Plain English, to be the best available how to meditate guide – it is well written, clear, graceful and it covers all the issues tackled elsewhere. But it leaves out much advice that would have made it much better. 90% of those starting a meditation class drop out – meditation teachers such as Gunaratana rarely seek to find out why and so the small things that get in the way of even the most determined intentions. A good meditation book must tackle them – and Gunaratana like every writer does so only partially. Here is a list of a few of things that could be added. A beginner requires equipment to handle the 20, 30 or 40 minute duration of their meditation — for example, a timer used in cooking (under something to dim its unpleasant alarm sound), or a CD burnt with silent tracks that end with one of bells. After a few months, time can be estimated by looking at a watch but in the initial days such checking just adds an additional and an unnecessary burden. Ear plugs (motor cyclist shops and internet sites are a good source), or ear muffs (internet sites again check for Bilsom or Peltor brands) might be an idea. Again after a few months, distracting sounds of kids, power tools, TVs in other rooms etc are not a problem, and can even add to the practice, but in the initial stages they add that extra difficulty.I guess that half of those that drop out would not if they were better prepared about these and other small practical issues.Also forget ideas about lotus positions, sitting Buddhas and Nirvana. Instead it is as if you have an old fashioned radio in your head. What is called `meditation’ is simply slowly and patiently learning how to shift its dial off its noisy stations. As you sit, you will find the radio dial keeps drifting back on to news or entertainment broadcasters. But carefully – the radio is delicate and needs a loving touch – you move using a focus upon your breath the dial back to silence. Slowly as you learn to move off the main stations your awareness becomes more sensitive. What was once emptiness is now discovered to be filled with the noise of distant stations and even static. Patiently with increasing tenderness and gentleness you keep moving the dial until you find yourself in awareness not of a silent radio but where you are. This kind of nonBuddhist practical advice is not in this book – or any other. Meditation books do not get written ground up from the problems that cause people to drop out. Nor do they give the practical tips that are soon forgotten by experienced meditators but that beginners need to stay the initial course. Sorry about being so negative about Gunaratana – you will not find a better book. Buy it, retake that mediation class that was dropped or never continued. But do not think meditation has yet to be written about in the way it should.