The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind [Paperback]

B. Alan Wallace (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 13, 2006

Shamatha meditation is a method for achieving previously inconceivable levels of concentration. Author B. Alan Wallace, an active participant in the much-publicized dialogues between Buddhists and scholars, has more than 20 years’ practice in the discipline, some of it under the guidance of the Dalai Lama. This book is a definitive presentation of his knowledge of shamatha. It is aimed at the contemporary seeker who is distracted and defocused by the dizzying pace of modern life, as well as those suffering from depression and other mental maladies. Beginning by addressing the inherent problems that follow from an inability to focus, Wallace moves on to explore varying levels of meditation. The result is an interior travelogue that recounts an exciting, rewarding "expedition of the mind," tracing everything from the confusions at the bottom of the trail to the extraordinary clarity and power that come with making it to the top.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications; 1st Wisdom Ed edition (April 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0861712765
• ISBN-13: 978-0861712762
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Trained for ten years in Buddhist monasteries in India and Switzerland, Alan Wallace has taught Buddhist theory and practice in Europe and America since 1976; and he has served as interpreter for numerous Tibetan scholars and contemplatives, including H. H. the Dalai Lama. After graduating summa cum laude from Amherst College, where he studied physics and the philosophy of science, he earned a doctorate in religious studies at Stanford University.

He has edited, translated, authored, or contributed to more than thirty books on Tibetan Buddhism, medicine, language, and culture, as well as the interface between religion and science. He teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he is launching one program in Tibetan Buddhist studies and another in science and religion. His published works include The Bridge of Quiescence: Experiencing Buddhist Meditation), Choosing Reality: A Buddhist View of Physics and the Mind, and Tibetan Buddhism From the Ground Up.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fine Introduction to a Useful and Little Known Technique, April 26, 2007

By 

Dr. Richard G. Petty (Atlanta) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind (Paperback)

It often seems as if half the population has a problem with paying attention. Apart from the different types of attention deficit disorder, a former Apple and Microsoft executive called Linda Stone has identified another problem: continuous partial attention.

We have all been multitasking since before our ancestors came down from the trees, but now people's attention is constantly being distracted by an array of new inputs: email, text messaging, instant messaging and a hundred other things. Just think of the way in which many television programs now have multiple items on the screen at once. Many of us are suffering from information overload, and it would be very valuable to be able to improve our ability to focus our attention without putting ADHD medicines in the water supply.

This is a very interesting book by an interesting individual. B. Alan Wallace spent fourteen years as a Buddhist monk and was ordained by the Dalai Lama. He is also the founder and president of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies. He is the author of several other books, including the superb book Contemplative Science.

In this book he describes the ten stages of Shamatha meditation, a technique for developing extraordinary levels of attention and focus. As Alan Wallace describes it in the preface to the book, "Shamatha is a path of attentional development that culminates in an attention that can be sustained for hours on end."

Alan is a committed meditator who has spent the eight hours a day necessary to perfect the method. There are obviously not that many people who could - or would want to - dedicate that amount of time to the practice. But there is still plenty of value to the individual who can only dedicate a few minutes a day to the practice. As with most forms of mental or physical development, the returns that you get from this kind of meditation are strongly related to how much effort you can put in.

The ten stages are:

Directed attention

Continuous attention

Resurgent attention

Close attention

Tamed attention

Pacified attention

Fully pacified attention

Single-pointed attention

Attentional balance

Shamatha

Some books about meditation are a little dry and focused almost exclusively on the mind. Alan has done something very nice with this book: in between his explanation of the ten stages, he has inserted what he calls "interludes;" short ancillary practices that complement the training in attention. The first four of these interludes are designed to cultivate one of the four qualities of the heart: compassion, loving-kindness, empathetic joy and equanimity.

This is a book that you can easily read in a few hours, but you could spend years putting it into practice. As many of us have discovered, applying the basic techniques for just a few minutes a day can be very helpful. If you want to get all the way to the final stage it would require a great deal of time and effort, and ideally also a personal teacher.

The type of focus and attention that is developed by these methods was originally intended to focus inwards and to control and still the mind, but the techniques can be equally useful for focusing on things outside of you.

Alan Wallace has done us a great service by recording and explaining this method, and the book is well worth reading if you have any interest in trying to improve your own ability to focus and to pay attention.

Richard G. Petty, MD, author of Healing, Meaning and Purpose: The Magical Power of the Emerging Laws of Life

59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Star Explanation and Credentials; Five Star Topic, January 15, 2007

By 

Brad4d "bb" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind (Paperback)

-"Attention" is written by an experienced and respected Buddhist practitioner, and summarizes an advanced method for improving Attentiveness with meditation (and vice-versa). The book also investigates how Attentiveness can be stabilized and trained in a positive manner (as opposed to simply correcting an attention deficit). Many spiritual traditions and Western psychologists (notably William James) have examined Attentiveness, but "Attention" focuses on a ten-stage training pioneered by an Indian Buddhist monk Kamalashila. This method simply works, in the studied experience of the author and other practitioners over several centuries. The book is most useful for those already familiar with Buddhism or advanced meditation methods.

-The training first absolutely demands cultivating an attitude of decent kindness towards oneself and others, solid ethical integrity, attention cultivation, and refined insight development (these prerequisites clearly distinguish it from more psychological methods). As the mind, including the emotions, and consciousness settle into a more natural state, sustained but relaxed Attentiveness will allow Insight to be more predictable, prolonged, and wise (instead of a "flash of insight," one might develop more of a "path of insight"). The Goal includes reducing or eliminating suffering and developing what might be called eudaemonic happiness -- and I might add my opinion that science (for all its miracles in reducing unhappiness) has fallen flat on its face in providing this. "Attention" develops each step in a separate chapter, followed by a brief interlude discussing a relevant "aside" of mind training. Of course, any brief summary is unrealistic, but the ten steps sort of progressively evolve from a focused awareness of one's sensations and thoughts to a subtle dis-covery of the origins of those sensations and thoughts. Sort of. Although one may not master all ten steps in the program, it sure helps to have a reasonably good map and a valid idea of where one is going!

-The author notes extensive mind training is like going on an expedition (clearly, given the practically infinite extent of the mind -- see Gerald Edelman's discussions -- it is among the most exciting expeditions imaginable). Alas, the schedule for complete Attentiveness training is rigorous, requiring several consistent hours per day with some "coaching" by a qualified teacher (the same could be true of being an Olympic medalist or a neurosurgery attending). Other reviewers have noted this. Reading "Attention" is therefore like receiving training or reading about high-altitude physical conditioning from Reinhold Messner or Matt Carpenter -- one may not duplicate their stamina, but it's surely worthwhile to know how the legitimate super-experts do it and one will more likely pick up very useful tips from them. Importantly, the author and the method, seem demonstrably qualified, gentle, trustable guides with credentials, perspective, and heart. This seems among the best recommendations of all, and one of the best reasons for dedicated practitioners to examine this book. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Brilliant, October 22, 2006

By 

Daniel R. Smith - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind (Paperback)

I disagree with a previous review that states "a great deal of this book will not be of practical use to you." Just the opposite. It is not for a limited audience, it's for everyone at a time in history where disciplines such as this are highly needed. The instructions are simple, easy to follow. If you are a self starter and highly motivated then this book is an invaluable aid (the author also recommends a teacher as mentor in your efforts if one is available. If not, then the author's recommendations can still take you far by your own efforts).

The book walks you through several stages of meditative practice. Even if you only master the 1st or 2nd stage, it will be of immense value to your life and to those around you. The inspirational guided meditations at the end of each chapter are wonderful.

Yes, the advanced levels may be hard to reach, but it's good to know they are there and what they are...at least intellectually to give one a perspective on what is possible waiting to be uncovered. The diamond cutter chips away obscurity to reveal the perfect clarity that is always present.

Maybe it will inspire someone to give up being a couch potatoe and dive into the wondrous depths of their mind and soul.