Beginning Mindfulness: Learning the Way of Awareness [Paperback]

Andrew Weiss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 4, 2004

As a teacher of meditation, Andrew Weiss found that students responded best when he broke down the process of mindfulness into discrete and progressive steps. Knowing that most people had little time to devote to meditation, he also made it his priority to teach the direct application of mindfulness to daily life. Through the years, he developed a series of handouts based on simple steps that form the basis of this book. Intended for laypeople practicing in their work and family lives without the luxury of long meditation retreats, Beginning Mindfulness is deeply rooted in Buddhist practice but remains unbound by one particular Buddhist tradition. Weiss skillfully blends the traditions of his Korean and Vietnamese teachers as well as Hindu yogic methods to create a meditation manual that is both practical and inspiring.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Weiss, longtime Buddhist meditation student and teacher, offers an excellent 10-week course on meditation, its meanings and its applications. With clarity, kindness and care he forges a cohesive whole from many "handouts" he has created over the years to teach sitting meditation and walking, meditation. Emphasizing the need to take mindful awareness into everyday life, Weiss, who is an ordained brother in Thich Nhat Hanh's Order of Interbeing, highlights many mindfulness opportunities for modern people: facing cancer, washing dishes, walking to and flushing the toilet, exercising and waiting at red lights. While true to Buddhist principles, the book is gloriously free of the jargon that can alienate the average person. Weiss begins at the beginning, with posture and, most importantly, breath. Over the sequenced 10-week program, practitioners gain meditation and awareness basics and also explore mindfulness in their own bodies, feelings and mental processes. Weeks nine and 10 look at loving kindness (metta) and healing breathing to address the suffering of others (tonglin). Each chapter has formal and informal "Home Play" activities that extend the lessons into daily life, while a final section on "how to continue" and an annotated reading list increase the volume's usefulness. Weiss's voice is authentic, yet flavored with the sensibilities of Thich Nhat Hanh, known for his accessible, gentle, concentrated abilities to communicate the essence of mindfulness, especially to beginners.
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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: New World Library (February 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577314417
• ISBN-13: 978-1577314417
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #167,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A mindfulness home program, May 31, 2005

By 

Quaker Annie "reader" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beginning Mindfulness: Learning the Way of Awareness (Paperback)

This book offers a structured, ten week course in learning the way of mindfulness as a spiritual practice. Because of this, I find it useful. It is good for the very new person, and for those like myself who are studying without yet having a teacher and who may not be naturally self-disciplined.

It begins with a four week section designed so the reader knows how to set up the basic elements - breathing, sitting meditatin, daily life practices and such, both formally and informally. After this phase is completed, the student will have the basics as part of a schedule and can move on.

In the fifth through eighth weeks, the student learns to focus on mindfullness of body, feelings, thinking and objects of mind (this last chapter focuses on thoughts, feelings, or object of perception which our mind is focusing on - and includes mindful conversation and deep listening).

In the third section, weeks nine and ten, one practices loving kindness and compassion.

At the beginning of each section there are two guided meditations you can use, breathing in, breathing out (and specific sentences to help guide you)

The final section has ways to continue this.

This book is very good as a help to those working alone. A good-sized book, it offers over 200 pages of instructions, not including introduction, appendix, index and other comments. It is a book I can use over and over...someday I'll grow out of it but not just yet.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Essential Basic Guide to Meditation, April 25, 2004

By 

"howard_evans" (Blue Hill, ME USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beginning Mindfulness: Learning the Way of Awareness (Paperback)

Accessible, simple, straightforward -- this is the sort of meditation instruction book that Andrew Weiss offers. It's not preachy, doesn't profess to offer answers. Rather, it offers a direct way into what some consider a difficult, even unattainable practice. Mindfulness is a miracle, Thich Nhat Hanh says and to be present to what is actually happening -- pleasant or unpleasant -- is a great accomplisment. To be present for another person is a great gift. It's what our partners, children and friends really want -- our true presence. Here's a guide about how to get here.

So, in this book, there is a path laid out, with infinite variations possible, for bringing more mindfulness into the lives of individuals, families and communities. Goodness knows we need guides like this in these times of fear, violence and uncertainty. They steady us on the path and allow us to discover our connections with all beings.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical guide to mindful living, April 22, 2004

By 

Erik Carlson (Townsend, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beginning Mindfulness: Learning the Way of Awareness (Paperback)

If you are a beginner to meditation, Andrew's book is an easy to read set of lessons, which will help you stay in the present and stay aware of your own body and the world around you. For those of you who have been practicing meditation for awhile and feel stuck or loosing interest in meditation; this book contains a wonderful set of tools that will improve one's meditation practice and in becoming more mindful and aware of every aspect of your daily life.

The book reflects the same lessons, practical guidance and methods that Andrew offers in his own meditation classes. I've found his lessons in Metta meditation and Tonglin breath very helpful in providing loving kindness, and healing to myself and others. He has changed my life and the book is a wonderful reference.