Boundless Heart: The Cultivation of the Four Immeasurables [Paperback]

Alan B. Wallace (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1999

Boundless Heart presents a unique interweaving of teachings on the Four Immeasurables and instruction on quiescence, or shamatha, meditation practices.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Snow Lion Publications (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559391197
• ISBN-13: 978-1559391191
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,986,430 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

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book on Shamatha, July 22, 2002

By 

Dale A. Favier (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boundless Heart: The Cultivation of the Four Immeasurables (Paperback)

This book (says the introduction) was distilled from a series of talks Wallace gave as he led a retreat on Shamatha (a.k.a shi nay -- "calm abiding meditation") up in the Sierras, and it retains an informal, practical, nuts-and-bolts atmosphere. This isn't for people who want to speculate or theorize about the Dharma: it's for people who want to practice. I've been meditating for many years, but this is the first and still the only book I've actually used as part of my practice -- often before sitting down on the cushion I'll read a few pages of it, to remind myself of what I'm doing and why.

There's lots of useful advice here. Wallace talks about the art of practicing Shamatha as a sort of tuning the intensity of awareness-- too little intensity and you tend to sink into torpor, too much and you tend to follow distractions. He warns against practicing with too much grim determination, which can squeeze the joy out of it and make one sick of meditation. On down to the simple suggestion that if you're too sleepy during practice you should probably get more sleep.

Wallace is a distinguished scholar. He was for many years a monk in the Tibetan tradition, and he speaks from a deep reservoir of experience and teaching. But he's also a Westerner and (now) a householder, so that he understands the tribulations, and unexpected benefits, of practicing in this world of busy distractions and pressing duties. This book radiates a gentle kindliness and simplicity of heart. For me it's an endless source of comfort and inspiration to practice.