Genuine Happiness: Meditation as the Path to Fulfillment [Hardcover]

B. Alan Wallace (Author), The Dalai Lama (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 8, 2005

Discover your personal path to bliss

"This book will give anyone interested in the spectrum of core meditative practices stemming from the Buddhist tradition but in essence universal the deepest of perspectives on what is possible for us as human beings as well as excellent guidance in the essential, time-tested attitudes and practices for actualizing our innate capacity for wisdom, compassion, and well-being, right here and right now."
—Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Coming to Our Senses and Full Catastrophe Living

"In Genuine Happiness, Alan Wallace displays his rare talent in boiling down the complex to the clear and in guiding readers through a practical path to contentment. A gift for all moods and seasons."
—Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ

"This lucid and rich book offers brillant, wise, and accessible teachings on the essentials of four core meditation techniques that lead one to genuine joy and happiness. Alan Wallace's years of practice and teaching shine through every page, as with ease and great humanity, he brings to the reader the possibility of liberation."
—Joan Halifax Roshi, abbot of Upaya Zen Center

"Genuine Happiness is a treasure chest of wisdom: clear, inspiring teaching jewels. It is an excellent support for any student of meditation."
—Sharon Salzberg, author of Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience

In today's overstimulated world, many are realizing that happiness gained through material wealth and frivolous conquests is short-lived. To achieve long-term happiness, you must access your own bountiful resources—housed in your heart and mind. In Genuine Happiness, longtime Buddhist practitioner Alan Wallace shows you the path to bliss.

Drawing on more than three decades of study under His Holiness the Dalai Lama and sixty other teachers, as well as 2,500 years of Buddhist tradition, Alan Wallace guides you step by step through five simple yet powerful meditations to help you focus your mind and open your heart to true happiness. Featuring a Foreword by the Dalai Lama, this book will help you discover that it is possible to experience genuine happiness every day.

As you incorporate the meditations from Genuine Happiness into your life, you will discover that the joy you've sought has always been only a few meditative minutes away.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wallace, founder of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, explores key Buddhist meditation-related concepts that aid the "conquest of our inner obscurations" and "present a path to inner fulfillment and human flourishing." He first examines several particular methods—such as "mindfulness of breathing"—for cultivating shamatha, a state of "meditative quiescence" in which people's capacity for attention is refined and stabilized. They can then use these techniques to make a direct, delusion-free investigation of their own bodies, feelings and thoughts. These insights, in turn, help them nurture hearts of compassion and equanimity and, ultimately, realize more advanced teachings such as cultivating bodhichitta (a "spirit of awakening"), dream yoga and a highly developed meditation technique known as dzogchen. Wallace's discussions are usually clear and helpful (on why meditation works: "sustained, continuous effort can actually reconfigure your brain"), and his questions invite readers to see for themselves if his assertions resonate. Moreover, each chapter contains guided meditations to help readers encounter the teachings more directly. Nevertheless, the text can become dense and self-referential, and if readers miss a particular point early on, the effectiveness of later sections may be lessened. The result is a solid—if advanced—examination of some key Buddhist meditation techniques that will appeal to the serious student more than the casual seeker. (Apr.)
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Review

Wallace, founder of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, explores key Buddhist meditation-related concepts that aid the "conquest of our inner obscurations" and "present a path to inner fulfillment and human flourishing." He first examines several particular methods—such as "mindfulness of breathing"—for cultivating shamatha, a state of "meditative quiescence" in which people's capacity for attention is refined and stabilized. They can then use these techniques to make a direct, delusion-free investigation of their own bodies, feelings and thoughts. These insights, in turn, help them nurture hearts of compassion and equanimity and, ultimately, realize more advanced teachings such as cultivating bodhichitta (a "spirit of awakening"), dream yoga and a highly developed meditation technique known as dzogchen. Wallace's discussions are usually clear and helpful (on why meditation works: "sustained, continuous effort can actually reconfigure your brain"), and his questions invite readers to see for themselves if his assertions resonate. Moreover, each chapter contains guided meditations to help readers encounter the teachings more directly. Nevertheless, the text can become dense and self-referential, and if readers miss a particular point early on, the effectiveness of later sections may be lessened. The result is a solid—if advanced—examination of some key Buddhist meditation techniques that will appeal to the serious student more than the casual seeker. (Apr.) (Publishers Weekly, February 28, 2005)

“[Genuine Happiness]…is a practical guide.” (Publishers Weekly, February 14, 2005)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047146984X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471469841
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.9 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,674 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

95 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Supreme Guide to Meditation and Contentment, October 12, 2005

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D. McKenzie (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Genuine Happiness: Meditation as the Path to Fulfillment (Hardcover)

This is one of the most concise books I've ever read on meditation and Buddhism's method for leading a virtuous and happy life. This is the one book that brought together everything that I had previously read in other books on Buddhism and meditation. With so many approaches to meditation, it's a relief to find an experienced practitioner who eloquently maps out the elements of Buddhist meditation in relationship to the balanced development of both wisdom and compassion. In particular, I found it very helpful the way the author divides the practice of 'samatha' or tranquility meditation and 'vipassana' techniques or insight meditation. The explanation of the Four Immeasurables (kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity) and how they balance our practice that's useful to others as well as ourselves was also invaluable. The writing is condensed and to the point with many jewels of wisdom. I found myself underlining almost every other sentence. If you're looking for a clear outline for meditation practice and how to apply it to your daily practice on an off the meditation cushion, this is a great book to read, study, and put into practice.

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars more practice guide than academic discussion, January 21, 2007

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James A. Godfrey - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Genuine Happiness: Meditation as the Path to Fulfillment (Hardcover)

I own several of Alan Wallace's books. I like them all. He presents information from a Western perspective, which I find easier to understand. Here there are specific meditation techniques presented in detail. You are encouraged to practice for a while at each stage using the suggested exercises before continuing on in the book. This book serves as a nice checklist for a complete Buddhist meditation practice, including meditative quiescence (Shamatha), (Buddhist) wisdom meditation, dream yoga and more.
Alan Wallace's other book, "The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind" would be more appropriate if your interest is specifically in meditative quiescence (mind training).

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a Manual for Contentment, but a Path to Self-esteem, January 6, 2007

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Arthur R. Murphy (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Genuine Happiness: Meditation as the Path to Fulfillment (Hardcover)

I read the first three chapters of "Genuine Happiness" as the textbook for a class in Tibetan meditation at a Buddhist monastery in Atlanta: a valuable supplement to techniques to quiet the `monkey mind' of frenzied western consumers.

But the book, like Tibetan Buddhist meditation itself, is not about a technique for relaxation, nor merely an escape from frantic behavior. It is a path to an awareness of the necessity for ethical behavior: a prerequisite for true happiness. And, ethical conduct is based not only on clarity of thought but also an awareness of what service to other sentient beings entails.

As an entry to guided mediation, the book is helpful. (Although, mastering new concepts without the aid of an experienced teacher is worse than learning new software without at least a User's Guide.) Life is rarely "intuitive"... No meditation book can function as a self-contained manual.

The profound value of this book is its gentle synthesis of the rational views of western science with eastern visions of esoteric reality that surpass a biological understanding of consciousness. The last few chapters define levels of enlightenment that exceed what most of us can attain - levels of mastery that transcend western explanations of conscious control of our physical reality. These forms of enlightenment redefine the "Happiness" of the book's title.

If you are interested in a genuine path to happiness through service to others (with more self-awareness than one gets from the Boy Scout's oath), this book will be a wonderful companion for your journey.