Customer Reviews

Meditation: Advice to Beginners

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This slim volume, a collection of talks given by Bokar Rinpoche to his students in France, is a wonderful resource for beginning (and not so beginning) Vajrayana Buddhist meditators. As another reviewer has noted, the book abounds with contemporary analogies, yet the material is firmly grounded in the traditional Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. The book includes a brief section on the preliminary practices (i.e., the Four Reminders and ngondro), and it also provides detailed descriptions of proper meditation posture. As well, Rinpoche gives lengthy explanations of the two basic forms of meditation in the Kagyu tradition---shinay (shamatha, "calm abiding") and lhatong (vipashyana, "superior vision")---and also describes different methods of each for the reader/student to put into practice. Finally, and most importantly to this reviewer, Rinpoche continually stresses that diligence in practice is far more important than "good" or "successful" meditation; for me, it is so easy to become discouraged in meditation because of my goal-oriented, perfectionist nature, so these reminders to "just do it" are simply indispensible.

This is a fine beginners' book on Vajrayana/Mahamudra meditation. Its author counts 16th Karmapa & Kalu Rinpoche as his source lamas (root gurus). The book covers the traditional preliminaries and meditative practices very succinctly but also in a very readable and understandable form-using numerous contemporary analogies such as cars on a highway resembling thoughts (p. 72), airplanes, houses, and even a stuffed tiger (pp. 104-5). He states that (p. 19) "The ego and its entourage are our true enemy...In this domain the true atomic bomb is meditation...The mind can only take a vacation through meditation." Further, (p. 38) "memory is like an imprint on our mind, able to actualize itself the day after. The same principle controls karma." The author not only describes meditation exercises (e.g. p. 115) but provides solid meditation advice useful to Westerners: (p. 79 regarding meditation obstacles): "It seems that in Tibet and in the East in general, the tendency toward sleepiness dominates, while in the West agitation is the main problem," (p. 82): "If one has a general tendency to be agitated, it is better to close the eyes. If, on the other hand, one has a tendency to be sleepy, it is better to keep the eyes widely open," & (p. 83): Generally, it is the fact that we have created in our past lives a karma that leads to sleepiness...However sleepiness can also come from a poor state of health, or from a great physical fatigue."
Bokar Rinpoche also includes a very interesting practice to integrate teachings into one's life: (pp. 61-2): "Fire symbolizes the fire of wisdom. The movement of the wind reminds us of the transitory and changing nature of phenomena. When thus perceived, appearances evoke a correspondence with the elements of our inner path, and they therefore function as a spiritual teacher...each time you see the sea or think about the sea, may it be for you the symbol of love and compassion." The book includes actual footnotes (not endnotes), photos of meditation postures, an index, and a glossary: (e.g. p. 146): "SUBTLE WINDS: Prana (Skt.). Winds or energies which circulate in the subtle channels and link the body to the mind."