The Mind and the Way: Buddhist Reflections on Life [Paperback]

Ajahn Sumedho (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 1994

With warmth and a wonderful sense of humor, Ajahn Sumedho offers reflections on life and practical advice on freeing the mind and opening the heart. The Mind and the Way demonstrates a radically simple approach to life, one in which we are able to awaken to our true nature, and to delight in the mystery and wonder of the world.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Sumedho, an American Thervadin monk trained in Thailand, presents Buddhism as a way rather than a religion. A graduate of the University of California-Berkeley, a Navy fighter pilot, and a Peace Corps volunteer, the author spent ten years as a contemplative forest monk before establishing the first forest monastery in England. Compiled from talks, his book deals with the nature of suffering and release from it by living a virtuous life awakening the mind to the impermanence of all things. Sumedho uses traditional insight meditation practices to open the heart and mind to the path of truth; he promotes a life of nonattachment, yet enriched with loving kindness, a simple life of nonexcess, profound goodness, cooperation rather than competition, and the mind that transcends but does not abandon the world. The keyword is balance. With its humorous observations upon his early days in Thailand, Sumedho's work is acutely practical and easy to read. Highly recommended for public libraries.?Dara Eklund, Los Angeles P.L.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The Mind and the Way is a wonderfully accessible and compassionate expression of the Buddha's teachings...A good book for us all." -- Joseph Goldstein, author of The Experience of Insight and Insight Meditation

"This is a thorough and precise summation of the principles of Buddhism.... Sumedho's personal stories are so humble and brilliantly illuminating that they lift this book high above most Buddhist guides...." -- NAPRA Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications (January 9, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0861710819
• ISBN-13: 978-0861710812
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #479,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully clear and humorous account of Buddhism, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mind and the Way: Buddhist Reflections on Life (Paperback)

This is a very special book edited from many of Ajahn Sumedho's discourses given at retreats in the UK and elsewhere. Ajahn Sumedho is a Theravadan monk who follows the Thai Forest Sangha tradition and who is the spiritual director of 4 monasteries in the UK and a number scattered around the globe. The Mind and the Way brings us to the practise of Buddhism rather than the theory. Ajahn Sumedho has a way of interpreting Buddhist concepts so that they are of direct relevance. His long years of experience shine through. In a book with many highlights I was particularly struck by his exposition of the transcendent element in Buddhism and its relationship to what some might call God. Ajahn Sumedho refers to the Buddhist approach as 'non-theistic' in that it does not personify the transcendent experience or attempt to describe it. Nirvana (or Nibbana in Pali)is referred to in many places in the Buddhist Scriptures, but usually in terms of superlatives or in what it is not. I can thoroughly recommend this book to anyone with a real interest in religious experience and an open heart.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Dharma Book, October 11, 2004

By 

John Hough - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mind and the Way: Buddhist Reflections on Life (Paperback)

This will sound cliche, but I will say it anyway because -- it's true. This book changed my life. I have been reading Dharma books for over a decade now, and have read many that were excellent. But, more than any other Dharma book I've ever read, The Mind and the Way has made my understanding of Buddhist teachings very real, practical and clear. This is not a preachy book about theories and dogma. It is about experience and apllication. This is Applied Dharma, explained in a simple and straightforward manner. Sumedho's tone is that of a familiar friend -- a spiriual friend, with a sense of humor. If you have any real interest in Dharma you MUST read this book.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic, March 5, 2007

By 

Gerald R. Johnson "GRJ" (Taipei, Taiwan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mind and the Way: Buddhist Reflections on Life (Paperback)

I can only echo the comments of the other reviewers of this excellent book. Ajahn Sumedho passes on the pure essence of Buddhism as taught by Ajahn Chah and other great Thai Forest Tradition Theravadan masters. By his own admission, Ajahn Sumedho has spent the last 40 years paring everything down to the way things are and this book is testimony to his monumental achievements. He really cuts through all of the nonsense and gets right to the Dhamma. This book, and his Dhamma talks, may at first glance appear to be fairly mundane and astonishingly simple; but upon closer inspection, re-reading and further reflection, his teachings actually contain the very deepest subtleties of the Dhamma. A great book by one of the foremost living Buddhist masters.