“Better than sex!” That's how Ajahn Brahm describes meditation, and his enthusiasm is contagious. A self-described meditation junkie, Brahm, the author of the popular Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung?, shares his recipe for bliss in this practical, energizing new book. The Meditator’s Handbook is a complete, stem-to-stern guide to the subject, with precise step-by-step instructions for traversing the stages of practice and overcoming obstacles. Drawing on his working-class roots, Brahm explains difficult concepts clearly and easily, so that beginners understand them, while those who already meditate gain new insight. Full of surprises, delightfully goofy humor, and entertaining stories that inspire, instruct, and illuminate, The Meditator’s Handbook encourages novices and gives a shot in the arm to more experienced practitioners.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Most Buddhist writers are not often lighthearted or zesty, but the British-born monk Ajahn Brahm is a delightful exception. Even though meditators are taught to not expect anything, since that represents an attachment, meditation should bring you joy and bliss, according to Brahm. The bliss states of meditation (jhanas) are little-taught, so this book is an addition with value in a crowded niche. Trained in the Thai forest tradition by the Buddhist master Ajahn Chah, Brahm is a clear communicator of the ineffable. He is able to write about a variety of mental states and visualizations with precision and discrimination, drawing on his own experience. He is step-by-step systematic, which helps demystify what happens in meditation. Also useful is the specificity with which he describes the kinds of problems meditators encounter and what to do to resolve them. Meditation is difficult to teach on the page, but Brahm, who began life as an academic at Cambridge, fulfills his calling as teacher. He projects both energetic conviction and calm equanimity. The promise of bliss he describes in this excellent manual is elusive, but remains a compelling goal. (Sept.)
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
“This book is the kind of work that comes around once in a lifetime. I cannot recommend it more highly than that, and encourage anyone with a serious interest in the meditative disciplines taught by the Buddha to buy this book – now!”—BuddhaSpace
“This clear and accessible book describes meditative absorption states (jhana) and how to attain them. An excellent road map to the the development of jhana, which, as the title suggests, is beyond bliss.”—Inquiring Mind
“Most Buddhist writers are not often lighthearted or zesty, but the British-born Ajahn Brahm is a delightful exception. Brahm is a clear communicator of the ineffable and projects both energetic conviction and calm equanimity. The promise of bliss he describes in this excellent manual is elusive, but remains a compelling goal.”—Publishers Weekly
“Like a broom through cobwebs, Ajahn Brahm here sweeps away the mysteries surrounding the jhanas. Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond is salted with the illustrative, often witty life stories that Brahm is well known for, and he uses readily understandable language to explain what some teachers shy from. Finding this book is like finding an operator's manual for one's practice. Raising the bar for those serious about their practice, he scolds those who would 'dumb-down' nibbana and challenges us to reach for the ultimate happiness. Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond is a bold book, sure to be controversial.”—John Roberts, Buddhist Council of the Northwest
“From the first word (meditation) to the last (Parinibbana), Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond is riveting, rollicking, and uncompromisingly _real_. Ajahn Brahm's voice is utterly fresh. But watch out! In the greatest tradition of our beloved roshis and bhikkhus, it is also compelling and commanding. Readers seeking a sure guide to 'the bliss better than sex' will find it in this wonderful book.”—Glenn Wallis, translator of The Dhammapada: Verses on the Way
“Ajahn Brahm is the Seinfeld of Buddhism.”-Sumi Loundon, editor of Blue Jean Buddha
“Ajahn Brahm is originally from London, and his working-class humor and cockney turns of phrase can be charming. Readers will see why so many people are drawn to hear him.”— Shambhala Sun
“Ajahn Brahm has not only provided great leadership for the Buddhist community, but has dedicated much of his time to helping the wider community with a strong sense of compassion, understanding and humour.”—Vice-Chancellor Professor Lance Twomey, Curtin University
“One can never be bored by Ajahn Brahm. Newcomers to Buddhism are always fascinated by how he easily he is able to explain difficult concepts in ordinary language the mind can grasp.”—Eastern Horizon
“This clear and accessible book describes meditative absorption states (jhana) and how to attain them. An excellent road map to the the development of jhana, which, as the title suggests, is beyond bliss.”—Inquiring Mind
“Most Buddhist writers are not often lighthearted or zesty, but the British-born Ajahn Brahm is a delightful exception. Brahm is a clear communicator of the ineffable and projects both energetic conviction and calm equanimity. The promise of bliss he describes in this excellent manual is elusive, but remains a compelling goal.”—Publishers Weekly
“Like a broom through cobwebs, Ajahn Brahm here sweeps away the mysteries surrounding the jhanas. Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond is salted with the illustrative, often witty life stories that Brahm is well known for, and he uses readily understandable language to explain what some teachers shy from. Finding this book is like finding an operator's manual for one's practice. Raising the bar for those serious about their practice, he scolds those who would 'dumb-down' nibbana and challenges us to reach for the ultimate happiness. Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond is a bold book, sure to be controversial.”—John Roberts, Buddhist Council of the Northwest
“From the first word (meditation) to the last (Parinibbana), Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond is riveting, rollicking, and uncompromisingly _real_. Ajahn Brahm's voice is utterly fresh. But watch out! In the greatest tradition of our beloved roshis and bhikkhus, it is also compelling and commanding. Readers seeking a sure guide to 'the bliss better than sex' will find it in this wonderful book.”—Glenn Wallis, translator of The Dhammapada: Verses on the Way
“Ajahn Brahm is the Seinfeld of Buddhism.”-Sumi Loundon, editor of Blue Jean Buddha
“Ajahn Brahm is originally from London, and his working-class humor and cockney turns of phrase can be charming. Readers will see why so many people are drawn to hear him.”— Shambhala Sun
“Ajahn Brahm has not only provided great leadership for the Buddhist community, but has dedicated much of his time to helping the wider community with a strong sense of compassion, understanding and humour.”—Vice-Chancellor Professor Lance Twomey, Curtin University
“One can never be bored by Ajahn Brahm. Newcomers to Buddhism are always fascinated by how he easily he is able to explain difficult concepts in ordinary language the mind can grasp.”—Eastern Horizon
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63 of 72 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
For over thirty years, Ajahn Brahmavamso has been a monk in the Thai "forest tradition," a branch of Theravada Buddhism known for its strict adherence to both the spirit and the letter of the Buddha's teachings. Tibetan Buddhism is exotic and Zen is aesthetically pleasing, but for the meditation that led the Buddha himself to enlightenment, we must look to the Theravadans.
Now one of the best-known faces of Buddhism in the world (although just becoming known in the States), Ajahn Brahm is one of the most admired meditation teachers in the world, and this book shares EVERYTHING. You can take this book to your hut in the woods (or spare bedroom in your house) and work its plan to ultimate bliss.
I was lucky enough to meet Ajahn Brahm last year in Chicago at Transitions Book Place, when he was visiting in support of his book of teaching stories, Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung? (An excerpt from the interview with him appears below.) As wonderful and inspiring as his first book is, Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond is what we've all been waiting for, an encapsulation of the meditation wisdom Ajahn Brahm has cultivated since 1973.
If you're interested at all in what happiness comes from meditation, PLEASE do yourself a favor and read this book. It is everything I had hoped it would be -- and let me tell you, that was a tall order after meeting the writer himself!
Q. People call you "the Elvis of Buddhism," "the Seinfeld of Buddhism." They want to make you into a celebrity. Do you ever have difficulty reconciling that with being a monk--and not just a monk, but a forest monk, which is very different from living as a famous person?
A. You know, I think one of the first times when it really hit me is I was giving a talk in Singapore. There was a huge crowd of five thousand, cheering as if they were watching a basketball match or something. Huge crowd. In the front where I was sitting, I was just by myself on this huge stage. As I walked in, I thought, now what am I doing? But then I thought of my teacher, Ajahn Chah. I thought he would be very happy that I was spreading Dhamma to so many. So you never think of yourself; you think of your teachings. You think of what you're doing, rather than who's doing it. So you actually depersonalize everything.
Q. That's how you avoid the cult of personality?
A. [You get] where you can actually play the role without being the role, so you get up there and you can really connect with your audience. You can enjoy the interaction between yourself and five thousand [other people]. That way you are not shortchanging the Dhamma. Too often, people -- because they're concerned about their ego -- don't actually put themselves forward enough to be able to present the Dhamma in a beautiful way. Whatever you believe in, you just give it everything you've got, you go for broke. If you're going to talk to ten people, it might as well be ten thousand. It's the same as how I'm talking to you now. You just connect and just give a talk to the very best you can, and then off you go. So it's very powerful. If you've got a good teaching, then go out there and give it.
Q. Do you see yourself and your popularity as a vehicle for the Dhamma?
A. Sure, yeah, sure. I mean, when I started [as abbot and giving talks], I thought, "Well, I'll give it everything I've got. If it works, great. If it doesn't work, I can be a nice, peaceful, solitary monk." So you've got nothing to lose.
Q. It's funny. You almost have to disguise your useful teachings in an entertaining and funny way --
A. Packaging, that's what it is.
Q. -- but you're known for being totally scrupulous to the Vinaya. In the evening, you'll have orange juice while other people are having their steak dinners, things like that. That gives you a kind of authority that simply being a monk or an abbot doesn't necessarily confer, because there are scandals every day with religious figures.
A. That's correct, yeah.
Q. So what do you think that the Theravada tradition as practiced and taught by Western monastics has to offer that maybe the other traditions don't?
A. I think it's just clarity. Clarity and simplicity. That just shows that you can keep all your rules scrupulously without being uptight. If you see a person who really keeps those rules, they just so easily go along with it and they're just relaxed because it's one of those almost, like, koans of life--the more rules you keep, the more freedom you feel. People think, "Ah, if you keep precepts and you keep these rules, you feel just so enclosed. You can't go where you want. You can't do what you want." But [monastics] don't feel it that way at all. All these rules -- I can't do this, I can't do that -- seem so free and liberating.
Q. And part of the clarity of the Theravada is that there are not a lot of cultural accretions added to it.
A. That's right. Of all of the types of Buddhism, Theravada has been the least cultural and most international. [As] a Theravadin, I can go to Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, and the other traditions -- old traditions and new traditions -- and know exactly what I'm doing. Like last night, I stayed in the Sri Lankan temple in Toronto. Tonight is in the Thai temple [in Chicago]. So you just fit in so easily. If you're a Theravadin monk or nun, it's like having a Diner's Club card or gold card, and you can go to any of these hotels called "monasteries" in the whole world and get free bed and board. [Laughs.] It's a great, great club to join.
Now one of the best-known faces of Buddhism in the world (although just becoming known in the States), Ajahn Brahm is one of the most admired meditation teachers in the world, and this book shares EVERYTHING. You can take this book to your hut in the woods (or spare bedroom in your house) and work its plan to ultimate bliss.
I was lucky enough to meet Ajahn Brahm last year in Chicago at Transitions Book Place, when he was visiting in support of his book of teaching stories, Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung? (An excerpt from the interview with him appears below.) As wonderful and inspiring as his first book is, Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond is what we've all been waiting for, an encapsulation of the meditation wisdom Ajahn Brahm has cultivated since 1973.
If you're interested at all in what happiness comes from meditation, PLEASE do yourself a favor and read this book. It is everything I had hoped it would be -- and let me tell you, that was a tall order after meeting the writer himself!
Q. People call you "the Elvis of Buddhism," "the Seinfeld of Buddhism." They want to make you into a celebrity. Do you ever have difficulty reconciling that with being a monk--and not just a monk, but a forest monk, which is very different from living as a famous person?
A. You know, I think one of the first times when it really hit me is I was giving a talk in Singapore. There was a huge crowd of five thousand, cheering as if they were watching a basketball match or something. Huge crowd. In the front where I was sitting, I was just by myself on this huge stage. As I walked in, I thought, now what am I doing? But then I thought of my teacher, Ajahn Chah. I thought he would be very happy that I was spreading Dhamma to so many. So you never think of yourself; you think of your teachings. You think of what you're doing, rather than who's doing it. So you actually depersonalize everything.
Q. That's how you avoid the cult of personality?
A. [You get] where you can actually play the role without being the role, so you get up there and you can really connect with your audience. You can enjoy the interaction between yourself and five thousand [other people]. That way you are not shortchanging the Dhamma. Too often, people -- because they're concerned about their ego -- don't actually put themselves forward enough to be able to present the Dhamma in a beautiful way. Whatever you believe in, you just give it everything you've got, you go for broke. If you're going to talk to ten people, it might as well be ten thousand. It's the same as how I'm talking to you now. You just connect and just give a talk to the very best you can, and then off you go. So it's very powerful. If you've got a good teaching, then go out there and give it.
Q. Do you see yourself and your popularity as a vehicle for the Dhamma?
A. Sure, yeah, sure. I mean, when I started [as abbot and giving talks], I thought, "Well, I'll give it everything I've got. If it works, great. If it doesn't work, I can be a nice, peaceful, solitary monk." So you've got nothing to lose.
Q. It's funny. You almost have to disguise your useful teachings in an entertaining and funny way --
A. Packaging, that's what it is.
Q. -- but you're known for being totally scrupulous to the Vinaya. In the evening, you'll have orange juice while other people are having their steak dinners, things like that. That gives you a kind of authority that simply being a monk or an abbot doesn't necessarily confer, because there are scandals every day with religious figures.
A. That's correct, yeah.
Q. So what do you think that the Theravada tradition as practiced and taught by Western monastics has to offer that maybe the other traditions don't?
A. I think it's just clarity. Clarity and simplicity. That just shows that you can keep all your rules scrupulously without being uptight. If you see a person who really keeps those rules, they just so easily go along with it and they're just relaxed because it's one of those almost, like, koans of life--the more rules you keep, the more freedom you feel. People think, "Ah, if you keep precepts and you keep these rules, you feel just so enclosed. You can't go where you want. You can't do what you want." But [monastics] don't feel it that way at all. All these rules -- I can't do this, I can't do that -- seem so free and liberating.
Q. And part of the clarity of the Theravada is that there are not a lot of cultural accretions added to it.
A. That's right. Of all of the types of Buddhism, Theravada has been the least cultural and most international. [As] a Theravadin, I can go to Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, and the other traditions -- old traditions and new traditions -- and know exactly what I'm doing. Like last night, I stayed in the Sri Lankan temple in Toronto. Tonight is in the Thai temple [in Chicago]. So you just fit in so easily. If you're a Theravadin monk or nun, it's like having a Diner's Club card or gold card, and you can go to any of these hotels called "monasteries" in the whole world and get free bed and board. [Laughs.] It's a great, great club to join.
111 of 132 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ajahn Brahm is certainly one of the most dynamic and charismatic Buddhist speakers nowadays. His Friday Night Dhamma talks and seminars have now gained worldwide acclaim and have even won over my mother. Indeed, along with Ajahn Sucitto and Jack Kornfield, Ajahn Brahm was one of the first masters I encountered when I was first introduced to Theravadan Buddhism. His talks have since provided me with a lot of inspiration over the years and have helped me through some very trying times. His previous book "Truckload of Dung" contains many of his jokes, stories and anecdotes that neatly illustrate the main aspects of Buddhism and is vintage Ajahn Brahm at his best.
I must confess, however, that I found his latest book "Mindfulness, Bliss..." along with his most recent Dhamma talks on enlightenment to be somewhat troubling, not necessarily in their content, but in their absolute tone or attitude towards Buddhist practice and enlightenment. While this book contains many useful insights and references about jhanas, his relentless and recurring insistence that experiencing and attaining jhanas is the only true way of achieving enlightenment, borders on the dogmatic and could be misleading especially for beginners in Dhamma practice.
His assertion that achieving or experiencing jhanas is either the best or only way to enlightenment flies in the face of other teachings by renowned meditation masters including more senior teachers such as Ajahn Sumedho and even his own teacher Ajahn Chah. The jhanic bliss or nimittas experienced during meditation should not be attached to, nor do they in themselves constitute enlightenment and nor are they a necessary or sufficient condition for enlightenment. Jhanas and nimittas are just concepts and conditions of the mind, possibly helpful along the path (indeed, they have been for me at certain times), BUT they are neither more nor less than that and do not constitute the sole purpose of meditation, nor are they the pinnacle of Buddhism nor do they represent the totality of Dhamma practice. Please read Ajahn Sumedho and Ajahn Chah on this subject.
As Ajahn Chah used to say, there are many roads to enlightenment and achieving deep jhanas is but one possible portal; however, danger lurks if one gets attached to these blissful states or if one becomes too eager to experience them and depressed if one doesn't. Then they can become a defilement and impede healthy spiritual development. Really, jhanas and nimittas just happen, if they happen at all.
Furthermore, the focus on discovering one's own past lives and reincarnations is yet another common spiritual red-herring found in this lastest book and a few of Ajahn Brahm's latest Dhamma talks (though curiously absent in his earlier talks). I find this a bit disappointing since one of the cornerstones of Buddhism is to be at ease with the Unknowable, to be fine with the Uncertain and not to waste too much time on the Speculative (such as past lives and reincarnations). This is really the realm of other more esoteric forms of Buddhism and New Age speculation. It's especially mystifying since Ajahn Brahm used to devote a considerable amount of his time alerting practioners to these dangers and advising them to put more practical effort into here-and-now mindfulness.
I also found it interesting that Ajahn Brahm uses a lot of heavy scriptural references to support his claims in this book (one wonders if Ajahn Sujato had a partial hand in ghost-writing this book) and yet he often dismisses reliance on scriptural references in his Friday Night Dhamma talks since "these scriptures weren't written by the Buddha anyway." If "Mindfulness, Bliss" were merely presented as an anectdotal reference, or simply as a shared experience or even as a "viewless view" of what can and might happen during meditation, I think it's usefulness would increase dramatically.
It is vital to carefully read Jack Kornfield's excellent foreward, a thinly veiled caveat, before immersing yourself in this book. Furthermore, if you are a beginner to Buddhism or meditation, to gain proper perspective on this subject, I'd strongly suggest reading a few classics before tackling this lastest from Ajahn Brahm:
Ajahn Chah - Food For The Heart
Ajahn Sumedho - The Mind And The Way
Jack Kornfield - A Path With Heart
Henepola Gunaratana - Eight Mindful Steps To Happiness
As the old Buddhist chesnut goes, "Never believe anything anyone tells you, not even the greatest and most famous master and not even the Buddha himself. Test it out for yourself."
3 stars for a thorough discussion of jhanas, minus 2 stars for the misleading tone of the book and the confusion it might cause those who may be new to Buddhism.
Good Luck!
I must confess, however, that I found his latest book "Mindfulness, Bliss..." along with his most recent Dhamma talks on enlightenment to be somewhat troubling, not necessarily in their content, but in their absolute tone or attitude towards Buddhist practice and enlightenment. While this book contains many useful insights and references about jhanas, his relentless and recurring insistence that experiencing and attaining jhanas is the only true way of achieving enlightenment, borders on the dogmatic and could be misleading especially for beginners in Dhamma practice.
His assertion that achieving or experiencing jhanas is either the best or only way to enlightenment flies in the face of other teachings by renowned meditation masters including more senior teachers such as Ajahn Sumedho and even his own teacher Ajahn Chah. The jhanic bliss or nimittas experienced during meditation should not be attached to, nor do they in themselves constitute enlightenment and nor are they a necessary or sufficient condition for enlightenment. Jhanas and nimittas are just concepts and conditions of the mind, possibly helpful along the path (indeed, they have been for me at certain times), BUT they are neither more nor less than that and do not constitute the sole purpose of meditation, nor are they the pinnacle of Buddhism nor do they represent the totality of Dhamma practice. Please read Ajahn Sumedho and Ajahn Chah on this subject.
As Ajahn Chah used to say, there are many roads to enlightenment and achieving deep jhanas is but one possible portal; however, danger lurks if one gets attached to these blissful states or if one becomes too eager to experience them and depressed if one doesn't. Then they can become a defilement and impede healthy spiritual development. Really, jhanas and nimittas just happen, if they happen at all.
Furthermore, the focus on discovering one's own past lives and reincarnations is yet another common spiritual red-herring found in this lastest book and a few of Ajahn Brahm's latest Dhamma talks (though curiously absent in his earlier talks). I find this a bit disappointing since one of the cornerstones of Buddhism is to be at ease with the Unknowable, to be fine with the Uncertain and not to waste too much time on the Speculative (such as past lives and reincarnations). This is really the realm of other more esoteric forms of Buddhism and New Age speculation. It's especially mystifying since Ajahn Brahm used to devote a considerable amount of his time alerting practioners to these dangers and advising them to put more practical effort into here-and-now mindfulness.
I also found it interesting that Ajahn Brahm uses a lot of heavy scriptural references to support his claims in this book (one wonders if Ajahn Sujato had a partial hand in ghost-writing this book) and yet he often dismisses reliance on scriptural references in his Friday Night Dhamma talks since "these scriptures weren't written by the Buddha anyway." If "Mindfulness, Bliss" were merely presented as an anectdotal reference, or simply as a shared experience or even as a "viewless view" of what can and might happen during meditation, I think it's usefulness would increase dramatically.
It is vital to carefully read Jack Kornfield's excellent foreward, a thinly veiled caveat, before immersing yourself in this book. Furthermore, if you are a beginner to Buddhism or meditation, to gain proper perspective on this subject, I'd strongly suggest reading a few classics before tackling this lastest from Ajahn Brahm:
Ajahn Chah - Food For The Heart
Ajahn Sumedho - The Mind And The Way
Jack Kornfield - A Path With Heart
Henepola Gunaratana - Eight Mindful Steps To Happiness
As the old Buddhist chesnut goes, "Never believe anything anyone tells you, not even the greatest and most famous master and not even the Buddha himself. Test it out for yourself."
3 stars for a thorough discussion of jhanas, minus 2 stars for the misleading tone of the book and the confusion it might cause those who may be new to Buddhism.
Good Luck!
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By desiree
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book has jolted me out of complacency with my meditation practice. I don't think it's really for beginners but if you've been meditating seriously and want to go deeper, this is an excellent guide. Ajahn Brahm is adamant about the importance of jhana to experience insight and he gives a step-by-step explanation of how to get there and what to expect along the way. Although I certainly haven't gotten there yet, the effort itself has helped my focus. This book has a straight-forward explanation of many of the Buddha's teachings (such as nibbana)in contrast with what is popularly understood.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Changed my whole approach to meditation
A practical guide to meditation. Very useful for the experienced meditator to help with examining habits that may have sprung up.
Published 1 month ago by Stephen Sloan
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond
This is a very good book by one of my favorite Buddhist teachers, Ajahn Brahm. It is very easy to read and I enjoy his style of writing. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Sandy S
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful
Best meditation book I've seen... well structured, inspiring and based on true experience. It is best to first read it entirely before going to deep into the practice, then read it... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Alexandru
5.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT BOOK
This is a profound guide to meditation. When reading the book, follow the steps, take your time, and do not plan to read the entire book at once. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Keith Cherry
1.0 out of 5 stars
Wrong concentration, wrong view
The jhanas are a central part of the practice taught by the Buddha, mentioned repeatedly throughout the Pali Canon and it is refreshing to see many contemporary teachers returning... Read more
Published 7 months ago by TC
2.0 out of 5 stars
A lopsided view of buddhist meditation
Hi there everyone,
Having just finished this book, I have really mixed feelings about the author and his theories. Read more
Having just finished this book, I have really mixed feelings about the author and his theories. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Osaka
5.0 out of 5 stars
it looked like a glowing greenish lotus, blossoming from inside a...
darker purple. then this undeniable gigantic ball of purple with a churning blue center, a massive nimitta, got closer and closer until it enveloped my consciousness and i abode in... Read more
Published 10 months ago by null
5.0 out of 5 stars
If People Only Knew!
If only people knew there really is such a thing as joy and bliss unspeakable. Many have never entered into these blissful states of meditation and samadhi, so they question if... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Jeremy L Thompson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mindfulness, bliss and Beyond: A Meditators Handbook
Just another self-help, chill yer karma out, mediocre-meditationtastic pamphlet? Certainly not! Catch Ajahn Brahm on You Tube, listen to and watch a few of his talks to get a feel... Read more
Published 13 months ago by advara
4.0 out of 5 stars
knowledgeable
well written with a refreshing humor. the feeling you get is that this is a friend just trying to help.
Published 16 months ago by seeker
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 11
books:
See all 11 books this book cites
- Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung?: Inspiring Stories for Welcoming Life's Difficulties by Ajahn Brahm in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya, 2 Vols. by Bhikkhu Bodhi in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: An Anthology of Suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya (Sacred Literature Series) by Bhikkhu Bodhi in Back Matter
- Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines (Island Hermitage Publication) by Nyanatiloka in Back Matter
- The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga (Vipassana Meditation and the Buddha's Teachings) by Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosa in Back Matter
See all 11 books this book cites
