40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Learning to untangle life., May 14, 2001
This review is from: Seeking the Heart of Wisdom: The Path of Insight Meditation (Shambhala Classics) (Paperback)
"Our life has been spent in sleep and sleepwalking," Jack Kornfield writes in this guide to insight meditation; "meditation means waking up" (p. 52). Coauthors Kornfield and Goldstein are also the cofounders of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. This book is based on "talks given at several intensive meditation retreats" there, and focuses "on the deepening of the inner meditative process, the hindrances one encounters, skillful means of mastering them, and the understanding and wisdom that can arise while in meditative silence" (p. 215). "To understand ourselves and our life is the point of insight meditation: to understand and be free" (p. 7), Kornfield writes. Goldstein tells us that "we practice to open, to balance, and to explore" (p. 18).
Practicing insight meditation is about "clearing or emptying" the mind and heart so that we can listen in a deep and new way" (p. 57). This introductory guide not only contains valuable exercises, but also offers trusted advice about working through the "difficulties and hindrances" that may arise while practicing--desire, aversion, torpor, restlessness, and doubt. "Through practice," we're told, "it is possible to train the heart and mind, to make them concentrated, to make them steady and luminous and free" (p. 39).
The book concludes with a discussion of "the seven factors of enlightenment," mindfulness, effort and energy, investigation, rapture, concentration, tranquility, and equanimity, also offering advice for integrating meditation practice into "our everday lives" (p. 215) so that we may live "a mindful life in the world" (p. 228). Like a finger pointing at "a bright, round moon" from this "floating world" (pp. 129-30), this book is sure to become a trusted resource for anyone interested in living a deeper, more meaningful life through the practice of insight meditation. For those interested in venturing further down "the path of insight meditation," I also highly recommend Goldstein and Salzburg's 12-cassette INSIGHT MEDITATION course.
G. Merritt
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38 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply True, August 1, 1999
By A Customer
I picked up the pocket version of this book one day and happened to open to the page which talks about the accumulation of material items and the transitory happiness it brings -- how once the novelty of the item has worn off we go about buying more things-- all in the hopes of stimulating that "happiness" response. Boy did that hit the nail on the head!! I had to get the full length version and it has been very enlightening. A definte must for anyone who is at a point in their life where they are questioning their purpose, their "path" and want to know what to do to effect change. I loved it!!!
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A clear guide from people who truly understand the reality of meditation, June 11, 2007
I was very impressed with the authors' ability to address concerns that I have had with meditation in the past: specifically, that meditation often sounds like an escape from reality, or a numbing mechanism that shields one from reality. The authors speak from a depth of experience when they explain that meditation is like "learning to surf": there will always be waves in life, and insight meditation provides a method of learning to "surf" those waves and remain standing. The authors admit that a successful meditation practice doesn't get rid of the problems inherent in day-to-day living. It simply equips us with the means to deal with problems as they arise in the moment.
Kora
toseeaworld.googlepages.com
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