The Seven-Point Mind Training [Paperback]

Alan B. Wallace (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2004

The central theme of The Seven-Point Mind Training is to make the liberating passage from constricting solitude of self-centeredness to the warm kinship with otherswhich occurs with the cultivation of cherishing others even more than oneself.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A book that will enhance and deepen your spiritual life and empower you to make positive changes. -- East and West Series

From the Back Cover

In this society with its hurly-burly pace demanding of our time, it is ever so easy to let life slip by. The process of simply existing is not necessarily meaningful. And yet, there is an unlimited potential for meaning and value in this human existence. The Seven-Point Mind Training is one eminently practical way of tapping into that meaning.

The central theme of The Seven-Point Mind Training is to make the liberating passage from the constricting solitude of self-centeredness to the warm kinship with others which occurs with the cultivation of cherishing others even more than oneself.

This mind training technique is especially well-suited for an active life. It does not require that we withdraw into seclusion, but that we re-examine all of our relationships — to family, friends, enemies, and strangers — and gradually transform our responses to whatever life throws our way.

"Alan Wallace is one of the great Western Buddhist thinkers of our day."— Howard Cutler, co-author with H.H. the Dalai Lama of The Art of Happiness at Work

"A book that will enhance and deepen your spiritual life and empower you to make positive changes."--East and West Series

B. Alan Wallace trained for many years as a monk in Buddhist monasteries in India and Switzerland. He has taught Buddhist theory and practice in Europe and America since 1976 and has served as interpreter for numerous Tibetan scholars and contemplatives, including H.H. the Dalai Lama. He has published many books on Tibetan Buddhism, including Buddhism with an Attitude and The Four Immeasurables and currently lives in Santa Barbara, CA.

This is a new edition of A Passage from Solitude.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Snow Lion Publications (September 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559392223
• ISBN-13: 978-1559392228
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #244,500 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So you noticed Wallace wrote two books on the Mind Training . . ., June 25, 2006

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NP - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Seven-Point Mind Training (Paperback)

Realize they are two very different books! If you are looking for something to benefit your practice then "Buddhism with an Attitude" is the way to go. Although repetitive at times, this itself is helpful, and it is written in a more instructional tone. If you feel your practice has fully matured (lucky you) and you are simply interested in a concise, more academic exposition of the seven point mind training, then "The Seven-Point Mind Training" is the one for you. Also, for being more condensed, the "The Seven-Point Mind Training", will be the book you will want to carry around once you are familiar with Lojong practice.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Profound teachings presented in an engaging way, December 18, 2004

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Rinchen Choesang "Empty Seeker" (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Seven-Point Mind Training (Paperback)

B Alan Wallace's background, having undergone monastic training and having also had the good fortune to meet with deeply realised masters such as Geshe Rabten, is ideal for presenting these teachings.

This is a very readable and rewarding book. The seven-point mind training is not for those who enjoy a 'comfortable' spiritual path. This book is all about giving up self-cherishing, the source of most of our suffering and putting others before ourselves - not an easy task in a society that tends towards self-gratification. The Buddhist path is not an easy one and these teachings don't allow us to rest easy in a warm and fluffy spiritual materialism, which is a trap for the unwary Dharma practitioner. BAW hammers this message home throughout the book.

The best thing about this book is that it brings to life these pearls of wisdom and very skilfully points the way to integration of them into our everyday lives. BAW exhorts us to bring these 7 points and their underlying Dharmic message into every aspect of our lives. These are teachings to apply to our meditation, our study, contemplation and even our mundane activities. On the meditation mat, or throughout the rest of our days and nights, there are no excuses. We can apply them equally well when we are happy, sad or indifferent.

This is definitely one of the most readable commentaries on the Seven-point Mind Training and well worth buying for your Dharma library. Buy, enjoy, but make sure you also bring it to bear on your life!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of his best books!, August 21, 2007

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Patrick D. Goonan "see profile for URL" (Livermore, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Seven-Point Mind Training (Paperback)

I have had mixed reactions to this author's material in the past and so have others. However, I found this book to be extremely practical, well-written, balanced and applicable to a modern context.

B. Alan Wallace has very impressive credentials, but for some reason, I feel he missed the mark with some of his earlier books or at least didn't hit a homerun. This book is one that I can wholeheartedly endorse.

In short, what the intention of the book is to make the teachings and slogans of Atisha accessible to the average aspirant living in the world. It provides a good interpretation of the teachings on training the mind to be more compassionate and provides a context for these teachings.

There is good commentary on various slogans that are the central point of the Lojong teachings and some good direction for performing Tonglen meditation. Tonglen is called "taking a receiving." The essence of it is to experience a flash of absolute bodhichitta (unconditional love, infinite space, emptiness).... and then commence taking in suffering and breathing out light, compassion, love, etc. This is a very crude description, but it's a type of meditation where you focus on particular and specific pain that you can identify with and increasingly make it more universal in order to develop your mind in the direction of compassion.

This is also a very manageable book and fortunately, Mr. Wallace does a better job of explaining Tonglen meditation than I did above! As a companion to this book, I would also purchase Good Medicine: How to Turn Pain into Compassion with Tonglen Meditation or even better The Pema Chodron Collection: Pure Meditation:Good Medicine:From Fear to Fearlessness.

The resources above provide additional information on Tonglen, guided Tonglen practice, lots of useful practical information on developing the mind, compassion and using everyday events as the stuff for a meaningful spiritiual practice. Mr. Wallace's book compliments this material and brings additional depth to it. You can also find additional resources under my listmania lists.