Swallowing the River Ganges : A Practice Guide to the Path of Purification [Paperback]

Matthew Flickstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

An invaluable roadmap for anyone who meditates, Swallowing the River Ganges is a comprehensive practice guide to the "great treatise" of Theravadan Buddhism, the "path of purification" (Visuddhimagga). Written in the fifth century, this encyclopedic manual of Buddhist doctrine and meditation organizes the various teachings of the Buddha into one clear path. Step by step, this meditation course guides readers through the seven stages of purification, explaining the teachings and putting them into a modern context.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Trauma can be a catalyst for change. The Buddha saw the trauma of dissatisfaction everywhere and so put together the most powerful recipe for life transformation ever. This is according to Matthew Flickstein, who should know: once a successful Ph.D. psychotherapist, he is now a Buddhist monk and meditation teacher. Accustomed to creating personal development workshops, Flickstein created a book that is like a workshop manual. Swallowing the River Ganges is a plan for living the Buddhist way. Combining the teachings of two Buddhist classics, Flickstein reveals a step-by-step path that culminates in living the enlightened life. First come the moral precepts that help you take up a right livelihood, including a smart approach to the material things. Then, of course, comes meditation, with all the training basics. Formal meditation leads to mindfulness in daily life. And after that come higher levels of mindfulness, knowledge, and insight. Flickstein's years of experience are obvious in the way he beaks down intricate levels of practice into clear descriptions, never leaving out possible downsides or roadblocks. Honest, succinct, and practical, Swallowing the River Ganges is a perfect how-to book for transforming life along the Buddhist path. --Brian Bruya

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0861711785
• ISBN-13: 978-0861711789
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,050,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Profound and Helpful Atlas for the Path of Truth, January 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Swallowing the River Ganges : A Practice Guide to the Path of Purification (Paperback)

When someone has lived something it shows. There is a simplicity and a clarity that comes through in the most ordinary and yet remarkable way. In his Latest work, Swallowing the River Ganges: A Practice Guide to the Path of Purification, Matthew Flickstein has brought into clear and approachable focus the Seven Stages of Purification delineated some nine centuries after the time of the Buddha by that wonderful tome, the Visuddhimagga. Years ago, a meditation teacher suggested that I read this dense and difficult book. I ordered it and literally waited months for its arrival--it was sent on a slow boat from Sri Lanka. When it came, I enthusiastically settled down to read with an ardor that was soon cooled by the difficulty of unearthing the practice truths that I sensed lay at the bottom of this dense volume of lists and dire comparisons like some buried treasure waiting to be uncovered. My mind simply did not have the archeological patience and discernment to pare through the soil of this text and uncover the gems that awaited me there. One of the most profound truths of spiritual practice lies in the living of it--to wear it day by day and soften it into a comfortable fit. When someone has done that an intense and yet unassuming clarity begins to flow from them. It doesn't call a lot of attention to itself and yet is present as a beacon of light for others to follow. There is also a quality of generosity that requires that all truth, all light, all understanding be immediately and completely given away to all who seek it. That is the quality of mind and heart that has gone into this quiet and simple and yet profound practice guide to the Visuddhimagga, the Path of Purification. The book follows the seven stages of purification as delienated by the monk Buddhagosa over 1500 years ago but with one major exception. Flickstein has superimposed the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, The Four Noble Truths, and The Noble Eightfold Path onto the template of these stages, placing each set of contemplations and path factors at the proper stage of development in terms of these seven milestones of spiritual growth. Because of this the book takes on the quality of a road map through our internal landscape, the terrain described by Ajahn Mun as a "cave of wonders." Swallowing the River Ganges begins, then, with the foundation of spiritual practice, purification of virtue. But Flickstein does not list a grim and hard-edged set of rules to follow. Instead there is an aliveness to this discussion that points us to a deeper awareness of the quicksilver of Truth as it flashes its way through our experience. Flickstein points the way to a deeper discernment of truth's voice in every situation of our lives. Difficult spiritual experiences are also described as part of a series of expected and "normal" insights knowledges through which a meditator passes on his or her journey to freedom. The normalizing effect of this is quite powerful. Though many have read about the dark night of the soul and have a sense of it as an expected benchmark along the path, it is rare to find a matter-of-fact and open discussion of what exactly this dark night entails. Flickstein tackles this difficult subject with his characteristic clarity and directness and a style that brings this topic home to our ordinary human lives. There is a comfort that permeates this discussion, the comfort of the intimated presence of so many who have walked this same path before us.

The final chapters of the book are dedicated to the insight knowledges that one attains in the last stages of practice. The power of these ending chapters and of the book as a whole lies in its approachability and usefulness as a resource text for those who follow this "sure heart's release." The power also comes from the simple fact that shouts from these pages over and over, enlightenment is possible. It is one of the possibilities afforded us in our ordinary human lives. This truth comes through this succinct and clear book again and again as the steps to the path of freedom are quietly set down for us. For 2500 years the truths presented on these pages have come through many voices, has been written by many hands, has come to us through many loving hearts through the centuries. Matthew has stewarded its birth into a more modern form and presentation, but it is still One Truth. This book belongs on the shelf of every serious student of Dharma. It is a work that reveals the genius of the Buddha's teachings and how they fit together in an alive and powerful system of understanding that brings us ever closer to the freedom that is already present in our lives.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear practice guide to Path of Purification, January 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Swallowing the River Ganges : A Practice Guide to the Path of Purification (Paperback)

The Path of Purification is the most comprehensive meditation guide of the Theravada tradition. It is, however, quite complex, and it can be difficult to find the information you need to devlop a meditation practice. While everyone who is interested in this meditation tradition should eventually get around to reading the original, this book can help you start a meditation practice immediately. The author has done a wonderful job of separating out the material that pertains to modern meditators. This book may be even more meaningful to people who already have some experience with meditation and Buddhism. It is interesting to find how appropriate a 1700 year old plan for meditation can be :)

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Swallowing the River Ganges, January 8, 2001

By 

Gregory V. Richardson (Anderson, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swallowing the River Ganges : A Practice Guide to the Path of Purification (Paperback)

This is an excellent book which condenses and puts into clear English the complex and ancient textbook of Buddhism known as the Visuddhimagga (The Path of Purification) which was written in the 5th century common era. Swallowing the River Ganges provides an explanation of beginning practices all the way up to the work of those nearing enlightment. In particular this is a clear rendering of the sort of knowledges needed for progress on the spiritual path from a Buddhist perspective. There is no other book quite like this.