Customer Reviews

Twenty-Five Doors to Meditation: A Handbook for Entering Samadhi

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There is a flurry of "spiritual activity" out there, with hundreds and hundreds of books expounding on spiritual cultivation and all kinds of esoteric or New Age practices. Oftentimes, the literature is confusing and easily leads the inexperienced reader astray. One would expect that the writer of such subjects to have at least some degree of personal attainment or realization, which I've found in general not to be the case. This is what makes this book all the more invaluable. Bill and Shu-Mei are serious practitioners who back theory with countless hours of practice and self-realization. They belong to a select few who have been trained directly by the great Master Nan Huai-chin, one of the few true Zen Masters still living today. Both spent more than 10 years in dedicated practice, all devoted exclusively to the pursuit of the Way. I was also one of the few who was priviledged to see a draft of this book before it came out (the authors' courtesy) a! ! nd was awaiting anxiously to see it out in press. I have very little doubt that Bill and Shu-Mei will emerge as among the foremost masters of Zen for many years to come. In the tradition of Master Nan, their approach is refreshingly non-sectarian, teaching the practitioner the practical aspects (what really matters!) of the various cultivation schools. By drawing the reader's attention to the common features underlying the various meditation techniques, the authors succeed in building from ground up a robust scientific and biophysical foundation for spiritual cultivation that demystifies much of the superstition and beliefs that have clouded this field in the past. Readers who are serious practitioners of meditation will treasure this book.

This book is a compilation of spiritual practices and techniques, mostly derived from the Chinese (Taoist) and Indian (Hinduism, Buddhism) schools of philosophy and religion.

The book is first and foremost, practical. Each technique is carefully described, along with other historical and bibliographical notes. These notes are useful for more inquisitive readers who wish to learn more about a particular method or topic.

The idea of all these spiritual practices is the attainment of self-realisation. This can also be called "enlightenment" or "seeing the Tao". The authors make a great deal of effort in trying to make this point; possibly because people get side-tracked, looking for mystical experience's or the attainment of superpower's, which have nothing to do with the real spiritual path.

The authors also emphasise proper behaviour and virtuous actions. In fact they say, before a person can make any real progress (on the spiritual path), he must accumulate merit from performing good deeds. This is quite strange and unique. I have not come across any other material, other than the books of Nan Huai Chin (BUY them), that talk about moral conduct.

I therefore recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn the HOW's and WHY's of meditation practice. The book also should be commended because it try's to make an effort in explaining the spiritual path, in terms of Western science. All to often, meditation books tell us, that a particular technique has been around for 1000 years and that's it! No further explanation as to why it actually benefits us or how the body actually gets healthy (it's true) through meditation.

I hope this tells you what you want know!

If you're serious about getting results from your meditative practice -- read this book! It does an excellent job of explaining the principles behind various meditation practices. With a depth all to rare in this field.

You'll find it's one of the best tools for people who actually meditate. Read it and you'll learn 25 different types of meditation...what they do...and why they work. If you're only interested in abstract, touchy feely stuff, this isn't for you. But if you want to actually get results and progress in your meditation -- whether you're a beginner or a veteran -- this is one of most helpful books you'll find.

Serious meditators should also check out the author's website, www.meditationexpert.com. The stuff on there is the most detailed, comprehensive and useful information a meditator can find. If you have any real familiarity with the field you'll be HUGELY impressed with the info. on this site.

Most of this information isn't available anywhere else to the western reader. The clear, detailed explanation will clear up a lot of the mistaken ideas about meditation and give you the tools to be able to understand meditation(theory & practice) ...and to get results.

Seriously, check out the website. The more you know the more you'll be impressed.

William Bodhri does an excellent job in giving EXACT details on 25 techniques or medicines to bring one to samadhi. He recommends doing one you like and one you absolutely hate. There are few with his ability to put Eastern Psychological and Physiological practices in a Western perspective to allow us to grasp the inner truths. These methods are tried and true and only need to be practiced to get results.

When surveying the large number of books on meditation and Buddhism, I am always amazed at how much fluff is out there. It seems like if it isn't academic speculation and word-splitting, then it's just a feel-good inspirational text. There are few books that seriously address meditation, its methods, and most importantly how it "works". One rare author who is able to do so with ease, is William Bodri. The main reason why he is able to do this is because (1) he actually comprehends the theories that so many others just speculate about, and (2) he is a serious cultivator who has great breadth and depth of experience. The 25 methods in this book span not only Buddhist methods of the Hinayana and Mahayana traditions, but have connections to meditation methods in so many other religions. Clearly seeing these connections, the author points them out and gives historical examples showing the close proximity of their respective methodologies. Finally, the methods given are some of the best of each type of meditation. For example, the mantras of Cundi Bhagavati and Vairocana Tathagata are some of the most efficacious methods in Esoteric Buddhism, and these (along with their various related practices) are discussed at length. Therefore, not only are the instructions clear and effective, but the choices of what to teach, and the knowledge required to teach it, are very impressive and extremely rare in the West. For all those who are looking for a complete manual of meditation methods, I cannot think of a better choice.

While a previous reviewer is correct that this book is not a good synthesis of Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity etc., I think he or she may be taking the back cover copy too seriously. The book is essentially Buddhist with some references or analogies to Taoism etc., particularly to the fact that various traditions believe in some kind of mystic or subtle energy to the body. The authors of this book bring a tone of seriousness and belief that makes the attainments they describe seem possible. I found this inspiring, along with the essential message that nearly anything can serve as a kind of meditation. The book doesn't come across as fixed or prescriptive in its instructions, but conveys the idea that samadhi is reachable, although it may be very difficult to reach. Many "spiritual" books are kind of all over the place, mixing philosophy and generalized advice and negative remarks about the western materialistic lifestyle. This one is focused; for the practitioner who wants to meditate, the authors deliver some methods you can use.

25 doors and Bill Bodri's meditation expert website have been invaluable to me. I own all his publications and this book is the foundation which explains a number of important meditation approaches in simple straightforward chapters. The book is worth it's weight in gold! My favorite is Buddha's white skeleton which greatly improved my health, increased my flexibility & concentration, and opened me up to worlds I could never have imagined. This book comes and goes out of print and if you have the chance to pick up a copy, then today is an auspicious day for you.

The book claimes to overview and relate various medative tradtions. It doesn't. It forces everything into a set pattern and ignores large chucks of tradition and the teachings of other traditions. The references to Christian prayer are just plain wrong, there is no mention of hesychasm, and the obvious tie in with bhakti devotion totally misstates christian belief and practice. Similar problems are seen with Judaism and Isalem. Some of the Daoist stuff also is very very different from what I've learned.

I get a distinct sense the authors just tossed in everything they heard of and forced it to fit into their belief system, without a lot of research. Save your money and buy something else.