How to Meditate: A Practical Guide Paperback – October 3, 2005

I am currently taking several courses in Buddhism, and one is taught by the author of this book. I just started that course and her teaching style seems down to earth and enjoyable, but I was slightly annoyed when I saw this book would be required reading for the class. The reason was simply that I've read many books on how to meditate before, and I am taking these classes to advance my knowledge of Tibetan Buddhist practices specifically and felt like this was a slight step backward in my knowledge. I based my entire assumption on the title "How To Meditate". But I dutifully ordered a used copy of it and prepared myself for yet another introduction to meditation book. Turns out the book is fantastic, but I have to say I dislike the title a lot. It doesn't do the book justice and it's such a generic title that I thought I had it all figured out before I even got it. I would have absolutely passed by this book if I hadn't been required to purchase it for the class.

Yes, the book does offer instructions on how to meditate. And she does so in a very down to earth, accessible way. Plain language, and a very direct "how-to" that is missing from many other meditation intro books. How to sit, what to do with your eyes, hands, etc., what strange thoughts or distractions may occur and how to address these problems when they happen, and more. But there is SO much more to the book that I never would have discovered based on the title or even the description, and it's that other content that makes me especially happy. The first two chapters cover the how-to basics for the most part. The rest of the book is mostly specific Tibetan Meditations; meditations on the mind, analytical meditations, and visual meditations. Then another entire section on specific Tibetan prayers and other devotional practices. This was exactly what I wanted to learn in the course but did not expect from this book based on the title.

I feel it's somewhat important to stress that these are meditations and prayers that are mostly from the Tibetan tradition. That's not to say that anyone can't enjoy them, you certainly can, and the instruction is presented in a way that anyone can benefit from, but some of the references might be very new or even strange if you aren't already practicing the Tibetan tradition or even in Buddhism at all. For example, she includes meditations on Tonglen, meditation on Avalokiteshvara, Vajrasattva purification, etc. It's the very thing I love about the book since I've been trying to learn and compile these exact practices from various sources, but I'm not sure it would be the best choice for someone who just wants a secular introduction to basic meditation. That's why I dislike the title so much; people like me wanting specific Tibetan practices will easily miss it, and those just wanting a basic intro to general meditation might end up with a bunch of Tibetan stuff they didn't really need. It's kind of like buying a book called "How to Cook" but finding out it's mostly about how to cook Thai food.

Back to the instruction aspect: she adds to the basic instruction in the first two chapters by offering more specific instructions at the beginning of the various practices, and then gradually incorporates what you have learned from previous chapters as you progress through the book. So you learn specific meditations, practices and prayers AND get instruction on how to do them. It's easy to google the names of any of these Tibetan practices and get lots of results, but not many that include HOW to do the practice in addition to the recitations and visuals. And she simplifies it nicely so it's suitable for beginners to these practices. Chapters are short and easy to digest. This book is going to be a huge help in aiding me to establish a more disciplined set of practices, there are some for daily use (refuge prayer, dedication of merit, etc), others for special situations like times of illness (Medicine Buddha), etc.

So I love the book and am very happy to have an easy to understand guide that teaches these practices and am looking forward to learning the ones I don't know and incorporating them into my routine. I still think it should be named something more accurate like "How To Do Tibetan Practices" or "A Collection of Tibetan Buddhist Meditations and Prayers Including Instructions" or something along those lines. But if you don't mind that they are Tibetan Buddhist oriented, or if you are looking for a Tibetan Buddhist specific book that covers basic meditations and prayers, this will be a wonderful resource. I'm very glad I was required to purchase this, it turned out to be a very pleasant surprise.

Two years ago, I developed a very serious interest in techniques for prayer and meditation. There were no sources of support in my particular locale, so I went on a search through Amazon to find the best practical guide to meditation. At that time, I had no special interest in the belief systems supporting particular approaches to either prayer or meditation. It made no difference whether the approach was Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, or secular. I just wanted a down to earth, nuts and bolts kind of book that gave me guidance on the actual practice of something like meditation.

This was, and is today, the best book that I could find. It eventually served as an entry point into Mahayana Buddhism and, more broadly, into the tradition of contemplative mysticism within both Buddhism and Chistianity. Ms. McDonald typically begins each of her chapters on a particular kind of meditation with an explanation of the underlying reasons for it, followed by a careful walk-through of the beginning, middle, and ending. Although she introduces Buddhist concepts, she also keeps her framework open-ended and suggests where meditators might depart from a strict Buddhist style when the concepts (like reincarnation) seem too forbidding.

After introductory material, the book broadly address samatha (mindfulness, focussing), vipassana (insight meditation), and vajrayana (the use of imagery in meditation). She makes things very easy to understand, and buying into her approach really doesn't require that one become a Buddhist. The only thing she did not address was planning out a sequence of meditations in some kind of logical fashion. But this is a minor point.

The book is not a "read" as such. It's more of a handbook to be consulted in the course of establishing meditative practices. I find that I have never really stopped reading the book. I just keep re-reading passages for clarification, and embarking on new passages when I feel I am ready.

The usual advice for someone meditating is to work with a teacher or guru. That isn't always possible, though, and in those cases this book is the next best thing. Those who buy this book might also visit the website for the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayanan Tradition. It used to be the case that you could obtain free of charge audiobooks of Ms. McDonald conducting classes on meditation.

Ms. McDonald is a magnificent teacher. I'm pleased to be her student even though we have never met, and I hope that my own feeble efforts at meditation eventually honor her.

Reading this book has been a real inspiration. I have a better knowledge of how to properly meditate and i like how it teachings me different ways to meditate. Many people either want to mediate but don't know how to either get started or what exactly to do. With the help of this book it will answer all your question about the how, when, where and what you need to do to get started with your meditation.

BORING READ. DIDN'T HELP ME LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT HOW TO MEDITATE. MAY END UP SELLING IT

One of the books recommended by the FPMT, and part of their online Buddhism class on Discovering Buddhism at Home. Authentic Tibetan Buddhist teachers. FPMT.org

Has some helpful info. Thats about it .

Besides watching and listening to Robina Courtin videos, this is my second choice for learning meditation so far.

This is the best beginning book on meditation that I know of, explaining both how to get into basic breathing meditations, and how to cultivate the antidotes to negative states of mind like jealousy, pride, attachment, and so on. I've used it for 13 years, going through the whole book probably 40-50 times. The author is a very experienced, knowledgeable, and pure practitioner, whose lectures and meditation sessions are also available online.