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lordnelson's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
2.5
What- A short dive into Buddhist mediation techniques.
9 Breaths(each nostril)
Body & Mind Prep for Mediation
Medicine Buddha
Taking and giving cultivating compassion
How - it was quick, w clear summarisations, then repeated each exercise.
True- from previous experience, logistically those techniques make sense. They were very short exercises looking forward to trying and seeeing if they work.
Best bits.
Here's a condensed summary of the notes:
Allow yourself permission for time to practice mental play/execution and rejuvenation.
Aspire to achieve Buddhahood for the benefit of all beings.
Medicine Buddha
Visualize nearby healing radiating imagery and your black smoke washing away and disappearing beneath you:
- White nectar purifies the body, eradicating sickness and pain.
- Orange light enhances love and compassion.
- Red light boosts strength, vibrancy, mindfulness and ability to sustain concentration.
- Deep Ocean Dark blue removes obstacles and diseases for ourselves and others.
taking and giving Exercise.
- Inhale friends' suffering, releaving their black smoke colides and dissolves with your inner self cherrising
- Exhale happiness and peace to relieve their suffering and accept bliss
- Combine inhaling suffering and exhaling happiness to cultivate love and compassion for all beings.
9 Breaths(each nostril)
Body & Mind Prep for Mediation
Medicine Buddha
Taking and giving cultivating compassion
How - it was quick, w clear summarisations, then repeated each exercise.
True- from previous experience, logistically those techniques make sense. They were very short exercises looking forward to trying and seeeing if they work.
Best bits.
Here's a condensed summary of the notes:
Allow yourself permission for time to practice mental play/execution and rejuvenation.
Aspire to achieve Buddhahood for the benefit of all beings.
Medicine Buddha
Visualize nearby healing radiating imagery and your black smoke washing away and disappearing beneath you:
- White nectar purifies the body, eradicating sickness and pain.
- Orange light enhances love and compassion.
- Red light boosts strength, vibrancy, mindfulness and ability to sustain concentration.
- Deep Ocean Dark blue removes obstacles and diseases for ourselves and others.
taking and giving Exercise.
- Inhale friends' suffering, releaving their black smoke colides and dissolves with your inner self cherrising
- Exhale happiness and peace to relieve their suffering and accept bliss
- Combine inhaling suffering and exhaling happiness to cultivate love and compassion for all beings.
runeclausen's review against another edition
1.0
Starts out alright, but when getting into dealing with samsara and re-birth, David just threw me off with his matter-of-factness about it all, not providing any proper arguments or reasoning to why this should be a real phenomenon. It is just too large of a camel to swallow. And the derisive comments that us westernes are essentially just too ignorant about these things didn't help.
Equally i'm not buying too much into this whole karma-ic seeds used to explain the good or bad fortunes for a person, throughout multiple lifes, or the continous mind-stream. In my humble opinion it merely amounts to victim blaming, saying that people always deserve what comes to them.
There's more things about the way that David interprets and explains buddhism that throws me off, and makes me dislike this book a lot more than it perhaps deserves. Buddhism might just not be for me at all, but I'm happy it's helping him.
Equally i'm not buying too much into this whole karma-ic seeds used to explain the good or bad fortunes for a person, throughout multiple lifes, or the continous mind-stream. In my humble opinion it merely amounts to victim blaming, saying that people always deserve what comes to them.
There's more things about the way that David interprets and explains buddhism that throws me off, and makes me dislike this book a lot more than it perhaps deserves. Buddhism might just not be for me at all, but I'm happy it's helping him.
dominiko_'s review against another edition
4.0
This book is really very interesting and has definitely gotten me interested in exploring Buddhism furuther. Michie writes very clearly and communicates well with his reader (like any good PR professional...)
It gives a really good overview of Buddhist principles and beliefs, managing to remain both in-depth but clearly understandable.
My only problem is that being a busy person, I only find time to read this on the commute to work, and would prefer to give the ideas expressed in this book a deeper reflection.
It gives a really good overview of Buddhist principles and beliefs, managing to remain both in-depth but clearly understandable.
My only problem is that being a busy person, I only find time to read this on the commute to work, and would prefer to give the ideas expressed in this book a deeper reflection.
hollysmith54's review against another edition
3.0
A 4 part guide.
My highlights were the 7 point meditation physical posture and then the emphasis on getting a good psychological posture in order before commencing meditation. I will certainly utilise this moving forwards.
The meditations were based on Tibetan Buddhism and so had some prayer-like dedications at the start. This kind of Buddhism is not for me. The meditation I resonated with the most was the one on cultivating compassion of taking and giving. This is one of the more popular meditations in Tibetan Buddhism and one that can start with close loved ones and be expanded to friends, family, wider community, strangers, the world, and even “enemies”.
My highlights were the 7 point meditation physical posture and then the emphasis on getting a good psychological posture in order before commencing meditation. I will certainly utilise this moving forwards.
The meditations were based on Tibetan Buddhism and so had some prayer-like dedications at the start. This kind of Buddhism is not for me. The meditation I resonated with the most was the one on cultivating compassion of taking and giving. This is one of the more popular meditations in Tibetan Buddhism and one that can start with close loved ones and be expanded to friends, family, wider community, strangers, the world, and even “enemies”.
sheilahope's review against another edition
4.0
audible listen on this one. Great overview of buddhist principles...and how to meditate. Read it and DO IT.....
dani_reviews's review against another edition
DNF'd at 60%
This started out interesting, but it slowly lost me. I was interested in some of the practices of buddhism, especially as I'm now starting to feel like I'm getting the hang of mindfulness (not specifically buddhist meditation). However, I think this got a bit too New Age for me. Maybe it would have been better broken down into smaller chunks, not trying to listen to it straight through.
This started out interesting, but it slowly lost me. I was interested in some of the practices of buddhism, especially as I'm now starting to feel like I'm getting the hang of mindfulness (not specifically buddhist meditation). However, I think this got a bit too New Age for me. Maybe it would have been better broken down into smaller chunks, not trying to listen to it straight through.
tilduke's review against another edition
3.0
Simply this book was just not the Buddhist book for me. The biggest issue was it diverged from Buddhist teachings quite significantly and without warning. It wasn't a bad book but it wasn't a good book, hence the average rating.
queencandytoppenmarble's review against another edition
3.0
I really wanted to give this 5 stars, I was so looking forward to read this. I personally found it hard going and therefore took a long time to read, but other time I had no problem at all understanding it. This maybe because I stopped part way through. Through I did try from the start again, I found it easier to keep going. I did finish it and for that I am proud. Just not for me.
jen87's review
2.0
OK, more about the author than the topic. He has strong opinions on life, which I don't agree with. It distracted from the rest of the book.
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