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opson's review against another edition
3.0
Found it to be a pretty vague book about meditation. If I were forced to summarize it, I'm not sure I would do a good job. The tone is almost 'dreamlike'.
Really liked the chapter about meditation. Found it to be very insightful.
Really liked the chapter about meditation. Found it to be very insightful.
kouverk's review against another edition
5.0
Another stunner by the great Trungpa. Kills me every time
saulshanabrook's review against another edition
5.0
I need to give this another read now that I am done...it's the clearest book I have read so far on mediation.
audeliame's review
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
There's no doubt that the content of this book is very valuable. Yet it isn't the most accessible/engaging book I've read about the subject.
tbauman's review against another edition
3.0
This book struck me as scattered and, while somewhat insightful, it introduces a lot of concepts without having a clear idea of how much the reader ought to know about Buddhism or meditation or what level the reader is at. For example, it rapidly switches from advice for new meditators about learning from scriptures to advice about how to teach wisdom to others.
I understood why this disorder happened when I listened to the afterward. It turns out that the book was transcribed from a series of lectures Chogyam Trungpa gave at his temple in the UK in the 60's. This book was one of the first books to introduce Buddhism to a Western audience and became a massive hit once it hit a Berkeley bookstore and spread around the Bay Area. Trungpa ended up moving to Vermont to start a Buddhist center there.
Today, there are much better-organized and better-written books about Buddhism. This book was interesting as a historical document in American Buddhism, and I learned some things, but I prefer more recent books.
Disclaimer: About halfway through the book I looked up the author who turns out to be a lifelong alcoholic who died from alcohol-related causes and regularly slept with his students. This seems very un-Buddhist to me--the opposite of removing attachment. This colored my view of the contents, although I didn't find the author's personal life reflected much in the book.
I understood why this disorder happened when I listened to the afterward. It turns out that the book was transcribed from a series of lectures Chogyam Trungpa gave at his temple in the UK in the 60's. This book was one of the first books to introduce Buddhism to a Western audience and became a massive hit once it hit a Berkeley bookstore and spread around the Bay Area. Trungpa ended up moving to Vermont to start a Buddhist center there.
Today, there are much better-organized and better-written books about Buddhism. This book was interesting as a historical document in American Buddhism, and I learned some things, but I prefer more recent books.
Disclaimer: About halfway through the book I looked up the author who turns out to be a lifelong alcoholic who died from alcohol-related causes and regularly slept with his students. This seems very un-Buddhist to me--the opposite of removing attachment. This colored my view of the contents, although I didn't find the author's personal life reflected much in the book.
paulmoore's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
The life and Example of Buddha.
I love this history of Siddhartha before he became the Buddha and how he found enlightenment.
One thing that stands out is Buddha's not just accepting something he is told,he must find out for himself. A lesson we should all practice!
***Taken from the internet but I felt this summed up the book really well -
The book explores the six activities associated with meditation in action--generosity, discipline, patience, energy, clarity, and wisdom--revealing that through simple, direct experience, one can attain real wisdom:
We learn that meditation is based on trying to see what is, rather than trying to achieve a higher state. It's not a retreat from the world but builds a foundation for compassion, awareness, and creativity in all aspects of a person's mind and behavior.
I love this history of Siddhartha before he became the Buddha and how he found enlightenment.
One thing that stands out is Buddha's not just accepting something he is told,he must find out for himself. A lesson we should all practice!
***Taken from the internet but I felt this summed up the book really well -
The book explores the six activities associated with meditation in action--generosity, discipline, patience, energy, clarity, and wisdom--revealing that through simple, direct experience, one can attain real wisdom:
We learn that meditation is based on trying to see what is, rather than trying to achieve a higher state. It's not a retreat from the world but builds a foundation for compassion, awareness, and creativity in all aspects of a person's mind and behavior.
koob's review
4.0
I've heard CT mentioned a lot in passing from other teachers and I definitely see why. I'd be very interested to visit his retreat in Scotland and start harnessing the accessibility to teachers via tech. Again reminders to not take anything so seriously. Also guidance to take regular breaks from learning. Got it. I'll read more from this author.