Buddhist Meditation

Soul to Soul: Harnessing the Power of Your Mind: Harnessing the Power of Your Mind

by Vernon Kitabu Turner

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"Written by African-American Zen master and expert martial artist Vernon Kitabu Turner, Soul To Soul is a guide to focusing and stilling one's mind, so that it can become a mirror of the Ultimate. The power to tame one's mind begets the power to change the world, according to Turner; simple exercises and techniques are presented to aid readers of all faiths in taking the first step on the crucial journey to increased mental clarity. Soul To Soul emphasizes that Zen mind is not only for Buddhists, but offers benefits in self-awareness, understanding, and spiritual growth to everyone."

Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing | More reviews: amazon.com

Mary Magdalen Energy Meditations: Alchemical Practices to Elevate and Balance the Serpent Power Within

by Tom Kenyon

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"Highly recommend to those who are wanting to work on opening to the experience of greater life force energy. When I am able to concentrate on Tom's guidance and my breathing, I get very powerful results from this technique. I am sometimes challenged with concentration, this is my own issue, but Tom is good at guiding you back, keeping you focused if your thoughts wander. "

Publisher: Sounds True, Incorporated | More reviews: amazon.com

Balancing the Mind: A Tibetan Buddhist Approach to Refining Attention

by B. Alan Wallace

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"If you are a beginning meditator, this book will be very difficult to digest. It is a scholarly examination of Tsongkhapa's exploration of quiescence, an advanced approach to refining attentive powers. It is well written and very well sourced and represents a wealth of information for the advanced meditator, but you have to be willing to study this book. It took me almost 6 weeks to read, but it was worth the effort."

Publisher: Snow Lion Publications | More reviews: amazon.com

Buddha Takes No Prisoners: A Meditator's Survival Guide

by Patrick Ophuls

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"In BUDDHA TAKES NO PRISONERS Patrick Ophuls has performed an invaluable service to anyone interested in Buddhist-oriented meditation. This is the best introduction to practice I have ever read. (I am a Zen teacher who has practiced for over twenty years and I highly recommend this book to my students.) The book reflects Ophuls' Theravadan/Vipassana background, but it is general enough to apply to any of the Buddhist traditions. General does not mean superficial. While short (175 pages) the book is remarkably thorough. Ophuls takes the basic tenants of Buddhism and explains them briefly but incisively through the effective use of metaphor and ordinary language. He focuses on the process of meditation.

In a literary world that provides the newcomer with a bewildering array of books on Buddhism and meditation practice, Ophuls' perspective is unique: one, as he says, "of an experienced student rather than a proper teacher." It's a valuable perspective. Not only has Ophuls practiced meditation for over thirty years, he is also a student of Western thought, an author of books on politics and ecology, and someone who has lived a rich and varied life. The wisdom that comes from such a life of study and practice shines through, giving us a profound yet assessable presentation of the Buddha's teaching and guidance as to how to apply those teachings in daily life.

In his introduction, Ophuls states that he often finds traditionally presented explications of Buddha's teachings to be "abstruse" and that his aim is to provide "down-to-earth, colloquial advice to those embarking on the wonderful but challenging journey of meditation." He has succeeded. He succeeds due to the clarity and conciseness of his language and the brevity and directness of his style. For example, he says that when it comes to meditation, "[H]ere are the rules in a nutshell: shut up, sit down, and pay attention." You can't get clearer, more direct, or more accurate than that. As stated, his approach is metaphoric rather than conceptual, which is another key to his success. While he makes use of traditional metaphors, like turning butter into ghee (for purification), his real contribution is the use of original and contemporary ones, like comparing "concentration" to a laser and the meditation process to "untangling a knot." He also offers insightful critiques on contemporary understandings of key Buddhist concepts, like "loving-kindness" for metta and practice as "a path". The tone of the book is humorous, playful, and respectfully irreverent, without ever becoming mean-spirited.

The book is primarily an introduction and guide for those who are interested in a serious practice. Ophuls is not shy about outlining the difficulties of the path, both within our own minds and within the culture in which we live. He is clear that successful practice requires deep commitment and sustained effort but affirms that liberation is there for any of us, if we could only see it, and that meditation is the primary tool for clearing away the dust in our eyes. He neither soft-pedals nor waters down the Buddha's message: the path is neither an intellectual quest nor a self-improvement program but one that aims at a radical transformation of the deeply flawed assumptions and misguided strategies that keep us ensnared in endless cycles of suffering. "

Publisher: North Atlantic Books | More reviews: amazon.com

Trying to Be Human: Zen Talks

by Cheri Huber

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This funny, engaging guide to the basics of Buddhist meditation presents the idea that people are not human beings trying to be spiritual, but spiritual beings trying to be human. That is, instead of striving toward an ideal image of ourselves, people might aim simply to see more clearly what being human is all about, including what impels striving.

Publisher: Keep It Simple Books | More reviews: amazon.com

Warm Smiles from Cold Mountains: Dharma Talks on Zen Meditation

by Reb Anderson

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"Book Review: Warm Smiles from Cold Mountains, Dharma Talks on Zen Meditation by Reb Anderson Have you ever wondered why so many Westerners are getting involved with the many facets of Buddhism? Have you ever wondered what's so different about it? Warm Smiles from Cold Mountains is a book that answers these questions in an easy to understand simplistic way. Through stories and his personal experiences, Reb Anderson gives us an opportunity to look at our journey with fresh eyes and different awarenesses. Warm Smiles is filled with deep appreciation for daily intentional living and being in each moment as it arrives.Don't try to read this book like a novel; there's just too much there to ponder and you'll miss a great deal if you do. I believe you'll read it through once, perhaps twice then keep it handy for day to day use. One thing I do with inspirational books is to keep them next to my favorite chair and periodically just open to any page and read whatever is there. Often, if there's something troubling my mind or I'm attempting to sort out an issue, I'll just open to a page in a book of this type. As I read that page, I'll usually relax a bit, pay great attention to what I opened to and discover that all is solved and answers are given. This is a look into a mirror, take your time, allow it to resonate deep inside your Being, meditate with the pages of this book.I want to thank Reb for giving me an opportunity to see that Buddhism creates no conflict with anything in my daily personal life or belief systems. I was particularly drawn to Chapter Eight, "Life Is Not Killed." What a delicious way of viewing life. I recommend you check it out for yourself; it truly creates "warm smiles."Jyoti Hansa, Vermont"

Publisher: Rodmell Press | More reviews: amazon.com

Mahamudra Tantra

by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

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"This is an amazing book. It explains the most profound meditations on Highest Yoga Tantra, the quickest path to enlightenment, in a way that is clear and practical. Following the Buddhist path to enlightenment never seemed so clear and easy!

This book is such a blessing and on every page, the author's experience shines. It's obviously written by someone who has 'walked the talk' and understands what is needed to attain profound spiritual experiences. A priceless gem - I can't recommend it highly enough."

Publisher: Tharpa Publications | More reviews: amazon.com

Meditate

by Swami Muktananda

This is a practical how-to book of meditation techniques. "Meditation," Swami Muktananda explains, "happens through the grace of a Siddha Master; it is our birth-right. All we must do is to shift our focus from the outside to the inner Self." This book is highly recommended for the new meditator and for anyone wishing to deepen their meditation experience.

Publisher: State University of New York Press | More reviews: amazon.com

Reflective Journaling: A Guide to Personal and Spiritual Growth

by Laura Wright

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Reflective Journaling, a Guide to Personal and Spiritual Growth, is a collection of essays and exercises designed to clarify what constitutes authentic spiritual practice. Here you will find sections on karma, loving-kindness, gratitude, and equanimity. Engaging in the journaling process readily inclines the mind toward quietude and stillness, allowing for a meditative disposition to surface. Within each one of us is a precious reservoir of wisdom and truth, it is only a matter of learning to access it. Reflective Journaling offers skillful means for connecting to your essential true nature: the tender beauty, sacredness, and quiet knowing that resides in us all.

Publisher: Bristlecone Publishing | More reviews: amazon.com

Ancient Wisdom: Nyingma Teachings on Dream Yoga, Meditation and Transformation

by Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche

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"This book consists of a series of teachings on several topics by the highly respected Tibetan lama Gyatrul Rinpoche, skillfully translated by B. Alan Wallace and Sangye Khandro. It's divided into three parts, titled "Transformation," "Dream Yoga" and "Meditation," and each of these three parts consists of a "root text" by a renowned Tibetan author and a commentary by Gyatrul Rinpoche. The first root text is a wonderful "lojong" (mind training) text called "Transforming Felicity and Adversity into the Spiritual Path," by Jigme Tenpe Nyima. The second is a dream yoga text called "Releasing Oneself from Essential Delusion," by Lochen Dharma Shri, and the third is a Dzogchen text called "The Illumination of Primordial Wisdom," by H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche. Taken together, these three texts and their lucid and practical commentaries give a very complete introduction to the essential teachings of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and will be a great treasure for anyone interest in practicing these profound methods."

Publisher: Snow Lion Pubns | More reviews: amazon.com