Review: Meditation: How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind

Meditation: How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind by Pema Chödrön
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“But the Buddhist teachings are not only about removing the symptoms of suffering, they’re about actually removing the cause, or the root, of suffering.”

It took me a while to read this, not because it was difficult, but because I'm reading several books and this one kept moving down on my Kindle list.

If you are new to meditation, I recommend this book. Pema Chödrön's writing/teaching style is simple, but not simplistic. There is a lot of depth to what she writes/says. This depth comes from studying such works as Shantideva's The Way of the Bodhisattva, etc.

If you read this and actually do the exercises and put into practice what is being taught, I believe you'll be well on your way to a meditation practice to be happy about.

That's not really what it's about though. Too many times we believe that meditation will make us better people, that it will magically make us more relaxed, more this or that. It's not about good or bad, but about waking up. Meditation is a key ingredient on that path. Not because of the merit we gain or the attainment of some degree of saintliness. It is because we learn to see the world as it is instead of how we perceive it to be.

I'm going to shut up now and let you read it. If you want to, of course!

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Review of Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior

This book is a great foundational read for the Shambhala lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. There are many important topics covered by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. I have read about some of these in other places, but some were new to me.

The idea of warrior-ship initially seemed to be the complete opposite of Buddhism. Chögyam Trungpa, however, allayed my fears with an excellent explanation of this concept. The remainder of the book, of course, describes the path to becoming one of these warriors.

What the book lacks in practical instruction it makes up for in laying a solid groundwork for beginning and continuing on the path of a warrior.

I enjoyed this book for many reasons, not least of them is the clear, easy-to-read writing style of the author. Don't misunderstand that to mean simple to achieve.

I came at this a little backward, I think. It seems that others have read this one first, and only then moved on to read other books by Chögyam Trungpa and others from this lineage (e.g. Pema Chödrön). I started by reading Pema Chödrön's work and slowly made my way to Chögyam Trungpa.

Does that matter? I have no idea. I have gained a lot from this way and so I assume it didn't break me.

If you're new to Shambhala, Tibetan Buddhism, or Buddhism in general I recommend this book.

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