[book] "mindfulness In Plain English" By Bhante Gunaratana

[Isle of View]

 "Mindfulness in Plain English" by Bhante Gunaratana

This book is the best book I've ever read about Mindfulness Meditation (Vipassana).
It is written in plain English, just like the title suggests, and has plenty of good information, examples and dismantles the "mystery" of the technique one could have acquired from other readings. It is a no-bullshit summary in a language you can easily follow and grasp.

Nothing in this book contradicts with what @Leo Gura talked about in his famous video How To Meditate - The No Bullshit Guide to Meditation.

You only can deepen your understanding by reading and re-reading this book.

Quote

Fair use quote from the book:

"Vipassana meditation is a set of training procedures that gradually open us to this new view of reality as it truly is. Along with this new reality goes a new view of that most central aspect of reality: “me.”
A close inspection reveals that we have done the same thing to “me” that we have done to all other perceptions. We have taken a flowing vortex of thought, feeling, and sensation and solidified that into a mental construct. Then we have stuck a label onto it: “me.” Forever after, we treat it as if it were a static and enduring entity. We view it as a thing separate from all other things. We pinch ourselves off from the rest of that process of eternal change that is the universe, and then we grieve over how lonely we feel. We ignore our inherent connectedness to all other beings and decide that “I” have to get more for “me”; then we marvel at how greedy and insensitive human beings are. And on it goes. Every evil deed, every example of heartlessness in the world, stems directly from this false sense of “me” as distinct from everything else.

If you explode the illusion of that one concept, your whole universe changes. Don’t expect to be able to do this overnight, though. You spent your whole life building up that concept, reinforcing it with every thought, word, and deed over all those years. It is not going to evaporate instantly. But it will pass if you give it enough time and attention. Vipassana meditation is a process by which that concept is dissolved. Little by little, you chip away at it, just by observing it.

The “I” concept is a process. It is something we are constantly doing. With vipassana we learn to see that we are doing it, when we are doing it, and how we are doing it. Then that mindset moves and fades away, like a cloud passing through a clear sky. We are left in a state where we can decide to do it or not, whichever seems appropriate to the situation. The compulsiveness is gone: now we have a choice."

Here you can find the book: http://www.wisdompubs.org/book/mindfulness-plain-english

(There is also an extensive preview in PDF format).

 

I wish you a good read and good progress.

~ Chris

Edited March 3, 2016 by Isle of View

[xXxXx]

Can agree on this, great book, highly recommended

[JohnLeyo]

The tone of this book is fantastic, as is the practical information it contains. I will be reading this again.

[Violina]

It was one of the first spiritual books, I read and I can recommend it.