Turning the Mind into an Ally - Hardcover

Sakyong Mipham

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1573222062 ISBN 13: 9781573222068

Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover, 2003

Synopsis

An American Tibetan Buddhist shares stories and wisdom from American culture and Buddhist teachers that illustrate the steps in strengthening, calming, and stabilizing the mind as part of accomplishing one's personal goals. 17,500 first printing.

About this title

About the Author:

Sakyong Mipham, one of the brightest young incarnate lamas of Tibet, is the spiritual director of Shambhala, an international organization of meditation and retreat centers. He is the son of Ch&oumlgyam Trungpa, now considered one of the founders of Buddhism in the West. He travels and teaches at centers throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia.

From Publishers Weekly:

Is the mind our enemy? It can be, suggests Shambhala International's director Mipham in his first book. The key to peaceful and sane living, says Mipham, is training our minds. Without that training, people live "at the mercy of our moods." Meditation is the tool that can help spiritual seekers master, rather than be mastered by, their own minds. This book blends a philosophically savvy explanation of why meditation is necessary with an artful and accessible introduction to the basics of meditation. Mipham moves elegantly from the prosaic (how to sit with a straight spine) to the profound (why one should bravely contemplate illness, aging and death). Indeed, those practicing spiritual disciplines from any tradition-Christian, Wiccan, and so forth-could benefit from Mipham's commonsense approach to meditation. He acknowledges, for example, that the tyro might get bored, distracted or even hungry for a cookie. New meditators are likely to find a million and one excuses for not meditating. But, says Mipham gently, "at some point you just have to sit down and do it." Mipham's guide is distinguished by its intelligible prose; unlike many fellow travelers, he does not drown his reader in jargon. He defines Buddhist basics, like "samsara" and "karma," clearly. Three useful appendices, outlining meditation postures and giving simple instructions for contemplation, round out the book, and a foreword by Pema Chodron is an added treat. This easy read is one of the best of the Buddhism-for-Westerners genre.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1573222062
• ISBN 13: 9781573222068
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224