Synopses & Reviews
The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation offers a practical guide to building a strong meditation practice by unifying mindfulness, concentration, and insight into a single, integrated approach. Mindfulness and insight—clearly knowing what is happening in one’s present moment experience—and concentration—the ability of the mind to remain steady and undistracted—are foundational elements of meditation, yet people are often confused about how these aspects of the practice fit together. Should they be doing insight meditation or concentration practices? How does concentration fit into insight meditation? To help, The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation offers specific guidance for cultivating both insight and concentration in meditation.
This book will be of interest to both beginning and experienced meditation practitioners who wish to familiarize themselves with, deepen their understanding of, and increase their practical skills in mindfulness, concentration, and insight meditation. New meditators who want hands-on skills they can easily put into practice will find the step-by-step instructions accessible and easy to understand. Experienced practitioners will find a complete and useful guide for deepening insight and cultivating the deeper stages of concentration known as jhana.
This book also discusses the most common experiences that can arise as the meditation process unfolds, and will help you find the approaches and techniques that work best for you.
Review
“The Mind’s Own Physician is a journey of understanding, in which an integrative dialogue unfolds between the spiritual leaders of contemplative meditation and scientists at the forefront of mind-body medicine. This transformative conversation provides valuable insight into how meditative practices can balance the mind with effects on the body, as well as, potential benefits for human health. This blending of contemplative traditions with Western science opens a mindful awareness that has the empowering capacity to fully engage people in their health, and more broadly, in the well-being of our societies.”
—Michael R. Irwin, MD, Cousins Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
Review
“What a joy to read The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation. This book is filled with the author’s warmth, wisdom, and compassion. Richard Shankman has offered a very clear and user-friendly companion for anyone wanting to learn meditation. … A great gift.”—Bob Stahl, PhD, coauthor of A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook, Living with Your Heart Wide Open, Calming the Rush of Panic, A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook for Anxiety, and MBSR Every Day
Review
“A wonderfully clear, simple yet thorough book on how to practice Buddhist meditation! Richard Shankman does a masterful job at guiding us through the natural and powerful interplay of mindfulness, concentration, and insight. Whether you are new to meditation or an experienced practitioner, this is a book to keep close at hand.”—Tara Brach, PhD, author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge
Review
“In simple, clear language, [Shankman] shares how mindfulness, concentration, and insight form one complete path. A wonderful guide for practice! While valuable for anyone, people who can’t easily access a meditation teacher or supportive community will especially appreciate this book.”— Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness
Review
“A brilliant introduction to meditation practice. Infused with Richard Shankman’s compassion, this practical and wise book provides the tools needed for individuals to deepen their practice and find their own way on the path of meditation.”—Gil Fronsdal, teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and Insight Meditation Center, and author of The Issue at Hand, A Monastery Within, and a translation of The Dhammapada
Review
“Richard Shankman’s new book, The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation, is a wonderfully clear and straightforward guide for deepening our understanding of the meditative process. Based on his many years of practice and study, he offers a unified vision of the path, with many helpful and practical suggestions all along the way. An important contribution for navigating the inner journey.”—Joseph Goldstein, author of Mindfulness
Review
“Here is a book that you will turn to again and again over the years of your practice because it speaks to both the possibilities and the challenges of meditation. Richard Shankman offers clear instructions on how to establish a meditation practice as well as specific guidance through some of the deepest practices of concentration and insight.”—Phillip Moffitt, author of Dancing with Life and Emotional Chaos to Clarity
Review
“This book is like having a skilled meditation coach by your side. Richard will teach you the basics of meditation, and then keep refining your approach, anticipating the highs and lows you’ll meet over years of practice. He combines ease of understanding with a real depth in both concentration and insight. This book offers valuable tips for both new and experienced meditators.”—Guy Armstrong, senior teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and the Insight Meditation Society
Synopsis
In The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation, mindfulness teacher Richard Shankman gives readers a foundational guide to the art and skill of Buddhist meditation, showing them how to construct a daily practice that unifies two major Theravada Buddhist traditionsconcentration meditation and insight meditation. This new, integrative, and simple approach will help readers manage stress, quiet their busy minds, and cultivate a lasting sense of well-being.
Synopsis
For the first time ever, a leading Insight meditation teacher presents an innovative and practical guide to building a strong meditation practice by unifying both concentration and insight meditation.
In our busy modern world, its easy to get stressed out. In The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation, mindfulness teacher Richard Shankman offers a foundational guide to the art and skill of Buddhist meditation, showing you how to construct a calming daily practice that unifies two major Vipassana Buddhist traditionsconcentration meditation and insight meditation.
Whether you are a beginning or intermediate student of Buddhism, this book provides a user-friendly meditation regime. New readers are presented with a strong foundation in multiple meditation approaches, while those whove been training for a while will be able to better integrate what theyve already learned with new and unfamiliar approaches drawn from other streams of Buddhist thought.
This new, integrative, and simple approach to meditation will help you to better manage stress, quiet your busy mind, and cultivate a lasting sense of well-being.
Synopsis
In Washington, DC, the Dalai Lama met with Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Full Catastrophe Living, Richard Davidson, and other leading meditation researchers to explore the intersection between ancient meditation techniques and modern neuroscience. The result is a fascinating and revealing conversation about the potential of the human mind to heal itself through mindfulness meditation, transcribed and presented to the public for the first time in The Mindís Own Physician.
Synopsis
By inviting the Dalai Lama and leading researchers in medicine, psychology, and neuroscience to join in conversation, the Mind and Life Institute set the stage for a fascinating exploration of the healing potential of the human mind. The Minds Own Physician presents in its entirety the thirteenth Mind and Life dialogue, a discussion addressing a range of vital questions concerning the science and clinical applications of meditation: How do meditative practices influence pain and human suffering? What role does the brain play in emotional well-being and health? To what extent can our minds actually influence physical disease? Are there important synergies here for transforming health care, and for understanding our own evolutionary limitations as a species?
Edited by world-renowned researchers Jon Kabat-Zinn and Richard J. Davidson, this book presents this remarkably dynamic interchange along with intriguing research findings that shed light on the nature of the mind, its capacity to refine itself through training, and its role in physical and emotional health.
About the Author
Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, is internationally known for his work as a scientist, writer, and meditation teacher engaged in bringing mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society. He is professor of medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, founder of mindfulness-based stress reduction, and author of numerous books, including Full Catastrophe Living; Wherever You Go, There You Are; and Coming to Our Senses.
Richard J. Davidson, PhD, is director of the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience, the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, and the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is currently the William James Professor and Vilas Research Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin. He has coauthored or edited over thirteen books, including Visions of Compassion and The Emotional Life of Your Brain.
Zara Houshmand has worked with the Mind and Life Institute for almost twenty years as an editor for books representing its dialogues between scientists and the Dalai Lama.