Close to the Ground: Reflections on the Seven Factors of Enlightenment

by Geri Larkin

Overview

After all the bliss and generalized euphoria we might experience along our spiritual path, what’s left are the karmic knots of conditioning that still need unraveling. Untying them is the work of spiritual warriors—that is, all of us. The seven factors of enlightenment are a grease to loosen them, all the while keeping us upright in our efforts: mindfulness, the investigation of phenomena, energetic effort, ease, joy, concentration, and equanimity.

In Close to the Ground, longtime Buddhist teacher Geri Larkin uses stories from her own life to share some of the gifts that these factors bring. Because she refuses to be anything special, her stories are all of our stories, her humor, all of our humor, her heartbreaks, all of our heartbreaks. In this book, readers discover (or rediscover) that they have many more tools available to help with this work of "life and death" than they realized.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781930485341
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	05/14/2013
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.41(d)

About the Author

Geri Larkin attended the Maitreya Buddhist Seminary from 1992 to 1995, when she was ordained as a dharma teacher. In 1999 she started Still Point Zen Buddhist Temple in the heart of Detroit. She lives in Eugene, OR.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction

1 Mindfulness
Beau Explores a Ladybug
Fear as a Best Friend
The Fire of Attention
Unitasking
Loving What Is
Retreat Meals

2 Investigation of Phenomena
Where Did I Come From?
Seeing Through the Lens Affectionately Known as Me
Everybody Suffers
Where Does Mexico Start?
Pain Explored
The Observing Buddha as a Way of Life, or Channeling Morandi

3 Energetic Effort
Who Is a Brahmin?
Racing to the Door
Cleaning the House Every Day
Nonstop Hundred-Foot Poles
Good Friends
The Rhinoceros Club

4 Ease
Having Kissed My Ass Goodbye
No Opinions, No Problem
Resistance Free
Goodbye, Flattery and Deception
No Doubt
Again I See Bodhisattvas

5 Joy
A Day Safe From Asteroids
The Lotus Sutra’s Formula for a Happy Life
Without Haste
No Place for the Timid
The End of Searching
Gentleness

6 Concentration
Buddha Is Grass Shoes
Orange Walnut Salad
Gilgamesh’s Car
Hello, Wisdom
The Power of Perseverance
Moving Past Bliss

7 Equanimity
Buddha and His Good Friend Drunk Elephant
Nothing Gets Rewarded
Not Running Away
Not Running Away, Part 2
Melodrama Withdrawal
How to Be a Seamless Monument

Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

Geri Larkin attended the Maitreya Buddhist Seminary from 1992 to 1995, when she was ordained as a dharma teacher. In 1999 she started Still Point Zen Buddhist Temple in the heart of Detroit. She lives in Eugene, OR.

From the Publisher