How to Meditate: A Practical Guide

by Kathleen McDonald, Robina Courtin (Editor)

Overview

What is meditation? Why practice it? Which techniques are best? How do I do it? The answers to these often-asked questions are contained in this down-to-earth book, making it of enormous value for anyone who wishes to begin and maintain a meditation practice. Written by a Western Buddhist nun with solid experience in both the practice and teaching of meditation, How to Meditate contains a wealth of practical advice on a variety of authentic techniques, from what to do with our minds, to how to sit, to visualizations and other traditional practices. Best of all, McDonald’s approach is warm and encouraging. The next best thing to personal instruction!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780861713417
Publisher:	Wisdom Publications MA
Publication date:	10/03/2005
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	367,803
Product dimensions:	6.02(w) x 10.88(h) x 0.68(d)

About the Author

Kathleen McDonald (Sangye Khadro) was ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun in 1974. She is a respected and inspiring teacher in the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, a worldwide organization of Buddhist teaching and meditation centers.

Ordained since the late 1970s, Ven. Robina has worked full time since then for Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche's FPMT. Over the years she has served as editorial director of Wisdom Publications, editor of Mandala Magazine, executive director of Liberation Prison Project, and as a touring teacher of Buddhism. Her life and work with prisoners have been featured in the documentary films Chasing Buddha and Key to Freedom.

Table of Contents

	Preface	vii
Part 1	Mind and Meditation
1	Why Meditate?	3
2	What Is Meditation?	6
Part 2	Establishing a Meditation Practice
1	Advice for Beginners	15
2	The Meditation Session	20
3	Posture	24
4	Common Problems	27
Part 3	Meditations on the Mind
1	Meditation on the Breath	37
2	Meditation on the Clarity of the Mind	42
3	Meditation on the Continuity of the Mind	45
Part 4	Analytical Meditations
	About Analytical Meditation	51
1	Meditation on Emptiness	53
2	Appreciating our Human Life	59
3	Meditation on Impermanence	65
4	Death Awareness Meditation	69
5	Meditation on Karma	80
6	Purifying Negative Karma	90
7	Meditation on Suffering	97
8	Equanimity Meditation	106
9	Meditation on Love	111
10	Meditation on Compassion and Tonglen (Giving and Taking)	116
11	Dealing with Negative Energy	122
Part 5	Visualization Meditations
	About Visualization	143
1	Body of Light Meditation	147
2	Simple Purification Meditation	148
3	Meditation on Tara, the Buddha of Enlightened Activity	151
4	Meditation on Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion	155
5	Inner Heat Meditation	161
Part 6	Prayers and Other Devotional Practices
	About Devotion	167
1	Prayers	171
2	Explanation of the Prayers	175
3	A Short Meditation on the Graduated Path to Enlightenment	183
4	Meditation on the Buddha	186
5	Meditation on the Healing Buddha	194
6	Meditation on the Eight Verses of Thought Transformation	200
7	Prayer to Tara	211
8	Vajrasattva Purification	219
9	The Eight Mahayana Precepts	228
10	Prostrations to the Thirty-five Buddhas	238
	Glossary	247
	Suggested Further Reading	253
	Index	257

Editorial Reviews

"An excellent and engaging book for anyone interested in learning how to meditate."

Thubten Chodron

"Written for the person who may not have the opportunity to seek personal instruction."

Circles

"Kathleen McDonald's intelligent and carefully written book informs us... we can feel the meditative enthusiasm and experience of the author seeping through the words."

The Middle Way

"Simple, direct, and complete."

The Wisconsin Bookwatch

"A wealth of practical advice..."

MLBD Newsletter

"This book is as beautifully simple and direct as its title."

Yoga Today

"Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned practitioner, this book has jewels of wisdom and practical experience to inspire you. Kathleen McDonald comes from a long and trustworthy lineage of teachings. In How to Meditate, she shares the best of what she has received."

Richard Gere

"An excellent and engaging book for anyone interested in learning how to meditate."

Thubten Chodron