As I am a newbie to Buddhism, Mindfulness and Meditation, I wondered where to start. Not having any Buddhist friends, I searched the net for some good *starter* books on the subject. The two that I bought, which are both wonderfully helpful in understanding what mediation is all about and how to get started are:
- The Miracle of Mindfulness, by Thich Nhat Hanh
- Mindfulness in Plain English, by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
Mind you, I truly meditated, shall we say “by the book,” *once.* How’s that for establishing a practice routine. Sheesh, but the two above mentioned books really helped me realize what I was to do and how to do it. It really is a practice, something that can only get better with practice. So that’s the direction I need to go. Just like surfing. As a kid on the East coast, I surfed in Jersey (when there was anything to surf.) I also bought every copy of SURFER magazine, and SURFING, but neither one of those mags improved my surfing. Getting out there and practicing did.
Anyway, I highly recommend both of the books above.
The two books above, by the way, are great for anyone interested in meditation, whether you are interested in Buddhism or not, whether you believe in any religion or not, or if you don’t believe in any kind of God at all but would just like to be able to clear you mind and have a moment of peace.
Meditation is a experience to improve on for a lifetime. I sense that it is just like sailing, another one of my interests. I’ll never reach the point of saying “I’ve got this down, completely,” but what would be the fun in that anyway, what next then?
~ Les
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