Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness : Walking the Buddha's Path by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana ISBN: 0-86171-176-9 Publisher: Wisdom Pubns Pub. Date: May, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (6 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: After the Fact...
Comment: Unless you are a child, animal or stupid; you are miserable.
Ah! If only we could all be stupid. This book is about becoming happy even if you are not stupid. The author
guides us along the mythical "yellow brick road" with eight
steps. Skillful understanding, skillful thinking, skillful
speech, skillful action, skillful livelihood, skillful effort,
skillful mindfulness, and skillful concentration. These can
be played sequentially, and then, at random. Each one increasing the intensity of the others like music. One eventually
becomes a "happy being." One of those rare and frightening
apparitions. You know the kind. People who are happy listening
to Barry Manilow. The "show stopper" is on page 16. "Observe
a potential teacher carefully. Deeds are more important than
words. Daily contact with who has followed the Buddha's path
for at least ten years is a good way to see for yourself whether the teachings work." Take it from a veteren, the teachings work.
But there are a lot of "teacher-morons" out there. Believe me!
They only became teachers because they are in more pain than you and me. The author is off point here. And we have to face
another issue. The teachings in this book are distincively
Sri Lankan Buddhist. They will not interface with a good Zen
teacher. I've mentally thrown this book out. I bought
"Mindfulness with Breathing" by Buddhadasa Bhikku. This is
a Thai Buddhist guide to meditation. And I'm turning myself
into the Wai Thai Temple. The only Buddhist Thai monestery
in the United States. They all have orange robes and shaven heads. I make up these reviews as I go along. Don't buy this
book unless you have some experience in vipassana. Buy the author's famed first book, "Minfulness in Plain English."
Here you will get the basic nuts and bolts of meditation.
Thank you. And watch where you are driving. Before buying
any book, always ask, "What is the author demanding of me?
What will I have to do?" Thank you. And be careful out there.
I wonder what my religion will be next Wednesday?
Rating: 4
Summary: Good Instruction For A Beginner
Comment: Bhante Henepola Gunaratana gave some pretty easy advice here for the practitioners on how to make The Noble 8 Fold Path as part of their daily life. The book has some very good instruction, however tends to drag with some worthless knowledge here and there. It's very good for the basic practitioner who needs some understanding on how to make the path part of their lives.
Rating: 5
Summary: Eight Step Program for Living
Comment: Bhante Henepola Gunaratana has summarized all of the Buddha's path to happiness, everything we know about affecting change in our lives, and everything that psychology teaches us about healthy living into a single, easy to read, easy to apply manual for happiness. This book is a gem! It can be used for inspiration, or instruction. It can be read countless times for added insight. If you are inclined toward Buddhism, or at least are taken with the Buddhist perspective, you will appreciate the straightforward approach he takes to describing the eight steps. If you are not Buddhist or so inclined, you might be put off with some of what you read (the Author clearly believes that the Buddha's way is THE way, and you might be inclined to think of Jesus as the way, or someone else), but I think any rational person would recognize the power and potential for creating change that is captured in this book.
The eight steps are:
1. Skillful Understanding - recognizing the roles of cause and effect, and truly understanding the Four Noble Truths as taught by the Buddha
2. Skillful Thinking - Emphasis on understanding how our attachment to things is the source of our suffering (letting go), the practice of loving-friendliness, and practicing compassion.
3. Skillful Speach - Special emphasis on truth-telling, gentle speach, and avoiding useless chatter.
4. Sillful Action - Particular attention to the Five Precepts, namely abstaining from killing, stealing, speaking falsely, sexual misconduct and misuse of intoxicants.
5. Skillful Livelihood - Understanding that how we make a living can have negative or positive impacts (skillful or unskillful) on our path to happiness.
6. Skillful Effort - Recognizing and dealing with the hindrances and fetters that keep us tied to our unhappiness.
7. Skillful Mindfulness - A study of mindfulness practice in terms of the body, feelings, the mind, and mental objects.
8. Skillful Concentration - Teaches what concentration means in the context of meditation, and how it is developed through the four stages to full Concentration.
At each step, you'll recognize yourself and the things you do that hold you back from the path of happiness. You'll find solace in the knowledge that you are not alone (these are common to all us human beings), and relief in learning how to see things differently so that the world you live in works FOR you and not against you.
This is a wonderful book, and anyone who feels they need to make changes in their life would benefit enormously.
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
