Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening

This book has changed my life in many different ways, and I'm grateful to Joseph Goldstein for writing it. I'm also grateful for the Buddha, because without him, this book wouldn't exist. I've read to page 158, and I'm still going. This book doesn't just teach people how to be good Buddhists; it teaches people how to become self-aware and mindful. Anyone of any faith can learn from this amazing book.

I believe this to be the magnum opus of Joseph Goldstein's writings. This book is physically exquisite. Sounds True did a fine job of editing and publishing this book. The book is derived from a series of lectures on a particular sutta (talk) of the Buddha, the Satipatthana Sutta, which is found in a collection of talks called the Majjhima Nikaya. (The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, edited by Bhikkhu Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi, Wisdom Publications). However, the sutta itself is also to be found as an appendix in Goldstein's new book. Goldstein's lectures were given at the Forest Retreat of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. Goldstein used, for these lectures, a recent interpretation of this sutta by a Buddhist monk Analayo, named Satipatthana: the Direct Path to Realization, Windhorse Publications. Over a series of retreats Goldstein systematically commented on every verse of the sutta,using the Venerable Analayo's commentary as an comparative guide for his own commentary. This kind of commentary is a classical method of working with a sutta in the Buddhist world. ( Also, Sounds True has issued the actual talks as a three part cd series, Abiding in Mindfulness.)The Satgtipatthana Sutta is meant to be a complete and sufficient description of a particular form of meditation that is called vipassana or Insight Meditation. (This meditation has also just been called Mindfulness and has become increasingly popular as a means for reducing stress.) The Buddha says that if this sutta's methodology is strictly adhered to, it will led to realization or Enlightenment. Goldstein takes that claim very seriously. His book reflects a careful, years long, relationship to both this sutta and to the meditations revealed by the Buddha. I believe Goldstein's work to be one of the most complete and beautifully written books about Buddhist meditation, I have read in the fifty years of my own Buddhist practice.So what thematic concerns drive the content of Goldstein's commentary? He addresses four major foundations of inquiry for this form of Buddhist meditation. These four are mindfulness of Body, Feelings, Mind, and the Dhammas. 'Body' is here understood as physical reality, the actual physical basis of the phenomena given to consciousness.' Feelings' include the whole range of emotive reactions to the phenomena being investigated. 'Mind' describes the vehicle for consciousness and its characteristics which help and also hinder realization. Finally, the larger part of Goldstein's book considers the fourth foundation, the Dhammas. This word is from Pali which is the language which the Theravadin school of Buddhism used for its texts. "Dhammas" includes an encyclopedic collection of all those conceptual factors which the Buddha considered necessary for the complete liberation from suffering. Such factors include both negative hindrances and positive aids in one's meditative investigation of Liberation.Goldstein says four qualities of mind are necessary for this investigation: Ardency, Clearly Knowing, Mindfulness, and Concentration. Briefly these qualities of mind can be described as dedication, a deep knowing of that which is being investigated, a consistent and close awareness of all phenomena being investigated, and, finally, a capacity for single pointed or intense concentration of the subject being examined. In other words, one dedicates to a level of realization which is purified by a complete examination of the subject under consideration, and which is also characterized by deep and undistracted attention.Okay, why is this book so good? First, because it is complete. Goldstein has been practicing for years, and he has studied with most of the major living Theravadin teachers. In addition he has gone to monasteries, temples, and centers in India and Southeast Asia to study. His knowledge and practice are nuanced and thorough. Second, he is vulnerable. He has learned from his "mistakes". He is open about his limitations and clearly expresses his gifts and learning. Third, he is a very advanced practitioner. He has become truly wise from his experience. I was asked once at a retreat by a well known Theravada monk, Bhante Gunaratana (auhor of Mindfulness in Plain English), if I had a teacher and who was it? I said Joseph Goldstein. BhanteJi (as he is sometimes called affectionately) said, "You could not do better!" You can not do better than with this book if you are serious about Buddhist meditation.The book is not meant to be read straight through. Rather, it should be considered in the context of one's own meditation practice. When used as a commentary to your own practice, it will reveal how truly comprehensive and cogent the Buddha's teaching was. In the end, the Buddha's Teaching is a radical method to confront and heal your suffering. The Dharma will reveal the true basis of your suffering. It will show the way out of it. It will reveal the very real possibility of a wise, compassionate, and peaceful life.Joseph Goldstein's new book is fully adequate to the challenge of revealing just what meditation can do in one's life. We live together now in a time when real wisdom and peace is possible. I very much believe that the deepest realization of what it means to be fully human is now available. For the sake of ourselves and for one another, please consider using Joseph's new book as a valuable resource in your own spiritual journey.

I cannot completely express my gratitude for this work. Goldstein, co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society, provides a work of clarity and profound depth in relatively succinct presentation. I have approached this book as a practice tool, slowly reading each short chapter after a period of meditation. The reading itself becomes a kind of meditation. Though the chapters are short, they are dense with meaning. In each chapter, I find myself with enough meat to chew on and ponder throughout my day.With the advent of the so-called "information blitzkrieg," the incredible availability of information through the internet and social media, it has become increasingly difficult for hucksters and spiritual con men to continue their nefarious work. I bring this up to mention some of the abuses that other dubious dharma teachers, who I will respectfully decline to name, have propagated on their students. So, we must be realistic about who we choose to follow as students of Buddhism. We have to check resumes, so to speak, to make sure that our faith is safely placed. Despite some of its negative aspects, the information blitzkrieg has produced a kind of hyper-accountability for public figures and spiritual leaders.With all of that being said, Joseph Goldstein is a teacher of the utmost integrity, along with his counterparts at the Insight Meditation Society, Jack Kornfield and Sharon Salzberg. He has been the student of Anagarika Sri Munindra, Sri S.N. Goenka, Mrs. Nani Bala Barua (Dipa Ma), the Venerable Sayadaw U Pandita, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, and Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche. If you will kindly note, these teachers are from a mixture of Theravada, Zen, and Tibetan lineages. Goldstein brings this diverse mixture of approaches and perspectives into all of his works, and I feel this kind of presentation is of tremendous value to Westerners, as we attempt to determine what a Western Dharma looks like, stripped of some of the patriarchal and authoritarian approaches inherent in more traditional forms of Buddhism.Admittedly, I have read an unnecessary amount of books on Buddhism in my lifetime, which was most likely time that would have been better spent in meditation. In terms of getting out of my mind and getting onto the meditation cushion, and simplifying my practice, this book is one of the few that I would slowly study and then re-study to benefit completely from this excellent presentation of the Buddha Dharma. It's that good!

This is a pretty good book for anyone practicing mindfulness or wanting to learn more about mindfulness from the Buddhist perspective. I can't say this book is life-changing, though. I have to admit a lot of it is excessively wordy and long, so you have to be patient with the writing style. Additionally, the first book I read on meditation and the like, The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, was more profound and a whole lot less complicated than anything I've read since, including Goldstein's book. However, with this book, Goldstein has made a nice contribution to the growing number of accessible books on mindfulness, meditation, and spirituality. I enjoyed it.