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| Seeking the Heart of Wisdom: The Path of Insight Meditation (Shambhala Classics) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield
Creators: Dalai Lama, Robert K. Md Hall
Publisher: Shambhala
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $6.06
You Save: $10.89 (64%)
Buy New/Used from $6.06
Avg. Customer Rating:  (4 reviews)
Sales Rank: 226955
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 216
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9 x 5.9 x 0.8
ISBN: 157062805X
Dewey Decimal Number: 294.34435
EAN: 9781570628054
ASIN: 157062805X
Publication Date: March 6, 2001
Release Date: March 6, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
In Seeking the Heart of Wisdom Goldstein and Kornfield present the central teachings and practices of insight meditation in a clear and personal language. The path of insight meditation is a journey of understanding our bodies, our minds, and our lives, of seeing clearly the true nature of experience. The authors guide the reader in developing the openness and compassion that are at the heart of this spiritual practice. For those already treading the path, as well as those just starting out, this book will be a welcome companion along the way. Among the topics covered are: The hindrances to meditation?ranging from doubt and fear to painful knees?and skillful means of overcoming them How compassion can arise in response to the suffering we see in our own lives and in the world How to integrate a life of responsible action and service with a meditative life based on nonattachment Useful exercises are presented alongside the teachings to help readers deepen their understanding of the subjects.
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| Customer Reviews:
A clear guide from people who truly understand the reality of meditation June 12, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I was very impressed with the authors' ability to address concerns that I have had with meditation in the past: specifically, that meditation often sounds like an escape from reality, or a numbing mechanism that shields one from reality. The authors speak from a depth of experience when they explain that meditation is like "learning to surf": there will always be waves in life, and insight meditation provides a method of learning to "surf" those waves and remain standing. The authors admit that a successful meditation practice doesn't get rid of the problems inherent in day-to-day living. It simply equips us with the means to deal with problems as they arise in the moment.
Kora
toseeaworld.googlepages.com
a great guide to vipassana March 8, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
well-written, I liked the collaboration and different pearls of wisdom from the two authors. A very helpful book for understanding the full implications of karma and the Four Noble Truths of the Buddha.
Learning to untangle life. May 14, 2001
29 out of 32 found this review helpful
"Our life has been spent in sleep and sleepwalking," Jack Kornfield writes in this guide to insight meditation; "meditation means waking up" (p. 52). Coauthors Kornfield and Goldstein are also the cofounders of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. This book is based on "talks given at several intensive meditation retreats" there, and focuses "on the deepening of the inner meditative process, the hindrances one encounters, skillful means of mastering them, and the understanding and wisdom that can arise while in meditative silence" (p. 215). "To understand ourselves and our life is the point of insight meditation: to understand and be free" (p. 7), Kornfield writes. Goldstein tells us that "we practice to open, to balance, and to explore" (p. 18).Practicing insight meditation is about "clearing or emptying" the mind and heart so that we can listen in a deep and new way" (p. 57). This introductory guide not only contains valuable exercises, but also offers trusted advice about working through the "difficulties and hindrances" that may arise while practicing--desire, aversion, torpor, restlessness, and doubt. "Through practice," we're told, "it is possible to train the heart and mind, to make them concentrated, to make them steady and luminous and free" (p. 39). The book concludes with a discussion of "the seven factors of enlightenment," mindfulness, effort and energy, investigation, rapture, concentration, tranquility, and equanimity, also offering advice for integrating meditation practice into "our everday lives" (p. 215) so that we may live "a mindful life in the world" (p. 228). Like a finger pointing at "a bright, round moon" from this "floating world" (pp. 129-30), this book is sure to become a trusted resource for anyone interested in living a deeper, more meaningful life through the practice of insight meditation. For those interested in venturing further down "the path of insight meditation," I also highly recommend Goldstein and Salzburg's 12-cassette INSIGHT MEDITATION course. G. Merritt
Simply True August 1, 1999
30 out of 36 found this review helpful
I picked up the pocket version of this book one day and happened to open to the page which talks about the accumulation of material items and the transitory happiness it brings -- how once the novelty of the item has worn off we go about buying more things-- all in the hopes of stimulating that "happiness" response. Boy did that hit the nail on the head!! I had to get the full length version and it has been very enlightening. A definte must for anyone who is at a point in their life where they are questioning their purpose, their "path" and want to know what to do to effect change. I loved it!!!
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