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Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening Hardcover – November 1, 2013

by Joseph Goldstein (Author)

86 customer reviews

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From education and medicine to business and politics, we are in the midst of a great flowering of mindfulness. And with each new application we find for it, priceless benefits emerge. Yet the original purpose of mindfulness has remained throughout the centuries: spiritual awakening. With Mindfulness, Joseph Goldstein shares the wisdom of his four decades of teaching and practice in a book that will serve as a lifelong companion for anyone committed to mindful living and the realization of inner freedom.

Goldstein's source teaching is the Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha's legendary discourse on the four foundations of mindfulness that became the basis for the many types of Vipassana (or insight meditation) found today. Exquisite in detail yet wholly accessible and relevant for the modern student, Mindfulness takes us through a profound study of:

. The four qualities of mind-ardency, clear knowing, mindfulness, and concentration
. Mindfulness of the body, including the breath, postures, activities, and physical characteristics
. Mindfulness of dhammas (or categories of experience), including the Five Hindrances, the Six Sense Spheres, the Seven Factors of Awakening, and much more

"There is a wealth of meaning and nuance in the experience of mindfulness that can enrich our lives in unimagined ways," writes Goldstein. Now readers everywhere are invited to mine these riches together, with Mindfulness.

Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mindfulness seems to be everywhere these days. It's clear the ideas associated with it provide helpful direction for dealing with things like addiction, emotional imbalance, and recovery from abuse. Joseph Goldstein, a leading meditation teacher and retreat leader, has put together a discussion of mindfulness in the context of its Buddhist origins, bringing it back to its relevance as a tool for spiritual awakening. Goldstein offers clearly-written discussions of things like awareness of motivation, sustainable application of effort, wholesome recollection, continuity of mindfulness, contemplating impermanence, personalizing difficulties, doubt disguised as wisdom, and mindful listening. The language of the book is down-to-earth and compassionately supportive. Non-English terms are carefully explained and used sparingly. This is a serious, yet very readable text, rooted in traditional, scholarly Buddhist philosophy without distancing itself from lay readers. Let your customers know that the welcoming tone of the writing creates the experience of opening a window and breathing in fresh air."

-Anna Jedrziewski, Retailing Insight

"A major contribution to the clarifying and deepening of our understanding of mindfulness and its traditional Dharma roots."
-Jon Kabat-Zinn
Author of Full Catastrophe Living and Mindfulness for Beginners

"Author Joseph Goldstein, one of the most wise, lucid, and experienced teachers of our times, has written a book on mindfulness that calls forth the depth and power of classical Buddhist teachings. If you are drawn to meditation out of a longing to realize spiritual freedom, this book will be a cherished resource on your path."
-Tara Brach, PhD
Author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge

"Joseph Goldstein has written an immensely clear, practical, and accessible guide to living a mindful life. From examining its roots to exploring its manifold expressions, this deeply significant work shows the path for mindfulness to become our closest friend. I feel like I've waited a long time for a book just like this, and here it is!"
-Sharon Salzberg
Author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation

"In eloquent and compelling detail by a master of the art, Goldstein's new book shows how mindfulness leads to calm, well-being, and the joy of self-realization. The most complete and understandable book on mindfulness in print."
-Reggie Ray
Author of Touching Enlightenment and Mahamudra for the Modern World

"Useful advice that can help any meditator, no matter where they are on the path. Mindfulness should become an instant classic."
-Daniel Goleman
Author of Emotional Intelligence

"Lucid, clear, enormously helpful, a wise and mature vision of Buddhism."
-Jack Kornfield
Author of A Path With Heart

"America is damn lucky there is a Joseph. He has shepherded Western Buddhism in his ever-expanding teachings . . ."
-Stephen Levine
Author of Turning Toward the Mystery

About the Author

Joseph Goldstein has been leading insight and lovingkindness meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. He is a cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society, the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, and the Forest Refuge. Since 1967, he has studied and practiced different forms of Buddhist meditation under eminent teachers from India, Burma, and Tibet. His books include A Heart Full of Peace and One Dharma. He lives in Barre, Massachusetts. See dharma.org

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Product Details

Hardcover: 456 pages
Publisher: Sounds True; 1 edition (November 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 162203063X
ISBN-13: 978-1622030637
Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #47 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Eastern > Buddhism > Rituals & Practice
- #196 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Alternative Medicine > Meditation
- #688 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age & Spirituality

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Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars

5 star		89%
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3 star		2%
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

123 of 127 people found the following review helpful

Joseph Goldstein's Magnum Opus

By Jim Willems on November 26, 2013

Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

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.Read more ›

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77 of 81 people found the following review helpful

Enabling the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of hindrances..

By Jijnasu Forever VINE VOICE on November 12, 2013

Format: Hardcover

As a reader with a Hindu upbringing and essentially a secular view, my early experiments with mindfulness were based on numerous books that prescribed specific lists of exercises without fully articulating its intent (perhaps not the authors' fault - they assume that a reader may have some understanding of the theoretical/philosophical underpinnings of mindfulness) or perhaps oversimplify (lists of one-minute exercises). To borrow an analogy from Goldstein, such books felt like "trying to row a boat across a river, exerting a lot of effort in the process, but never untying the rope from the dock". Perhaps, Goldstein was trying to address similar issues many have felt - and he delivers. (Readers familiar with other Eastern philosophies could find parallels in B K S Iyengar's efforts in Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom and Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali in the context of the practice of yoga)

In a very accessible exposition, Goldstein first systematically guides a reader through the various components of mindfulness and the hindrances that afflict the mind. He then explains the various dimensions of "awakening" and approaches for mindfulness in the context of the fundamental tenets of Buddhist thought. Goldstein adheres to the sequencing and tone of Satipatthana Sutra throughout this book, though the various anecdotes and reflections on his own personal journey makes this less of a commentary on the Sutra and more of a meticulous guide to understand mind-body processes that could lead to improved awareness.Read more ›

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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful

Another great book from one of the West's leading meditation teachers

By Cory Goldblatt on November 15, 2013

Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

This is a great follow up to Joseph Goldstein's (and Jack Kornfield's) "Seeking the Heart of Wisdom". This book repeats some of the finer points of the aforementioned book and goes into more detail than his other works. I have been meditating for a few years and there were certain sections that discussed problems that I am currently facing. This definitely isn't a beginner's book so if you are new to Buddhism / meditation you may be better off starting with "One Dharma". I would recommend this book to someone who has taken a meditation retreat before or someone who is already familiar with some of the content in this book. It is definitely not an easy read, as the other reviewer pointed out, although the information contained is definitely priceless. Would recommend to everyone who is interested in learning more about Buddhist meditation from the Theravada tradition.

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34 of 36 people found the following review helpful

Dharma for all beings including us Dullards

By Eduardo Duran on December 19, 2013

Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

My practice over the past few years parallels that of the Dullard who was a practitioner in the time of the Buddha who wasn't very good at it... practicing that is. The other monks made fun of him and he was quite desperate when the Buddha gave him a white handkerchief and told him that his practice was to just rub the handkerchief. This he could do. Soon his defilements symbolically and literally stained the handkerchief and eventually he became awakened.

It was in one of Joseph's lectures where I first heard of my good friend the Dullard. I identify with the Dullard because I am not that good at practicing and I have to keep coming back to it and being reminded over and over to bring the mind back to awareness. Joseph in one of his lectures gave me the symbolic white handkerchief. Reading his stuff over the years has given me insight into the formal Dharma. My handkerchief was completely stained with obscurations of the mind when a Dharma Brother told me of his new book. In just the first few pages I felt as if I had a completely clean handkerchief upon which to rub and let mind hindrances go. Obscurations arose and landed on the clean kerchief in huge chunks. The words as Joseph gives in his book continue to clear my mind. Each word of Dharma as he writes them is alive and to me it is a direct transmission.

So, my fellow Dullards if you read this. Take courage and realize that the words in this book will purify your mind even if you are not a model practitioner. Each microsecond of insight will come closer and soon there will be more clarity than darkness in your mind. Awakening is not too far from this so read each word of this book with mindfulness and keep rubbing that handkerchief. If you keep clearing your mind and absorbing each word of truth as it is written by Joseph it can be no other way. Compete awakening is the result of reading and practicing at whatever level of practice you are in, even at the Dullard level.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Satipatthana Sutta explained.

Joseph Goldstein breaks down one of the central teachings of the Buddha so we can understand it in the context of our everyday life. Take your time as you read this one. Read more

Published 1 day ago by F. Rump

Lucid and Engaging Study of the Satipatthana Sutta (Discourse on the...

Joseph Goldstein has presented a clear and skillful study of the Satipatthana Sutta (the Discourse on the Establishment of Mindfulness), the observance of which the Buddha... Read more

Published 2 days ago by Jack Dixon

Always keep it close by and enjoy reading it nonstop

Is a book I never stop referencing. Always keep it close by and enjoy reading it nonstop. Always find something new to connect with.

Published 8 days ago by Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Wonderful read on meditation.

Published 8 days ago by bette bell

Five Stars

This book is amazing. It takes a few reads to get, but worth it!

Published 9 days ago by Matthew A. Harris

This is a great book for the Path to Abiding Mindfulness

This is a great book for the Path to Abiding Mindfulness

Joseph is a wonderful teacher and the Book has great resources on youtube

I like this tool on my... Read more

Published 17 days ago by Robert Clark

Five Stars

As a mindfulness teacher and practitioner, I found this book invaluable.

Published 2 months ago by Harrison A. Blum

A treasure of insight

Joseph is a true teacher of freedom. His book is full of insight and practical methods of overcoming the hindrances that block our practice and full of inspiration to help... Read more

Published 2 months ago by len

I am a long time practitioner in the Buddhist tradition ...

I am a long time practitioner in the Buddhist tradition; this book is a very helpful guide to the meditation instructions given by the Buddha. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Val

A Precious Gift

Another great book from Joseph Goldstein. His understanding of Buddahdharma is considerable and clearly stated in this book. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Zack Chase

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