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readingtrying82's review against another edition
5.0
This is my go to recommendation for people who have an interest in Buddhist meditation and want to get a full picture of what such a practice entails and what it promises. It’s more detailed and pragmatic then most introductory mediation books; it presents the religious/spiritual purpose of the different meditations without being sectarian or unapproachable for the general reader .
It presents multiple types of meditations in a progressive manner. It doesn’t cover the more esoteric meditations like Dzogchen, Mahamudra, Atiyoga in depth though it does touch on them a bit which I think is probably for the best for a general overview. It does place them within the overall context of Buddhist practice which is important.
I hadn’t read it in over 14 years so I wondered how well it would hold up. It held up great!! I still think it’s the best book of its kind. There are more in-depth Buddhist mediation books and there are many more basic short introductory books, but I don’t know of a better balanced book in terms of depth, scope, accessibility, readability.
Mcleod uses Sufi stories, Zen stories, and some jokes to illustrate points but I found his actual commentary is mostly related to Tibetan Buddhism and some parts of shared Buddhist meditation.
Along with the regular aspects of meditation like concentration, mindfulness, and insight meditation, the book also presents more involved practices like Dakini mediations, mediations on the four immeasurables, tonglen, lojong (mind training), and pointing out instructions.
I’m including a long edited excerpt that talks about the purpose and process of the Dakini meditations because it’s a good example of taking a very esoteric practice and making it a bit more accessible. Some of the vocabulary might sound strange but in the book it is all defined earlier. The actual practice instructions are much longer and more detailed as the chapter on Dakini meditations is 36 pages long.
“The five dakinis meditation uses symbols and visualizations to bring a higher level of attention to the reactive chains and to transform their operation from reaction into presence. In Buddhism, as in many other traditions, the feminine represents natural, unconditioned knowing….By imagining the dakini in front of you, you are invoking the mystery of being and the possibility of direct awareness….The elixir is pristine awareness in liquid form. As it pours into you, you shift to a higher level of attention and experience…..When the reactive quality and the underlying feeling are held in attention, they go empty. They seem to disappear. At this point, you touch the basic fear that drives the reaction chain. That fear is directly connected to a loss of the reference that the reaction chain uses. The loss is experienced as open space…….Ordinarily, the space feels like a threat, and the reaction chain reforms. By imagining that your body is made of light, you loosen the hold of the reaction chain in the mind of the body so that you have a greater capacity to observe its operation.….In particular, you stay present in the fear and the experience of loss of reference or open space. The fear and open space ordinarily flash by very quickly, so you may have to go through the reaction chain two or three times before you identify them clearly enough to rest in them. Up to this point, you have been observing the movement from form (the reaction) to emptiness (loss of reference and open space). With the reforming of the reaction, the movement from emptiness to form begins. The movement into form is experienced as a reassertion of the original reactive quality….The reactive chain runs again and again, spiraling up to higher levels of energy and greater reactivity.…In the meditation practice, you hold the experience of the five components of the reactive chain in attention simultaneously. The elixir and the light represent the operation of attention. The whole reactive process dissolves into energy, which then powers attention. The higher level of attention opens up the nonreactive or present quality of each element….The quality of presence takes the form of a symbol that appears at the body center associated with the element. Feel the quality of presence as strongly as you can without contrivance, and view the world as if you have that quality in abundance….At the same time, the operation of attention uncovers the corresponding aspect of pristine presence. Understanding arises in you, an understanding that has no beginning in time, is completely natural, and is available to you all the time…..The five dakinis practice is principally about opening to experience…..During formal practice sessions or during the day, you may have strong feelings of warmth and bliss. You may also develop a tender and loving connection with one or more of the dakini. The warm or blissful feelings are the result of higher levels energy generated by the practice. The tender feelings come from energy flowing into patterns of projection and relationship. The only caution is not to attach to the feelings. Don’t suppress the feelings….instead, open to them, letting warmth and bliss flow through body and mind….Regard everything that arises in practice as feelings and apparitions that arise in a dream, vivid and clear but not objectively real.(p223-226)”
It presents multiple types of meditations in a progressive manner. It doesn’t cover the more esoteric meditations like Dzogchen, Mahamudra, Atiyoga in depth though it does touch on them a bit which I think is probably for the best for a general overview. It does place them within the overall context of Buddhist practice which is important.
I hadn’t read it in over 14 years so I wondered how well it would hold up. It held up great!! I still think it’s the best book of its kind. There are more in-depth Buddhist mediation books and there are many more basic short introductory books, but I don’t know of a better balanced book in terms of depth, scope, accessibility, readability.
Mcleod uses Sufi stories, Zen stories, and some jokes to illustrate points but I found his actual commentary is mostly related to Tibetan Buddhism and some parts of shared Buddhist meditation.
Along with the regular aspects of meditation like concentration, mindfulness, and insight meditation, the book also presents more involved practices like Dakini mediations, mediations on the four immeasurables, tonglen, lojong (mind training), and pointing out instructions.
I’m including a long edited excerpt that talks about the purpose and process of the Dakini meditations because it’s a good example of taking a very esoteric practice and making it a bit more accessible. Some of the vocabulary might sound strange but in the book it is all defined earlier. The actual practice instructions are much longer and more detailed as the chapter on Dakini meditations is 36 pages long.
“The five dakinis meditation uses symbols and visualizations to bring a higher level of attention to the reactive chains and to transform their operation from reaction into presence. In Buddhism, as in many other traditions, the feminine represents natural, unconditioned knowing….By imagining the dakini in front of you, you are invoking the mystery of being and the possibility of direct awareness….The elixir is pristine awareness in liquid form. As it pours into you, you shift to a higher level of attention and experience…..When the reactive quality and the underlying feeling are held in attention, they go empty. They seem to disappear. At this point, you touch the basic fear that drives the reaction chain. That fear is directly connected to a loss of the reference that the reaction chain uses. The loss is experienced as open space…….Ordinarily, the space feels like a threat, and the reaction chain reforms. By imagining that your body is made of light, you loosen the hold of the reaction chain in the mind of the body so that you have a greater capacity to observe its operation.….In particular, you stay present in the fear and the experience of loss of reference or open space. The fear and open space ordinarily flash by very quickly, so you may have to go through the reaction chain two or three times before you identify them clearly enough to rest in them. Up to this point, you have been observing the movement from form (the reaction) to emptiness (loss of reference and open space). With the reforming of the reaction, the movement from emptiness to form begins. The movement into form is experienced as a reassertion of the original reactive quality….The reactive chain runs again and again, spiraling up to higher levels of energy and greater reactivity.…In the meditation practice, you hold the experience of the five components of the reactive chain in attention simultaneously. The elixir and the light represent the operation of attention. The whole reactive process dissolves into energy, which then powers attention. The higher level of attention opens up the nonreactive or present quality of each element….The quality of presence takes the form of a symbol that appears at the body center associated with the element. Feel the quality of presence as strongly as you can without contrivance, and view the world as if you have that quality in abundance….At the same time, the operation of attention uncovers the corresponding aspect of pristine presence. Understanding arises in you, an understanding that has no beginning in time, is completely natural, and is available to you all the time…..The five dakinis practice is principally about opening to experience…..During formal practice sessions or during the day, you may have strong feelings of warmth and bliss. You may also develop a tender and loving connection with one or more of the dakini. The warm or blissful feelings are the result of higher levels energy generated by the practice. The tender feelings come from energy flowing into patterns of projection and relationship. The only caution is not to attach to the feelings. Don’t suppress the feelings….instead, open to them, letting warmth and bliss flow through body and mind….Regard everything that arises in practice as feelings and apparitions that arise in a dream, vivid and clear but not objectively real.(p223-226)”
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