The Myth of Meditation

The Myth of Meditation Description

From his three decades of teaching Buddhist meditation, Paramananda offers an approach that is a challenge both to the way we experience ourselves, and the way in which we see and `be' in the world. He contends that the historical Buddha offered not a panacea for the ills of his time but rather a radical alternative way of living in the world, still as valid today as it was 2500 years ago. At the very heart of this radical vision is the art of meditation. Engaging in this art is what Paramananda outlines in The Myth of Meditation. Enlivened by his love of both the natural world and poetry, he guides us in a threefold process: grounding meditative experience in the body, turning towards experience in a kindly and intelligent way, and seeing through to another way of understanding and being in the world. `A critical and necessary book to read, to practise and to embody. Brilliant in its depth and simplicity, Paramananda allows meditation to become poetry, to return to its "original face." Michael Shea, PhD Meditation teacher and founder of sheaheart.com `Paramananda beautifully examines how spiritual practice is both a deeply intimate relationship with oneself, and inextricably connected to the world we live in. He brings far-reaching Buddhist teachings down to earth and encourages us to be curious, as we simply sit with the breathing body, or open to suffering --- our own and others'--- in such a way that liberates the heart.' Vajradevi meditation teacher and author of uncontrivedrrdndTulness.net Since his ordination into the Triratna Buddhist Order in 1983 Paramananda has been teaching meditation and Buddhism full-time in San Francisco and in London, where he now lives. He is author of Change Your Mind: A Practical Guide to Buddhist Meditation, A Deeper Beauty and The Body, all published by Windhorse Publications