Mindfulness in Plain English
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-10-03 09:56:27
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Henepola Gunaratana
- ISBN：0861719069
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Author Bhante Gunaratana， a renowned meditation master， takes us step by step through the myths， realities， and benefits of meditation and the practice of mindfulness。 This expanded edition includes the complete text of its predecessor along with a new chapter on cultivating loving kindness。 For anyone who is new to meditation， this is a great resource for learning how to live a more productive and peaceful life。
Reviews
Kizzy
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Excellent MUST HAVE！
Marie
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I was given a suggestion to read this book from a therapist at my internship at an addiction recovery center， as mindfulness was a focus in the treatment there。 And， oh my goodness， I need more mindfulness in my life。 This book is a fantastic way to learn about meditation and mindfulness。 It explains very well what those words mean， what the purpose behind them is， and where it all came from。 If you are looking into becoming more mindful or starting to meditate， I cannot recommend this highly en I was given a suggestion to read this book from a therapist at my internship at an addiction recovery center， as mindfulness was a focus in the treatment there。 And， oh my goodness， I need more mindfulness in my life。 This book is a fantastic way to learn about meditation and mindfulness。 It explains very well what those words mean， what the purpose behind them is， and where it all came from。 If you are looking into becoming more mindful or starting to meditate， I cannot recommend this highly enough。 。。。more
Alex
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great introduction to vipassana meditation， is great at articulating the intentions behind ones approach to meditation。 definitely leaves some questions unanswered but is very much aware it doesn't cover everything great introduction to vipassana meditation， is great at articulating the intentions behind ones approach to meditation。 definitely leaves some questions unanswered but is very much aware it doesn't cover everything 。。。more
Paz Rodriguez
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No extra information just the simple relaxing teaching of mindful meditation。 ❤️
Mimi Vaillancourt
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A very good intro！ A little repetitive at times
Jhon Alex
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This book is a good reference for people trying to get into meditation。I've read quite a few meditation books backs back in the day， and I think that 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 background knowledge helped me a lot more in understanding some things in this book that weren't explicitly explained。 And for that I considered giving 3-star review， but since this is a book on for beginners， I think it does the job quite well， so 4 stars。 This book is a good reference for people trying to get into meditation。I've read quite a few meditation books backs back in the day， and I think that 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 background knowledge helped me a lot more in understanding some things in this book that weren't explicitly explained。 And for that I considered giving 3-star review， but since this is a book on for beginners， I think it does the job quite well， so 4 stars。 。。。more
Aaron
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What is the difference between thinking a thought and observing a thought？ Such a distinction is one which many may never realise even exists without first experiencing meditation， let alone understand its liberating power。 Mindfulness in Plain English not only promises to teach us how to observe our thoughts through meditation， but also how to liberate ourselves from our thoughts。Bhante Gunaratana， a Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist monk， walks us through the system of “vipassana” （insight） medita What is the difference between thinking a thought and observing a thought？ Such a distinction is one which many may never realise even exists without first experiencing meditation， let alone understand its liberating power。 Mindfulness in Plain English not only promises to teach us how to observe our thoughts through meditation， but also how to liberate ourselves from our thoughts。Bhante Gunaratana， a Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist monk， walks us through the system of “vipassana” （insight） meditation， which he defines as the cultivation of mindfulness or awareness。 While there are many different systems of meditation within the various Buddhist traditions， such as Zazen （seated） and Samatha （calming）， Mindfulness in Plain English deals exclusively with the vipassana system。 Despite the exclusive focus on vipassana， this book is suitable for readers looking for a secular introduction to meditation。So what does Bhante G aim to teach us about the importance of cultivating mindfulness？ Drawing from Theravada Buddhist teachings， he philosophically describes a flaw in a common perception of reality: “We usually do not look into what is actually there in front of us。 We see life through a screen of thoughts and concepts， and we mistake those mental objects for reality。” Consider your actions last night when you washed the dishes after dinner。 Or perhaps when you brushed your teeth this morning。 If you’re anything like me， or most readers， you spent your time performing these activities without awareness of the present moment。 Maybe your thoughts travelled to the past revisiting a conversation with an acquaintance or travelled to the future entertaining what comes next。 Either way， you were not truly experiencing the present moment。 And if you’re not experiencing the present moment， are you experiencing reality？ Mindfulness in Plain English provides you with the tools to answer this question。 。。。more
Dave
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This is a very clear explanation and promotion of the vipassana approach to meditation。 Years ago I was trained in a Zen method of meditation and so reconciling the differences was challenging， if not impossible。 There were some positive take-aways in this book for me but I will stick with what I already know。
Jay Bradley
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Overall a great read， and I'd recommend it for anyone。 I would pair it with the Inner Game of Tennis as well to find a way to use mindfulness and focus on what you want to do。Very straightforward in how to meditate and develop your focus and mindfulness as well as what benefits you can get from it and the difficulty of doing so。Just a good book， plain and simple。 Will need to look into the topic more。 Overall a great read， and I'd recommend it for anyone。 I would pair it with the Inner Game of Tennis as well to find a way to use mindfulness and focus on what you want to do。Very straightforward in how to meditate and develop your focus and mindfulness as well as what benefits you can get from it and the difficulty of doing so。Just a good book， plain and simple。 Will need to look into the topic more。 。。。more
Mike
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OK but we’ll see how it compares to Headspace
Sheeraz
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A valuable and terse account of what mindfulness is， how to practice it and what are the hindrances one might encounter on the way。 Since the essence of mindfulness is simple， most of the ideas here echoed what I have previously come across （e。g。 The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science）， but I appreciated the reframing and reinforcing of the fundamentals。 This book is also comparatively easier to follow， and eschews nuances in favor of simp A valuable and terse account of what mindfulness is， how to practice it and what are the hindrances one might encounter on the way。 Since the essence of mindfulness is simple， most of the ideas here echoed what I have previously come across （e。g。 The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science）， but I appreciated the reframing and reinforcing of the fundamentals。 This book is also comparatively easier to follow， and eschews nuances in favor of simplicity。 I would recommend it as a good primer for new practitioners， and it can also serve as a good way to brush up the basics for advanced meditators。The book does conflate the psychological aspects of meditation with mystical ones， so a critical lens is recommended when reading it。 Statements like， "Some people may experience some intuitive understanding or memories from past lives" or mention of "psychic powers" made be more guarded about the rest of the book。 To reiterate， it's still a great reference， but there are parts that need to be taken with a grain of salt。 。。。more
Karol Pasierb
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Apart from the Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh， this is the second-best book I've read about meditation。 Absolutely great， definitely recommended。 Covers a lot of topics and truly explains everything in a very simple and understandable language。 Excellent！！！ Apart from the Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh， this is the second-best book I've read about meditation。 Absolutely great， definitely recommended。 Covers a lot of topics and truly explains everything in a very simple and understandable language。 Excellent！！！ 。。。more
Sabbitan Balakrishnan
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I would certainly recommend this book to all those who are planning on taking up mindful practices。 This book provides insight on how one can incorporate mindful activities into your daily life。
Alex Kahn
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Practical advice for mindfulness meditation。 Discusses the hedonic paradox and dukkha。 Buddhist perspective， contains some supernatural truth claims。
Mark Vargas
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This book is for a true novice in the realm of meditation， but it also assumes that the reader will stay a novice。 The vast majority of this book is how to train to mind to continue to stay focused on the breath and thus has a near infinite list of tricks and exercises in order to achieve this。 Once one can focus on their breath， then the book becomes obsolete as it doesn't provide any information past that。 So a good read if you really have trouble staying focused on your breath， but if you've This book is for a true novice in the realm of meditation， but it also assumes that the reader will stay a novice。 The vast majority of this book is how to train to mind to continue to stay focused on the breath and thus has a near infinite list of tricks and exercises in order to achieve this。 Once one can focus on their breath， then the book becomes obsolete as it doesn't provide any information past that。 So a good read if you really have trouble staying focused on your breath， but if you've already become somewhat proficient in that task， this book probably is not for you。 。。。more
Ayush
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This is one of the best books I have read。 I was surprised to know that however number of Apps I tried， I was all wrong at what meditation actually is。 It's so simple， yet incredibly complex to break down。 Book does a wonderful job at it。 Very smooth read， and asks tough questions。 Gives you a view of what you are on to explore。The book is very well written and is able to see through all components of meditation。 The connection with the breath， what you should do as a beginner， what are you chas This is one of the best books I have read。 I was surprised to know that however number of Apps I tried， I was all wrong at what meditation actually is。 It's so simple， yet incredibly complex to break down。 Book does a wonderful job at it。 Very smooth read， and asks tough questions。 Gives you a view of what you are on to explore。The book is very well written and is able to see through all components of meditation。 The connection with the breath， what you should do as a beginner， what are you chasing exactly etc。 For the first few chapters I wasn’t sure on how Mindfulness is different than concentration， but the book has an entire chapter dedicated to that。 Gave me a lot of clarity。It's very practical and implementable。 It addresses all blockers that one would come across when taking this journey。 I never thought of meditation as this deep。 It gives me a perspective on what could be achieved once you take this journey。 Beautifully structured book， makes you feel there is so much to learn about yourself。 I liked the fact that meditation in covered in almost every religion in some factor， just to say how layered this concept it。 Author drives inspiration from the Dhammapada， an ancient Buddhist text。 Scope of book is for Vipassana。 Book peels the layers around this in depth and as a beginner one can find answers to all questions in this book itself。Definitely a must read。 Would highly recommend if you are even remotely interested in the subject 。。。more
Richard
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Not really fulfilling。 It seemed like someone said "You should write a book about mindfulness" but it did not seem to be fully embraced。 Not really fulfilling。 It seemed like someone said "You should write a book about mindfulness" but it did not seem to be fully embraced。 。。。more
João Morais
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The full guide to worthwhile meditation。
Suhail
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A no non-sesnse tangible， nuts and bolts guide to the practice of meditation。 Teaches the fundamentals well。 Would have been a 5 star book for me if not for the Afterword that was a bit too wishy washy for my tastes。 Still， a good book
pluton
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On the one hand， it is a manual of one kind of meditation， which is vipassana meditation。 On the other hand， this is not an easy manual because reading it alone is not enough （duh！） and practicing is very clumsy and clunky if you've never done anything like sitting without movement for 20 minutes before; the author does try to explain in plain words how to do what， what （not） to expect， what will happen， and then he also goes to describe the practices from the point of view of someone who knows On the one hand， it is a manual of one kind of meditation， which is vipassana meditation。 On the other hand， this is not an easy manual because reading it alone is not enough （duh！） and practicing is very clumsy and clunky if you've never done anything like sitting without movement for 20 minutes before; the author does try to explain in plain words how to do what， what （not） to expect， what will happen， and then he also goes to describe the practices from the point of view of someone who knows what's going on from the inside — that's confusing。 I guess I need to reread this book a couple more times and doing more and more practice every time to wrap my head around it。 。。。more
Stephanie
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I read this book during my month at BSR and it was complementing my practice nicely。
Joseph
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My first introduction to Mindfulness。 Learned a lot。 Meditated a couple times。As a reading experience， not great。 Maybe it was too plain of English。 Very repetitive。 Maybe that was a point i missed。
Vilhelm
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This is one of the best or perhaps the best book I've read on mindfulness。 It's really what's promised by the title - plain， direct， clear， short， and not too many fancy words or Buddhist terminology。 It should be mentioned that I read it under the perfect circumstances and might be biased when comparing it to other mindfulness books I haven't read in such circumstances - I was on the beginning of a long silent self retreat of （mostly） vipassana meditation。 It was as if new problems I faced ever This is one of the best or perhaps the best book I've read on mindfulness。 It's really what's promised by the title - plain， direct， clear， short， and not too many fancy words or Buddhist terminology。 It should be mentioned that I read it under the perfect circumstances and might be biased when comparing it to other mindfulness books I haven't read in such circumstances - I was on the beginning of a long silent self retreat of （mostly） vipassana meditation。 It was as if new problems I faced every day got answered later as I sat down and read this book。 It became my dhamma talks for a few days。 It's a very practical book and I recommend reading it at a time when you are meditating a lot。Only a few typically Buddhist details kept me from giving it 5 stars: we are actually never happy， it only seems that way - when we think we are happy， we're already fearing the loss of whatever made us 'happy'。 I don't agree。 The motivation for practice coming from full enlightenment is also simply too remote for me - the gradual benefits along the path should be enough。 Otherwise there's too much relying on your faith on the teacher's authenticity。I think he makes a nice distinction between concentration and mindfulness。 Concentration is not the point， but required for mindfulness， and its development goes hand in hand with that of mindfulness。 But you can have moments of good concentration and bad mindfulness and vice versa （yes， you can be very mindful of your Monkey Mind！）。 Generally， concentration requires more effort and is more dependent on external and internal circumstances to be good， while mindfulness only requires a gentle effort and doesn't depend on circumstances。 The effort for mindfulness is to continually remind yourself to maintain awareness of whatever is happening right now， which usually includes more than the object of concentration。Meditation is very sensitive to your attitude going into the session - and practice goes best when looking forward to it。 So he recommends us to have tools to make us motivated as we begin practice， and although I'd read and heard this many times， it was first with his words and my recent own experiences that it really struck home how important this is。 So starting with some considerations or recitations （silently） or whatever works for you is to me a key lesson。 I think outsiders （me included） observing Buddhists， might misinterpret this as pointless ritualistic recitations （often made verbally）。 Of course I'm sure they are in a lot of cases， where practitioners believe that the recitations in themselves have value， but that's because they are missing the original point。The way of dealing with suffering in vipassana meditation is to pay full attention to it rather than avoiding it or letting it reinforce itself in cycles of though。 Confront whatever it is， look as close as you can and try to find the root cause， and just observe it with equanimity。 For example， when looking at pain， you will notice the sensation itself （the pain） and a resistance to that sensation。 Of course， do whatever can be done about the sensation， but more importantly， bore into the resistance with your attention。 "Pain is inevitable， suffering is not。" You should view any obstacle as an opportunity for practice。More takeaways I just keep here for myself:- Don't get frustrated with your Monkey Mind。 It's always there （at least without a lot of practice）， you （and probably everyone around you） are usually just （un）happily unaware of it。 It's easy to forget this when you start meditating a lot （such as doing a retreat） and you get the feeling that your mind has gone wilder than ever。 But it's not， and you're not crazy！- Talking and music are perhaps the strongest sources of distractions （to keep in mind when considering meditation location）- Legs or feet falling asleep is not dangerous！ It's just nerve pinching， not loss of blood circulation。- If you're bored you're not truly mindful。 Look closer at the breath/object or investigate the boredom。- Don't be too serious。 Laugh at your own shortcomings， including those in your meditation practice。 Being to serious often leads to frustration/discouragement/sense of failure。 Notice that， and so you're not failing anymore！ 。。。more
Jana
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I finished this book months ago， I just forgot to mark it read。 It was GREAT！！ I loved this book
Tyler
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This offers fine guidance to a practicing meditator; a great way of checking if you're on the right path。 This offers fine guidance to a practicing meditator; a great way of checking if you're on the right path。 。。。more
Adrian
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A reread。 I feel like this is an annual read。 Vipassana meditation is a simple yet difficult skill to master。 Simple as in you only need a quiet space and your breath。 Difficult as in it will take years before you grasp the flow and take to heart all its complexities。 This book focuses on those aspects and then some。
Dora Tolstoy
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After having read this book， I understood that my concept of mindfulness was quite false and misdirected。 This book was a thorough guide of the history of mediation， how to practice Vipassana meditation and how this should practice should penetrate your everyday life。
Radu
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Incredible。
Jack
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Couldn't give a five star rating to an author who uses the phrase "catch 22" so many times， but this is an excellent practical book to be recommended to anyone interested in mindfulness beyond its status as the newest neoliberal pill。 Couldn't give a five star rating to an author who uses the phrase "catch 22" so many times， but this is an excellent practical book to be recommended to anyone interested in mindfulness beyond its status as the newest neoliberal pill。 。。。more
Emiton Alves
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