The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation : Mindfulness, Concentration, and Insight

The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation offers a practical guide to building a strong meditation practice by unifying mindfulness, concentration, and insight into a single, integrated approach. Mindfulness and insight —clearly knowing what is happening in one's present moment experience—and concentration —the ability of the mind to remain steady and undistracted—are foundational elements of meditation, yet people are often confused about how these aspects of the practice fit together. Should they be doing insight meditation or concentration practices? How does concentration fit into insight meditation? To help, The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation offers specific guidance for cultivating both insight and concentration in meditation. This book will be of interest to both beginning and experienced meditation practitioners who wish to familiarize themselves with, deepen their understanding of, and increase their practical skills in mindfulness, concentration, and insight meditation. New meditators who want hands-on skills they can easily put into practice will find the step-by-step instructions accessible and easy to understand. Experienced practitioners will find a complete and useful guide for deepening insight and cultivating the deeper stages of concentration known as jhana . This book also discusses the most common experiences that can arise as the meditation process unfolds, and will help you find the approaches and techniques that work best for you. P resented in a straightforward, accessible manner, The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation offers a practical guide to building a strong meditation practice, unifying mindfulness, concentration and insight into a single, integrated path of meditation. Mindfulness and insight, clearly knowing what is happening in ones present moment experience, and concentration, the ability of the mind to remain steady and undistracted, are foundational elements of meditation. People are often confused about how these aspects of the practice fit together. Should they be doing insight meditation or concentration practices? How does concentration fit into insight meditation? This book offers specific guidance for cultivating both insight and concentration. This book will be of interest to both beginning and experienced meditation practitioners, anyone wishing to familiarize themselves with, deepen their understanding of and increase their practical skills in mindfulness, concentration, and insight meditation. New meditators want a hands-on book they can easily put into practice, and they will find the step-by-step instructions accessible and easy to understand. Experienced practitioners will find a complete and useful guide for deepening insight and cultivating the deeper stages of concentration known as jhana. This book discusses the most common experiences that can arise as the meditation process unfolds. This book will help you find the approaches and techniques that work best for you, offering a range of instructions for working with various possibilities of what can happen as meditation progresses. "In The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation, mindfulness teacher Richard Shankman gives readers a foundational guide to the art and skill of Buddhist meditation, showing them how to construct a daily practice that unifies two major Theravada Buddhist traditions--concentration meditation and insight meditation. This new, integrative, and simple approach will help readers manage stress, quiet their busy minds, and cultivate a lasting sense of well-being"-- Provided by publisher For the first time ever, a leading Insight meditation teacher presents an innovative and practical guide to building a strong meditation practice by unifying both concentration and insight meditation.