Lovely Book on the Paramitas | Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake: The Buddhist Path of Kindness

book: Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake: The Buddhist Path of Kindness | Sylvia Boorstein

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	• Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake: The Buddhist Path of Kindness Sylvia Boorstein Ballantine Books, 2003 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 2 reviews view larger image
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A How-to Book with Heart

This is a well written instructional book on Vipassana meditation. It might best be utilized by someone who is not entirely unfamiliar with the practice; there are more readily accessible how-to books available. But the value of this particular one lies, in my opinion, in the global perspective of having a regular meditation practice.

Lovely Book on the Paramitas

If you know nothing about Buddhism or Mindfulness practice, this might not be the best place to start. I would recommend reading Boorstein's "It's Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way to Happiness" first. It is basically a primer on the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, and it would probably be good to read it first.

However, if you have even a cursory knowledge of the basics and want to explore them further, this is a wonderful book to read. I finished it, and then immediately read through it again to soak it up some more.

It outlines the Ten Paramitas, or heart perfections. These are the qualities that the Buddha perfected in his prior incarnations, before reaching enlightenment.

Boorstein lays them out in a straightforward manner, even sharing a chart she created illustrating the flow from each Paramita to it's ultimate result. For example, one section shows how the practice of Generosity leads to contentment through the realizations that meditation on generosity can provide. The chapters are laid out easily, as well. Each Paramita is explained, a meditation exercise for that Paramita is given, backed up by stories, and bookended with an everyday practice that the reader can incorporate into their daily lives to bring them closer to perfecting that Paramita.

Anyone interested in furthering their Mindfulness practice should definitely give this a read. Boorstein's books, in general, are extremely accessible to Westerners, and provide a calm, warm, welcoming read.

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According to the Buddha, the path of kindness is the path of happiness. Now Sylvia Boorstein, nationally bestselling author of It?s Easier Than You Think, has taken the 2500-year-old practice of developing the qualities of a compassionate heart?the core of the Buddha?s own practice?and made it accessible to all. Pay Attention for Goodness? Sake is the first book ever to guide Western readers on the path of the Buddha?s Ten Paramitas, the Perfections of the Heart. Boorstein combines traditional Buddhist teachings and parables with stories from her own life, as well as easy-to-follow meditations, to show how the practice of Mindfulness?paying attention in everyday life?can lead to these perfections that all of us strive for, including Generosity, Morality, Wisdom, Energy, Patience, Determination, and Equanimity.

When we take on this practice, Boorstein notes, ?our vision becomes transformed. We see, with increasing clarity, the confusion in our own minds and the suffering in our own hearts. . . . And we also see the extraordinariness of life, how amazing it is that life exists.? Boorstein?s lively and practical lessons about everyday generosity, morality, making and mending mistakes, the bliss of blamelessness, and other human concerns and frailties, help to clarify our distractions and connect us with our own goodness, ?the part of ourselves that wishes it had done differently.?

For Buddhist and non-Buddhist alike, Pay Attention for Goodness? Sake is a cheerful, inspiring book that offers the possibility of a transformed life.

From the Hardcover edition.

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