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No book can possibly cover every problem that a meditator may run into. Only those who actually meditate regularly and diligently can judge our effort. Only those who follow the instructions given here can say whether we have succeeded or failed. It is our intention to give you the basic data you need to get off to a flying start. There are very few qualified teachers of the Buddhist style of meditation in the United States of America. This book is a ‘How to.’ It is written for those who actually want to meditate and especially for those who want to start now.
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If you are interested in that material we urge you to read those books. There are already many comprehensive books on Buddhism as a philosophy, and on the theoretical aspects of Buddhist meditation. This is a meditation manual, a nuts-and-bolts, step-by-step guide to Insight meditation. The subject of this book is Vipassana meditation practice. Also thanks to Reverend Sister Sama and Chris O’Keefe for their support in production efforts. Olmsted, Matthew Flickstein, Carol Flickstein, Patrick Hamilton, Genny Hamilton, Bill Mayne, Bhikkhu Dang Pham Jotika and Bhikkhu Sona for their most valuable suggestions, comments and criticisms of numerous points in preparing this book. Especially I would like to express my deepest appreciation and sincere gratitude to John Patticord, Daniel J. In preparing this book I have been helped by many of my friends. This book is the result of requests made by many meditators who need a very simple book written in ordinary colloquial language. As more people turn to meditation, they need more simplified instructions so they can practice by themselves without a teacher around. Meditation appears to them as something that they cannot always do. People to not respond to very stern and rigid language especially when we try to teach something which normally people don’t engage in during their daily life. Also I learned from teaching that the more rigid the language the less effective it is. In my experience I found that the most effective way to express something in order to make others understand is to use the simplest language. teaching meditation and conducting meditation retreats. He is now president of the Bhavana Society in West Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley, about 100 miles from Washington, D.C. Since 1973 he has been buddhist chaplin at The American University counseling students interested in Buddhism and Buddhist meditation. His books and articles have been published in Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka and the United States. He taught courses in Buddhism at the American University, Georgetown University and University of Maryland. in Philosophy from the American University. He has also pursued his scholarly interests by earning a B.A., and M.A., and a Ph.D. During his years at the Vihara, he has taught courses in Buddhism, conducted meditation retreats, and lectured widely throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In 1980 he was appointed President of the Society. General Secretary of the Buddhist Vihara Society of Washington, D.C. He has been a teacher in Kishon Dial School and Temple Road Girls’ School and Principal of the Buddhist Institute of Kuala Lumppur.Īt the invitation of the Sasana Sevaka Society, Venerable Gunaratana came to the United States in 1968 to serve as Hon. Later he spent ten years as a missionary in Malaysia, serving as religious advisor to the Sasana Abhivurdhiwardhana Society, Buddhist Missionary Society and the Buddhist Youth Federation of Malaysia. Subsequently he traveled to India for five years of missionary work for the Mahabodhi Society, serving the Harijana (Untouchable) people in Sanchi, Delhi, and Bombay. He received his education from Vidyalankara College and Buddhist Missionary College in Colombo. At the age of 20 he was given higher ordination in Kandy in 1947. His preceptor was Venerable Kiribatkumbure Sonuttara Mahathera. Venerable Henepola Gunaratana was ordained at the age of 12 as a Buddhist monk at a small temple in Malandeniya Village in Kurunegala District in Sri Lanka.