A Beginner's Guide to Meditation

Acknowledgements Introduction   PART ONE: LET'S GET STARTED Basic Breath Meditation: It Doesn't Get Simpler Than This …… Melvin McLeod On Motivation: “Meditate as a Hobby, Not as a Career” …… Clark Strand Getting Started …… Norman Fischer What Meditation Isn't …… Bhante Gunaratana Dedicating Your Practice …… Matthieu Ricard and Sharon Salzberg Finding Your “Breathing Room” …… Thich Nhat Hanh What's What …… Ajahn Chah Meditation: The Four Foundations of Mindfulness …… Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche   PART TWO: CULTIVATING CALM AND INSIGHT (AND MORE) Who Will Tame the Tamer? …… Tsoknyi Rinpoche How to Practice Shamatha Meditation …… Gen Larimpa How to Practice Insight Meditation …… Sayadaw U Pandita A Mind Like Sky …… Jack Kornfield Working with “Method 2” …… Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo Developing Insight …… Sylvia Boorstein Getting Grounded Through Walking Meditation …… Thich Nhat Hanh Compassion and Loving-Kindness …… Noah Levine   PART THREE: A TASTE OF ZAZEN Sitting Zen …… John Daishin Buksbazen This Life Which Is Wonderful and Evanescent …… Blanche Hartman The Practices of Zen …… James Ishmael Ford Going Nowhere …… Lewis Richmond The Power of Koan Practice …… John Tarrant Study Yourself …… Shunryu Suzuki Roshi   PART FOUR: INDO-TIBETAN INNOVATIONS What the Practice Can Do …… John Powers Buddhist Meditation is Relaxing With the Truth …… Pema Chödrön Developing the Mind of Great Capacity …… The Fourteenth Dalai Lama Looking Into Lojong, or Mind Training …… Judy Lief You Can Do It! …… Pema Chödrön Mahamudra and Dzogchen: Thought-Free Wakefulness …… Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche   PART FIVE: KEEP YOUR PRACTICE GOING It's All in Your Mind …… Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche Bringing the Practice Home …… Larry Rosenberg My First Meditation Retreat: A Checklist …… Karen Maezen Miller Yoga Body, Buddha Mind …… Cyndi Lee and David Nichtern Stabilize Your Practice …… Andy Karr Building Your Mental Muscles …… Thanissaro Bhikkhu Keeping It Real: Working with Boredom, and without Self-Deception …… Carolyn Rose Gimian Signs of Spiritual Progress …… Pema Chödrön   Glossary of Non-English Terms Contributors Sources