Openness Mind: Self-Knowledge and Inner Peace Through Meditation

by Tarthang Tulku

Book Overview

For the many people searching for ways to improve the quality of their lives, Openness Mind clearly explains the value of meditation and how to proceed with its practice. Defining meditation as a way of opening our minds to the richness of experience, this book emphasizes a practical approach that anyone can apply to develop awareness, transcend the limitations of self-image, improve concentration, and effect positive changes in their way...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0913546569
• ISBN13: 9780913546567
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Dharma Publishing
• Length: 180 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A gentle companion to meditation

The point of meditation is not to take a daily fifteen-minute break from our lives. The point is to employ meditation to transform life so that we would never want to take a break from it. Tarthang Tulku describes his book as a `trail guide' to extending the insights gained from meditation throughout our lives. The `openness' of the title is key. When we open our senses, the grip of ego automatically relaxes. Body and mind synchronise. As we open to the world, the relationships between thoughts and emotions, between sensations and awareness, clarify and transform. Here we find balance, enjoyment and peace. This is the way beyond fear and frustration into effective, unconflicted action. Although the book is not primarily a meditation manual, Tarthang Tulkus presents several simple exercises that are helpful as a supplements to the fundamental shi-nè practice. The book is written in exceptionally clear, straightforward English. More experienced readers may be surprised to see subtle concepts from Dzogchen--normally buried in layers of arcane academic complexity--presented painlessly in plain language. For beginners, the challenge is to read the book slowly and carefully enough to catch its profundity. The ease of the prose makes it easy to glide over what often sounds like simple common sense, without noticing how radical the path it describes actually is. Tarthang Tulku's approach is unfailingly gentle and sweet. If you prefer a more rugged style, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism (Shambhala Library) covers much of the same material.