Husband and wife Kittisaro and Thanissara take turns coauthoring chapters in this deeply personal dharma book exploring the inner practice of meditation in support of awakening. Within the context of the lives of the authors, both monastics in their youth, awakening unfolds as a multifaceted process following the archetypal journey of the hero(ine). Traveling from innocence to disillusionment through the fields of trials and despair that lead to maturity, and ultimately to inspiration and a blessed life, Listening to the Heart tells the story of two unconventional individuals who have together embraced spirituality as the keystone of their lives.

At the heart of the book, through teachings on the nondual nature of reality, we enter the "intimacy with all things" as revealed in core Buddhist texts. Without ending at the goal of personal freedom, Thanissara and Kittisaro encourage us to go beyond the experience of inner peace to embodying wisdom in acts of service within the world. With a realistic appraisal of our current global crisis in which sustainability is threatened by catastrophic climate change, the authors encourage a preparedness that enables a mindful balance of equanimity and passionate engagement whatever the outcome of our global evolutionary journey.

The guiding refuge for this journey is the Buddha, the historical teacher andmost profoundlythat immediate and direct pure awareness, which we all can access. The book also draws on teachings and stories of Buddhist masters who are fearless, funny, and challenging. Eventually we are led into the Mary-like presence of the goddess of mercy, Kuan Yin who, as a great archetype within Buddhist cosmology, reveals the deepest mystery of our own hearts and our capacity for merciful and compassionate response. As the inner process of awakening unfolds, it transforms seekers and their lives, as modeled by the authors. It both heals the personal self in its journey through its wounds and shadows, and yet at the same time dissolves identification with the self. The book then ends by returning to the simplicity of the authors' primary teacher, Ajahn Chah, with his encouragement to "Be the Dharma."

Listening to the Heart : A Contemplative Journey to Engaged Buddhism, Kittisaro and Thanissara, North Atlantic Books, Paperback, 282 pages, 2014, $22.95

Married couple KITTISARO and THANISSARA are the founders of Dharmagiri Hermitage in South Africa, from where they support several HIV/AIDS Outreach Programs and help guide and fundraise for Kulungile Care Center for orphaned and vulnerable children and teenagers. They have taught meditation internationally in Europe, the U.S., Canada, South Africa, and Israel for over 25 years. Kittisaro (Harry Randolph Weinberg) grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he was valedictorian at Baylor School and winner of the National Prep Tournament before graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton and becoming a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. In 1976 he ordained with Ajahn Chah in Thailand and during his fifteen years as a Buddhist monk he helped found Chithurst Monastery and Devon Vihara in the U.K., teaching extensively throughout this time. Thanissara grew up in an extended Anglo-Irish family in London, attending Southampton College of Art and traveling extensively in Asia in the 1970s. Also inspired by Ajahn Chah, she spent 12 years as a Buddhist nun in Thailand. She holds an MA in Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy Practice from Middlesex University and the Karuna Institute in the U.K. and cofacilitates the Community Dharma Leader Program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California.

Contents: Listening to the Heart A Contemplative Journey to Engaged Buddhism
PREFACE	ix
CHAPTER ONE: An Invitation, Kittisaro	1
CHAPTER TWO: A Stab to the Heart, Thanissara	25
CHAPTER THREE: A Steady Mind, Kittisaro	49
CHAPTER FOUR: The Practice of Presence, Kittisaro	65
The Five Jhana Factors	68
The Buddha's Analogy for the Experience of Jhana	77
Working with Illness and Pain	79
CHAPTER FIVE: Two Kinds of Peace, Thanissara	83
CHAPTER SIX: The Grit That Becomes a Pearl, Thanissara	97
CHAPTER SEVEN: Desire: The Core of the Matrix, Thanissara	107
The Three Spheres of Desire	113
The Deeper Intention of Desire	124
CHAPTER EIGHT: Dew Drops and a Lightning Flash, Kittisaro	127
Teachings from the Depth	134
CHAPTER NINE: Nibbana: The Beautiful, Kittisaro	143
CHAPTER TEN: Contemplative Ease, Kittisaro and Thanissara	151
Return the Hearing	155
Kuan Yin's Enlightenment	159
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Radical Reflection, Kittisaro	161
Skillful Means: Returning to the Source	171
The Shurangama Samadhi	175
CHAPTER TWELVE: The Wounded Warrior, Thanissara	181
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Through the Night Door, Thanissara	197
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: The Nectar in the Fire, Thanissara	207
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Until the End of Time, Kittisaro	219
The Four Bodhisattva Vows	222
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: An Intimate World, Kittisaro and Thanissara	241
NOTES	253
BIBLIOGRAPHY	265
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	269
INDEX	271
ABOUT THE AUTHORS	281