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When we add kindness to mindfulness we get "kindfulness," a new approach to meditation. Kindfulness is the cause of relaxation. It brings ease to the body, to the mind, and to the world. Kindfulness allows healing to happen. So don't just be mindful, be kindful! With his trademark knack for telling engaging stories paired with step-by-step anyone-can-do-it instructions, Brahm brings alive and makes accessible powerful tools for transformation. This slim, beautifully designed volume is a quickstart guide for living a life of joy and compassion.
Kindfulness, Ajahn Brahm, Wisdom Publications, Paperback, 2016, 170 Pages, $9.95
Ajahn Brahmavamso Mahathera (known to most as Ajahn Brahm), born Peter
Betts in London in 1951, is a Theravada Buddhist monk. Ajahn Brahm grew
up in London and earned a degree in Theoretical Physics from Cambridge
University. Disillusioned with the world of academe, he trained as a
monk in the jungles of Thailand under Ajahn Chah. A monk for over thirty
years, Ajahn Brahm is a revered spiritual guide and the abbot of
Bodhinyana Monastery, in Serpentine, Western Australiaone of the
largest monasteries in the southern hemisphere. He is also the Spiritual
Director of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia, and spiritual
adviser and inspiration for Buddhist centers throughout Asia and
Australia. His winning combination of wit and wisdom makes his books
bestsellers in many languages, and on his teaching tours Brahm regularly
draws multinational audiences of thousands.
Preface
Kindfulness
Kindful Attention
Kindful Loving and Letting Be
Working with Obstacles to Kindfulness
Going Forth Kindfully
About the Author
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Features
Preface:
An ancient teaching says that by looking after oneself, one looks after others--and by looking after others, one looks after oneself. Kindfulness, the subject of this small book, is a wonderful way to bring this truth into our lives.
Through stories and direct instruction, I'll introduce you to kindfulness and teach you a powerful method of being kindfully present to what I call "the beautiful breath." This practice unfolds gradually over time, and I'll talk in detail about each of the five stages through which that happens--and the subtle ways we can practice awareness more and more kindfully in each stage. Meeting the beautiful breath with a spirit of loving presence is a part of practicing kindfulness that strengthens our ability to look after ourselves--and by kindfully looking after our own minds, we become more able to become a kindful force for good in the world.
Then, in the next part of this book, we'll turn our attention to kindful loving, the practice of opening wide the doors to our hearts. This practice also unfolds in five stages, and I'll offer guidance for each one, as we gradually generate kindfulness in our hearts and cultivate an ability to let it radiate, outward and unbounded, over the entire world. Kindful loving is a powerful way to care for others--and I'm certain you'll discover for yourself that through kindfully caring for others, your own life will become more and more wonderful, more and more beautiful.
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