How to Meditate on the Stages of the Path - by Kathleen McDonald (Paperback)

About the Book

"Buddhist tradition tells us that enlightenment is possible for each and every one of us. It's actually the best thing we can do for others and for the world, but also the best thing we can do for ourselves, because it means being free from all misery, pain, depression, dissatisfaction, and negative emotions, and abiding forever in peace, joy, love, and compassion. What could be more wonderful than that? Kathleen McDonald (Sangye Khadro), a Western nun with decades of experience and author of the bestselling book How to Meditate, guides us through the next step in our meditation practice: the transformative meditations on the Tibetan lamrim stages to enlightenment. She helps us see that the whole purpose of meditation is to transform our mind in a constructive way. For this to happen, we need to become so thoroughly familiar with the lamrim topics that they become our natural way of thinking and living our life. This warm and encouraging guide takes us through meditations on these lamrim topics, such as: - impermanence - refuge - karma - the four noble truths - bodhichitta - the six perfections: giving, ethics, patience, joyous effort, concentration, and wisdom How to Meditate on Lamrim offers practical advice, support, and step-by-step guidance on how to meditate on the stages of the path to enlightenment that will transform the practice of new meditators and seasoned practitioners alike"--

Book Synopsis

Deepen your meditation by diving into the practices of the lamrim--the stages of the path to enlightenment.

Buddhist tradition tells us that enlightenment is possible for each and every one of us. It's actually the best thing we can do for others and for the world, but also the best thing we can do for ourselves, because it means being free from all misery, pain, depression, dissatisfaction, and negative emotions, and abiding forever in peace, joy, love, and compassion. What could be more wonderful than that?

Kathleen McDonald (Sangye Khadro), a Western nun with decades of experience and author of the bestselling book How to Meditate, guides us through the next step in our meditation practice: the transformative meditations on the Tibetan lamrim stages to enlightenment. She helps us see that the whole purpose of meditation is to transform our mind in a constructive way. For this to happen, we need to become so thoroughly familiar with the lamrim topics that they become our natural way of thinking and living our life. This warm and encouraging guide takes us through meditations on these lamrim topics, such as:

- impermanence
- refuge
- karma
- the four noble truths
- bodhichitta
- the six perfections: giving, ethics, patience, joyous effort, concentration, and wisdom

How to Meditate on the Stages of the Path offers practical advice, support, and step-by-step guidance on how to meditate on the stages of the path to enlightenment that will transform the practice of new meditators and seasoned practitioners alike.

Review Quotes

"How to Meditate on the Stages of the Path is a much-needed roadmap on how to meditate on all the main topics on the path to liberation and full awakening. Whether you are starting your exploration of Buddhism or planning to do a long retreat on the stages of the path to awakening, this is a book to keep on your meditation table: it will steer you toward actualizing your buddha potential!"--Bhiksuni Thubten Chodron, Dharma teacher, author, and abbess of Sravasti Abbey

"Sangye Khadro has done it again. The translator and teacher who gave us inspiring and engaging guidance about Tibetan meditations in general in her first book, How to Meditate, now focuses her well-honed skills on showing us precisely how to meditate on the multiple topics of the stages of the path (lamrim) teachings, masterfully laying out how we each might meditate, systematically, on the stages of the path to enlightenment."--Jan Willis, PhD, author of Dreaming Me: Black, Baptist, and Buddhist and Dharma Matters: Women, Race, and Tantra

About the Author

Originally from California, Kathleen McDonald (Sangye Khadro) began studying Buddhism with Tibetan lamas in Dharamsala, India, in 1973. She became a nun in Nepal the following year, and received full (bhikshuni) ordination in 1988. At the request of her teachers, she began teaching in 1980, and since then has been teaching Buddhism and meditation in various countries around the world, occasionally taking time off for personal retreats. She served as resident teacher in Buddha House, Australia, for two years and in Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore for eleven years. From 2008 to 2013 she followed the Masters Program at Lama Tsong Khapa Institute in Italy. Since then she served for seven years as a faculty member of the Human Spirit Psychoanalytic-Buddhist Training Program in Israel, and for a year and a half as the resident teacher at the Center for Wisdom and Compassion in Copenhagen, Denmark. She currently resides at Sravasti Abbey in Washington State, USA, and teaches online. She is the author of How to Meditate: A Practical Guide and Awakening the Kind Heart: How to Meditate on Compassion.