The Most Important Thing - by Adyashanti (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Question your assumptions; lean far into the unknown. Question it all." So writes Adyashanti in The Most Important Thing--the esteemed spiritual teacher's invitation to look past the surface of our personal stories to discover the timeless truths within. In this collection of writings, Adyashanti encourages you to open to the possibility of grace, fully experience your innate connection to the total environment, and embrace those aspects of life that call you to serve.

Book Synopsis

From esteemed teacher Adyashanti, a collection of writings on the search for the ultimate reality beneath the narrative of our lives

"Our inner lives are every bit as astonishing, baffling, and mysterious as the infinite vastness of the cosmos." --Adyashanti

We all define our lives through the lens of stories. Whether we see ourselves as heroes or victims, good people or bad, everyone lives according to interwoven strands of narrative.

"And yet," teaches Adyashanti, "the truth is bigger than any concept or story."

Drawn from intimate, deep-dive talks, The Most Important Thing presents writings devoted to the search for the ultimate reality of a self that exists beyond the bounds of storytelling.

Here you will find vivid anecdotes and teaching stories that illuminate the felt experience of Adyashanti's teachings--those moments of grace in which every stone, tree, ray of light, and fraught silence reveal that none of us is alone and no one is ever truly isolated from the whole of existence.

These selections consider:

Exploration of the true meaning of birth, life, and death
- Why grace can arrive both through struggle and as an unexpected gift
- Meditation as the art of "listening with one's entire being"
- Why a good question can be far more powerful than a concrete answer
- How the things you choose to serve shape your life
- Discovering the wisdom found in surprise, sadness, and uncertainty
- Embodying your innate and inextricable connection with the total environment
- The nature of ego and the ways it manifests
- The moments of grace upon which all great religions pivot
What is the story of your life? Is it happy or adventurous? Sad or lonely? In The Most Important Thing, Adyashanti shows you how to look past your personal narratives, delve inward, and connect with the truths that fundamentally animate all of us.

Review Quotes

"In The Most Important Thing, Adyashanti, long known as a kind teacher of embodied being, shares stories of his personal awakening as a way to surface insights that can help us discover the most important thing for ourselves. Central to his journey and ours is the question he offers as our constant guide: 'How can I be a living expression of what I love?' This book is a spiritual resource for the necessary arts of dedication and release, immersion and surrender, and the courage to be and love." --Mark Nepo, author of More Together Than Alone and The Book of Awakening

"Hopefully, you're interested in being happy in the deepest and most central way possible ... happy independent of conditions. If so, this book will point you to the real deal." --Shinzen Young, author of The Science of Enlightenment

"While you read this book, you will want to underline wisdom gems on most every page ... and you will want to keep pausing and listening to your own Being. Adyashanti offers the blessing of pointing us toward the reality awakening through us right in this moment." --Tara Brach, PhD, author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge

"In The Most Important Thing, Adyashanti shares his remarkable gift of being able to put the most ineffable and precious truths into down-to-earth language. These short, heartfelt essays are just the right length to get wisdom bites, hints for awakening, and moments of grace when you need them. I hope you will enjoy this generous and important gift for our times." --Loch Kelly, author of Shift into Freedom

About the Author

Adyashanti
Adyashanti is an American-born spiritual teacher devoted to serving the awakening of all beings. His teachings are an open invitation to stop, inquire, and recognize what is true and liberating at the core of all existence. His books include Emptiness Dancing, The End of Your World, True Meditation, The Way of Liberation, and Falling into Grace.

Asked to teach in 1996 by his Zen teacher of 14 years, Adyashanti offers teachings that are free of any tradition or ideology. "The Truth I point to is not confined within any religious point of view, belief system, or doctrine, but is open to all and found within all." For more information, please visit adyashanti.org.