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Begin your journey of self-transformation through meditation and the cultivation of mindfulness in the Vipassana tradition

Posted By admin on January 17th, 2010

The way of the Buddha is to know yourself; To know yourself is to forget yourself; To forget yourself is to be awakened by all things. Dogen – Thirteenth Century Zen Monk

 

Archive for January, 2011

Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra

Posted By admin on January 8th, 2011

Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra (Shambhala), is a new dharma book about a pivotal figure in the transmission of Dharma to the West and “the teacher of our teachers.” Anagarika Munindra was Joseph Goldstein’s and Kamala Masters’ first teacher and one who also influenced Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Daniel Goleman, James Baraz, Christopher Titmuss, Christina Feldman, Sylvia Boorstein, Larry Rosenberg, Marcia Rose, and many others. He was responsible for teaching Dipa Ma and introducing her to his Western students. Munindra was greatly appreciated not only for his knowledge as a Pali scholar but most especially for his embodiment of Dharma, for being a living example of the qualities that lead to awakening, qualities that are part of everyday life. When asked, “Munindraji, what is Dhamma?” he used to say, “Dhamma is living the life fully.” He did not reserve practice for a special time, in a special place, on a special cushion, but for everywhere and in every moment. His open-minded, accessible, enthusiastic, friendly, and cheerful manner was inviting and encouraging. He inspired others to believe that, yes, it is possible here and now.

Living This Life Fully is organized into sixteen chapters, each one focusing on a quality essential for awakening. It is based on interviews with Munindra before his death in 2003, some of his early dharma talks, interviews with almost 200 people around the world who shared poignant and humorous remembrances, and other materials.
If you would like to learn more about Living This Life Fully, Attached is a PDF of the book cover with some details, which I hope you’ll be willing to download for the Recommended Readings list. You can also read excerpts (including Joseph’s foreword) at google books: http://books.google.com/books?id=LNnzrycgXPkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Living+This+Life+Fully&source=bl&ots=eym2l-pyms&sig=Jp24OY_4uVCqMPuVBCVl85q8CVY&hl=en&ei=b6_yTKCqJIz2swO34IGYCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CD0Q6AEwBQ#vProceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to establish a scholarship fund at Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in memory of Munindra.