Being Dharma
The Essence of the Buddha's Teachings
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
This collection of ‘dharma talks’ from one of the great Buddhist teachers of the 20th-century is a fun, accessible crash course in Theravadan teachings on meditation, mindfulness, and more
Ajahn Chah influenced a generation of Western teachers: Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Sylvia Boorstein, Joseph Goldstein, and many other Western Buddhist teachers were at one time his students. Anyone who has attended a retreat led by one of these teachers, or read one of their books, will be familiar with this master's name and reputation as one of the great Buddhist teachers of this century.
Here, Chah offers a thorough exploration of Theravada Buddhism in a gentle, sometimes humorous, style that makes the reader feel as though he or she is being entertained by a story. He emphasizes the path to freedom from emotional and psychological suffering and provides insight into the fact that taking ourselves seriously causes unnecessary hardship.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
According to Jack Kornfield, Thai Buddhist master Ajahn Chah (1919-1992) never taught that there were two levels of dharma instruction one for the monk and an easier one for the layperson. Rather, he required all of the lay practitioners who visited him at his monastery to embody the dharma to the same degree that his monastic disciples did. In Being Dharma: The Essence of the Buddha's Teachings, Ajahn Chah's dharma talks (which could be as long as five hours each) are condensed for Western lay practitioners. Although the length has been shortened, the content is still bracing and memorable. Paul Breiter provides the translation, and Kornfield gives an insightful foreword.
