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The right practice for the right time
Lately I've taken great interest in a lot of Jon Kabat-Zinn's books and guided meditation on mindfulness. So far I've read Mindfulness for Beginners, which was excellent and extremely eye opening. Coming to our senses, which I greatly enjoyed, but did not have enough emphasis on literal practice, more on philosophy. And most recently I finished Zen Mind, Beginners mind, another breath taking classic. My journey has led me to read 'the little book of Wisdom' by the Dalai Lama. Currently I am really enjoying this, but a lot of things he mentions are kind of distant to me, and I'm having trouble applying some of the teachings to my practice. Any advice or reading suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm very curious as to where my practice should lead me next.
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I have this weird thing where I usually only buy my Buddhist books from the used bookshop by me (unless someone recommends something specific). He has a pretty nice revolving selection, but my reasoning is probably mostly because larger bookstores have such an overwhelming selection that it feels relieving to narrow it down a little. Going into B&N I just always feel like, "Where do I start!???" I also feel like I can pick up at least a little wisdom out of any book, so it's never really a loss.
For this reason I am currently reading, "Sex, Sin, and Zen" by Brad Warner because I just felt like I needed a break from all the seriousness. Brad Warner's candid writing style is sometimes refreshing when I'm feeling too heavy.
Some books I enjoyed that had practices in them have been Thich Nhat Hahn's books. I find them easy to read and understand. I also read a book about a lady who spent a few months at Plum Village, and that was a good read. It was called "The Monks and Me"I think. As for TNH, Heart of the Buddha's Teachings, and Miracle of Mindfulness both have some good practices in them. As well as "Savor" which is eating-based but has some great mindfulness exercises in it.
I get a lot of practices from my teacher, so sometimes I get a bit overwhelmed between all the ones in books, and the ones from him. But on the plus side with my teacher, I can ask questions and such along the way which is nice. Sometimes when I read and go to my weekend group meetings, there are just too many things to try, so I don't stick with anything because I'm too busy jumping around, and then nothing gets a fair chance. So I limit myself to trying the things that really speak to me, rather than trying it all.
The thing that pans out best in the end is a determined, gentle-but-firm practice. Practice when it is hard and, perhaps more important, practice when it is easy. Read anything and everything you like; take cues from books, people, music, and the smells at McDonald's; grunt, groan, laugh, cry, cuss or sing hymns....
Whatever happens, just keep up your good practice.
Best wishes.
That's exactly where I'm at right now, a freakin' brick wall, thus the need for some levity. As a side note, I'm only a few chapters into "Sex, Sin, and Zen" but (like the title suggests), it's really mostly about marrying sex/gender identity/masturbation/etc. with Buddhism. If you're interested in Brad Warner, I would recommend "Hardcore Zen" as a more broad introduction to his writing/views.
Also... I love my kindle, but I always prefer my Buddhist books to be hard copies. I like to make notations, highlight passages... and I also tend to lend the books out frequently.
Even though Sogyal Rinpoche is controversial to some, I actually really enjoyed most of the "Tibetan Book of Living and Dying." It does have some things that are particular to Tibetan Buddhism but a lot of it is very general and very well written. I got a used copy of it and it was well worth it. I picked it up when my grandma was very ill and we thought she was dying, and I found it immensely helpful in understanding and coping with illness and death practices.