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Summary: Wake Up To Your Life - A Lifetime Practice Companion
Review: "Wake Up To Your Life" is a most comprehensive book on Buddhist practice, one that lays out a lifetime of meditation. Ken McLeod has offered traditional tibetan buddhist techniques as well as non traditional ones that have been stripped of cultural applications while maintaining the integrity and intent of the classical form. But this is not a book for the casual reader. These meditations are designed to dismantle the reactive patterns that rule our lives. Some of them are quite vivid and are designed to generate the very patterns we are trying to break down. So, without the ability to put these practices in a larger context and see them as a means, not an end, it's easy to understand how A. Reed fell victim to such a misconception and took his reaction at face value. It's regrettable but illustrative of why, as Mr. McLeod stresses, it can be dangerous to approach this material without a teacher.
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Summary: Wake Up To Your Life - A Lifetime Companion For Practice
Review: "Wake Up To Your Life" is a most comprehensive book on Buddhist practice, one that lays out a lifetime of meditation. Ken McLeod has offered traditional Tibetan buddhist techniques, as well as non traditional ones, that have been stripped of cultural application while maintaining the integrity and intent of the classical form. But this is not a book for a casual reader. These meditations are designed to dismantle the reactive patterns that rule our lives. Some of them are quite vivid and designed to trigger the very patterns we are trying to break down. So, without the ability to put these practices in a larger context and see them as a means, not an end, it's easy to see why A. Reed fell victim to such a misconception and took his reaction at face value. While regrettable, it's also illustrative of why, as Mr. McLeod stresses, it's dangerous to undertake these practices without a teacher.
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Summary: A great manual
Review: "Wake Up" is very accessible and informative. It treats many fundamentals of Buddhism with the lay-person in mind, and does that very very well. But be aware; this is a manual intended for use by someone who is considering a serious commitment to mindful meditation and (especially) inner transformation. It is written like a set of instructions (OK, now do this. Then do that. etc.). If you are interested in transforming your life, and you are committed to a Buddhist path, you will truly get a great deal out of this wonderfully well written book. But it does get a bit pedantic at times.
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Summary: splendid array
Review:
McLeod strips Buddhism of much of the doctrinal beliefs (such as rebirth and intra-life karma) and focuses on the methods of "waking up". He is not afraid to argue against 2,500 years of (encrusted?) doctrine. For that reason, this is something of a controversial book. He has taken Buddhism as a means, and made those means both consistent with classic Tibetan meditation practices, and also accessible to skeptical Westerners.
This is not a thin gruel of New Age platitudes, however. It is a demanding, didactic, clear-eyed manual of various guided meditations.
If you are interested in the approach, but don't need 200 pages of guided meditations, I strongly recommend "Buddhism Without Beliefs" by Stephen Batchelor.
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Summary: Using the practices of Buddhism in everyday life
Review: Buddhist teacher and lecturer McLeod here provides a practical guide to applying and using the practices of Buddhism in everyday life. Wake Up To Your Life isn't another distillation of Eastern ways, but an adaptation of Buddhist belief to American ways of living: this is the first to deconstruct Buddhism for a Western audience using stories and examples to get the point across.
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Summary: A Great Contribution
Review: I am indebted to Ken McLeod. The beauty of this book is its tremendous practicality. Here is a clear means of getting started on the Buddhist path of attention without becoming bogged down in doctrinal issues. It is written beautifully and with an incisiveness that wakens one's attention all on its own. A great contribution.
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Summary: Beneficial
Review: I am not Buddhist, yet have benefited remarkably from this work. In particular, it offers straightforward instructions on how to make meditation a regular, rewarding part of daily life. McLeod uses this platform to move into many facets of our existence, allowing us to analyze "what's really going on" underneath it all. Knowing "what's really going on" is the first step to change. The journey allows you to begin to taste the richness of true living in all its colors ... living in attention.
As he warns, exposing this stuff can be disturbing at first. Yet, just like ridding your home of an odor, first you find where its coming from, and then you walk it personally all the way to the trash. I have found that mere moments of quiet, as taught in "Wake Up" have exposed my own erroneous and habituated thinking in a number of areas, from anger to fullfilment, etc.; this has reaped noticeable benefits in my personal relationships. It's a long book and, I estimate, would take at least one year to work through if approached properly. McLeod has developed a beautiful way of presenting a classic system of thought, which naturally takes time to process.
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Summary: the best book on the teachings in37 years
Review: i have been studying the teachings for 37 years and this book has the most useful information that i have seen. a great practice manual. good luck. you can do it!
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Summary: Western World Work Text for Buddhism
Review: Ken McLeod has, in my opinion, written the first work-text book on the Western approach to Tibetian Buddhism. He has presented the practices in clear, direct language, making them understandable and available to anyone interested in the path of awakening. There is no cultural overlay to obscure the teachings or confuse their purpose.There are many fine books about Buddhism, but the actual "how to" laid out in the precise order it should be studied and practiced has been missing. Now we have it in "Wake up to Your Life". I encourage anyone with more than a passing interest in Buddhism to get this book. You will use it for the rest of your life.
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Summary: THE JOURNEY A LIFETIME !
Review: Mcleod's book on meditation is the most inspiring book on working Buddhism I have read. Meditation is the single most important aspect of self-actualization available. Knowing ourself is truely the key to wisdom and ethical behavior. Trying to "white knuckle" ethics, and teach oneself wisdom / understanding never works. We cannot understand what we haven't experienced. Meditation takes intellectual understanding and turns it into emotional understanding. This leads to wisdom and changes in our behavior (ethics). Ken Mcleod makes working meditation methods understandable, and presents the path to emotional understanding in a clear and concise manner. This book would take many lifetimes to complete. I have purchased many Buddhist books in the past and have never written a review on one before. However, this book is worthy of even my praise. A true lifesaver. OUTSTANDING !
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