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The Little Book of Buddhist Awakening
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The Little Book of Buddhist Awakening
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The Little Book of Buddhist Awakening
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The Little Book of Buddhist Awakening

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The Little Book of Buddhist Awakening looks at the subtle and elusive questions about awakening, what is also commonly called “enlightenment.” What does it mean to awaken? What are the different ways in which the Buddha described the end of the Noble Eightfold Path? What are common misconceptions about awakening?

Next there is a discussion about how to create the causes and conditions conducive to awakening. How should you practice? How does individual temperament affect the process of awakening? How do you practice in a balanced way so that all the different parts of the practice develop together?

Then there is a discussion about the first stage of awakening, what is called “stream-entry.” What does it mean to “enter the stream?” How did the Buddha define the different stages of awakening? What are the requisite conditions for moving toward and attaining stream-entry? What are barriers to stream-entry?

Finally there are qualities of mind that put the dedicated meditator on the path to stream entry: dispassion, the still mind, and the “inner observer,” what is also called “mind watching mind.” There is a description of how we fabricate our experience, and how behind that fabrication is a subtle intention.

As our skill as meditators deepens, we see into this causal process, and how our mind takes this process of cause and effect and turns it into a substantial “self.” Over time and with dedication this seeing and understanding leads to cessation, the end of mental fabrication and the end of stress and suffering, to liberation and nirvāṇa.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherEric Van Horn
Release dateOct 20, 2016
ISBN9781370142187
Unavailable
The Little Book of Buddhist Awakening
Author

Eric Van Horn

Eric Van Horn was born and raised in Lower Pottsgrove, Pennsylvania. He graduated Pottsgrove High School in 1970 and went to college at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. He graduated from Goddard in 1973 with a B.A. in Liberal Arts. His senior thesis was about his experience as a community organizer for a drug abuse prevention program in Pottstown, PA.After graduation he worked in a number of social service jobs, but eventually discovered a love of computer programming. He spent the next 33 years working as a software engineer. In his last job he spent 18 years working in the field of medical informatics at the PKC Corporation in Burlington, Vermont. He retired from PKC in 2011 to devote his life to his Buddhist practice.His interest in Buddhism began in 1991 when he attended a "spiritual support group" at the Burlington Unitarian Church. Over the next 20+ years he attended many retreats at the Insight Meditation Center in Barre, MA, the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Barre, MA, the Zen Mountain Monastery in Mt. Temper, NY, the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, the Bhavana Society and Monastery in High View, WV, the Embracing Simplicity Hermitage in Asheville, NC, Kharme Choling in Barnet, VT, and Maple Forest Monastery in Woodstock, VT. He went to India on Buddhist Pilgrimage in 2004.Eric has written several papers on Buddhism, including "Jhāna in the Majjhima Nikaya" and "Reverse Engineering the Buddha's Enlightenment." These can be found at http://nobleeightfoldblog.com/resources/. In 2015 he published the "Travel Guide to the Buddha's Path," a practice guide that provides an outline of the whole of the Buddha's path as described in the Pāli canon. This volume has since been replaced by a greatly expanded three-volume set "The Buddha's Path Series," which includes (1) "Foundations of the Buddha's Path," (2) "The Heart of the Buddha's Path," and (3) "Awakening on the Buddha's Path." He has also written a biography of the Buddha called "The Life of the Buddha" and is currently editing and illustrating the Buddhist Jātaka Tales literature.He moved from Vermont to New Mexico in 2014 because it was "sunnier, warmer, and cheaper." He also found a living situation that is quieter and more conducive to meditation. He has an ongoing love of the Land of Enchantment, its rich cultural heritages, breathtaking landscapes, and ancient history. He has two adult children, Seth and Rebecca, a daughter-in-law Britomarte, a grandchild Jay, and a virtual son-in-law Toby.

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