The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation
Mindfulness, Concentration, and Insight

I really enjoyed this one. Shankman has written a very concise yet incredibly useful meditation manual. I credit this book with getting me past a kind of block I was experiencing in my own practice. The distinction he makes between "inclusive" and "exclusive" concentration are simple but extremely h......more

(this review is based on an ARC) Richard Shankman's meditation primer presents the practice of mindfulness and meditation from a Buddhist standpoint, but this does not make this book particularly preachy or "religious". After a brief and to-the-point overview of the Buddhist doctrine and its influenc......more

I thought this was an amazing book. I am new to meditation and his really helped open my eyes to the aspects and experiences of meditation. The author helped to me understand methods to try and things that may get in the way, and some ideas of how to overcome then. I really enjoyed the easy to under......more

Richard Shankman has written a book called Samadhi that is unique in offering an in depth overview of samadhi and the various jhanas as presented in both the suttas and in the commentarial tradition. It is a valuable book that my students preparing to become dharma teachers read so that they can und......more

I picked this book up to help assist with non-beginner guidance, and it fit the bill nicely. In Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life (a different book about meditation), Kabat-Zinn discusses a particular practice and says, "Why don't you try it for a few years and......more