Turning the Mind into an Ally by Sakyong Mipham.

2/5 rating. 213 pages.

Book #10 of 2023. Read April 15, 2023.

This book is all about Tibetan Buddhist meditation.

In general, I usually really love meditation books. They often provide great insight into the mind, are interesting, and help spur me back into practice. This book somewhat did two of these, but it was a slog to get through (even at only a little over 200 pages).

There are some chapters on different types of meditation, and it has a lot of talk about what sounds like loving-kindness meditation – of which he calls by the sanskrit term bodhichitta. This idea of fostering love for all living beings is a great practice, and I would say it gave me a little better idea how to do that better.

Apart from that, I just think if you’re looking to read about meditation, there are so many other books that are much more interesting, knowledgeable, and enjoyable. Go for one of those instead.

Quotes:

“True happiness is always available to us, but first we have to create the environment for it to flourish.”

“However, the current of the mind is always fluctuating. The mind weaves an illusion of solidity by putting things together; it’s actually going back and forth.”

“Worrying and anxiety lead to stress, and stress causes suffering. The suffering created by hope and fear routinely clouds our perception of what is happening in the present moment. We’re busy spinning out best- and worst-case scenarios, rather than relaxing where we are.”

“It takes experience and maturity to be intimate with the interactions of our mind.”

“Even if you’re going to die tomorrow, you can learn something tonight.”

#tibetanbuddhism #meditation #books #bookreviews #bodhichitta #lovingkindness

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