A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science for Greater Mindfulness

GREAT BOOK. This one of the best books about meditation. After 3 years of meditation and couple of silent retreats, this book gave me those "Aha" moments. This book simply answered many questions (even the ones I haven't asked) and solved places where I got stuck. I bought this book in Kindle version, but because I want to reread some parts again, I decided to buy physical copy of this book.

Been a meditation practitioner for 35 years, particularly the vipassana approach. This is one of the best books/guides I've ever come across. Very accessible to beginners as well as an excellent resource for those with years of experience. Highly recommend this book for all who want to understand mindfulness better.

Beautifully written in clear language and easy to follow-even for a complete novice like me.I am really enjoying my meditation practice already! It also provides great insight in how to live a better life day by day.I would recommend it to anyone interested in trying meditation

I don't typically write reviews for products unless I really love something

I forgot how I first researched meditation, I do remember reading an article online of all the benefits meditation has to offer. I used Calm on my smartphone and I meditated for a few weeks and for some excuse, I dropped it. The thought of meditation still lurked in the back of my head, and late 2016 / early 2017 I started it again because of this book.

I practice at least 10-15 minutes daily, and I'm still in the process of building a habit, I'm also near page 100 of the book. Little did I know there are ten stages to the meditation process, and the author goes into each stage, discusses hindrances and problems and how to overcome them.There is a six-point preparation method before mediation occurs and a four-stage transition to concentrate on the meditation object. It may sound like a lot in one sentence, but after you build a habit and have the desire to meditate, it becomes second nature.

If you're interested in meditation, just read the "Look Inside" portion, it's that easy.

Oh, and P.S. I thought this book was going to be thin, it's not. It's at least 1 inch thick.

I would strongly recommend this to anyone who has a meditation practice. It helps answer many questions one has during actual practice and provides a way to understand how to account for certain hindrances. Very well structured and written. This has helped me in many ways with my practice. Thank you very much.

Eureka !!! Finally a book that explains exactly how Meditation progresses in stages, what problems I can expect to encounter and how they are a sweet sign of progress. The explanations of how the mind works and mind models are revolutionary - with or without practice. Having this map makes Meditation something to look forward to every day! Now I know that 'self-sabotaging' is simply the primitive mind's set up and how meditation and understanding thanks to this book can stop it. From beginners to long-term adept, each stage is explained in great detail - wonderful ! Get the book - it will save you years of disappointment !
Matthew Immergut gives regular lectures bases on the book in NYC, I hope to join a course in the near future.

Culadasa has completely changed the way I approach meditation. I recommend the book for anybody from novice to expert -- his modern road map of the spiritual journey is comprehensive and easy to follow with his clear explanations of the practice.

Having practiced/studied meditation for a bit over a decade to say I've amassed a small library of books on the matter would be an understatement. In recent years I've felt that meditation/presence books have become stale, simply rehashing the same concepts without adding anything to them.

That being said, this book is very different... It's an ice cold drink to a red and parched throat. Few books have tried to label "stages" of meditation, those that do often risk sounding less than credible and the stages themselves are unhelpful. The brilliance of the Mind Illuminated is that the stages are instantly relatable, and the manner of dialogue contained in each chapter lends itself to quick understanding.

In short, regardless of your meditative abilities or goals, this book will prove invaluable.

I had been meditating for a couple of years before reading this book. I got enough from my sessions to continue, but still felt like I didn't really understand on an experiential level why it's so important to meditate. I bought the Kindle version of The Mind Illuminated in December, started reading, and suddenly it felt like the clouds had parted. I quickly gained better understanding of what I was experiencing in meditation, and for the first time got a good idea of how to gauge my experiences in relation to the Buddhist Path. It really strikes me as an excellent manual for travelers on that Path, especially since it sidesteps some of the doctrinal issues that sometimes divide the various schools of Buddhist mediation. Above all, it emphasizes the practical, everyday process of sitting down and taking the time required to examine and comprehend that slippery little fish we call the human mind.

This is definitely the best meditation guide on the market. The author's instructions are both clear and concise. Every stage of the meditation process is perfectly outlined to help you tackle the appropriate obstacles with the appropriate techniques as you continue to develop in your practice. He even provides some very useful illustrations and visual aids to help you understand some of the more obscure workings of the mind. All in all this is hands down the greatest meditation book you could ever own. On a side-note, when you first begin to meditate it's a good idea to take the 1st stage(Establishing the habit of meditation) the most seriously, because it will dictate how fast you develop in your practice. I made the unfortunate mistake of trying to jump the gun too quickly and now find myself starting over again:simply because I didn't want to take the time to properly develop the habit to meditate.

Without a doubt the best book on meditation I have ever read. The practice is broken down into ten stages, each with a goal, anticipated obstacles, the skills needed to overcome them, and the practices to develop those skills. For an analytical person who struggles with the vagueness of most books on this topic, this book has proven to be the last book I will buy on meditation for a long time, perhaps for ever. I have always recommended Mindfulness in Plain English to others seeking guidance. That book is itself a masterwork. Yet this book is far beyond that book in clarity and usefulness. I hope many, many people are able to read it and make significant progress on the path as a result.

All this faux-science is nothing but excessive materialism overlaid on Buddhist concepts. It's sort of sickening.
All these precise instruction and elucidation of every baby step you will take and the effects and the progress
you will make -- what hogwash! Every person must find their own salvation and it is completely unique for
every person. There is no manual like there is for building a cabinet from Ikea! This whole approach is such
a grotesque misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the intention and purpose of meditation and practicing
Buddhism. Folks when you meditate it is about dropping expectation. It is about being in the moment. It is not
a goal-oriented activity. The fruits of your meditation are right there in the moment of your meditation. We are
not progressing from grade 1 through grad school with a set curriculum and expected outcomes. It's just all
so wrong. Buddhism does not need defending by academia or science. The Dalai Lama has put this thing in
motion out of his own insecurity that his Tibetan Buddhism is full of magic and sooth sayers and all sorts of
"non-scientific" filler. If you want science to answer your questions about yourself and the universe, take some
pills. What science knows about the working of the human mind fits in a thimble and will all be in the rubbish bin
of bad science history in fifty years. Buddhism is 2600 years strong. And if you want to learn about the science
of mind and psychology check out Vedanta and go look at the Vedas and the Bhagavad-Gita. There you will
learn something. This stuff here is Marin County pablum to read while you sip your Pumpkin latte after your
hot yoga class and before your mani-pedi.

This book provides a clear path to samatha-vipassana meditators, both novices and advanced practitioners. It describes clearly the goals at each stage of the path and the recommended practices. The description of the mind system provides a good grounding of how samatha-vipassana bhavana does its work and that demystifies the spiritual path. The final chapter reminds the practitioner that full awakening is the goal, no matter how attractive may be the developments from samatha bhavana. Progress in samatha bhavana makes the practitioner more prone to insight and awakening, but strong effort must continue till that awakening itself happens. I found this book very inspiring and it helped me apply further effort to my regular practice.

This is the most complete and helpful guide to meditation I've ever read. It's a landmark work, and I hope that it finds its way into the hands of as many meditators as possible

I should note that I study meditation with Culadasa. However, I initially sought him out as my teacher after encountering an early draft of this book, experimenting with his style of practice, and being blown away. In other words, I don't think the book is amazing because I'm his student. I'm his student because I think the book is amazing.

There are other teachers who approach meditation in stages (from Alan Wallace to the OGs Asanga and Kamalashila), but Culadasa is the only teacher I'm aware of who actually varies his meditation instructions based on the stage you're in. For each stage, he gives you practices that cultivate the qualities you'll need to progress and address the specific hindrances you're likely to encounter.

The degree to which Culadasa addresses potential pitfalls and challenges is impressive and maybe unprecedented. The book isn't just a step-by-step guide, it's a very comprehensive troubleshooting guide and reference manual.

I have actually purchased the book now. It should show me as verified. It is good so far . . . but again it opens with talking about 2+ hours a Regardless of content this still gets a 1 star due to it being more expensive in Kindle form than physical form.

Kindle version is more than physical version. Someone should be ashamed of themselves. Sending me a few MB of data and asking me to pay more than if it has to be made of actual paper, bound, and then shipped around the country is absurd.

I rarely write reviews, but I feel compelled to review the Mind Illuminated. I became interested in mediation this year and found many good books on it, but none as good as the Mind Illuminated. Culadasa details 10 stages with exceptional clarity, from being lost in thought to joyful equanimity. I was around stage 4 when I started reading the Mind Illuminated and have quickly progressed to stage 6 using his concrete advice, and was amazed at how clearly he described my experiences in stages 1–6. That said, this comprehensive book might be too much for a new meditator; I'd suggest starting with Mindfulness in Plain English and meditating for a month or two before using the Mind Illuminated.

After 40 years of meditation practice I could only wonder why I wasn’t taught how to correctly meditate by any of the Zen, Tibetan or Insight teachers that I have studied with. By correct I don’t want to imply that they were doing ”it” wrong, just that I was never offered a clear detailed method where one could monitor what stage meditation they were in and how to adjust their practice accordingly to consistently progress on the contemplative path.
Culadasa and Matthew Immergut have distilled from the earliest Buddhist teachings and later commentaries by Asanga the actual techniques that the Buddha taught and have proven for 2,500 years to create the optimal conditions for awakening. This is the definitive book on meditation; it covers the how to and how come of meditation practice. The authors back ground in neuroscience and psychology translates into a method that is both pragmatic and scientific, that is it works, is verifiable and repeatable. The illuminated mind should be considered to the bible on mediation and a significant milestone in understanding the meditative mind.

Eureka !!! Finally a book that explains exactly how Meditation progresses in stages, what problems I can expect to encounter and how they are a sweet sign of progress. The explanations of how the mind works and mind models are revolutionary - with or without practice. Having this map makes Meditation something to look forward to every day! Now I know that 'self-sabotaging' is simply the primitive mind's set up and how meditation and understanding thanks to this book can stop it. From beginners to long-term adept, each stage is explained in great detail - wonderful ! Get the book - it will save you years of disappointment !
Matthew Immergut gives regular lectures bases on the book in NYC, I hope to join a course in the near future.

I have been meditating for about 5 years and only discovered this book towards the end of 2016. The instructions in this book are hands down the best set of instructions I have gotten. I've gotten better results from a $20 book than I have from $$$$ retreats. The instructions in here are highly detailed, practical, and effective. I've spent almost an entire year working with other jhana books and it was like banging my head against a wall. After I got TMI, I was able to get into a lite jhana after just a month of practice.

The supplemental exercises in the appendix are also extremely useful.

I had explored different methods for buddhist meditation over the last few years. But for me, the lack of capacity hindered the experience. And capacity did not seem to grow for me.

This book has helped turn that around for me. The clear, concise language explains the steps as easily as possible. Yet still I go back over chapters because the information is (for me) best gone back over so I can assimilate the many variables at the stage I'm in.

I could go on, but the plethora of other reviews may sway you as well. This method may not be for everyone. Nothing is. But for me it has literally helped to change my life.

I do not normally write the store reviews. For this book I felt compelled to do so. I have a shelf full of books on the subject of meditation. None compare to this one. There is so much clarity in this book. I highly recommend this book. It is one of the most approachable, intelligent books I have found on this extremely complex subject. It has recharged my practice to a whole new level and overshadows so many other books on this subject. I am buying multiple copies to give to my friends and yoga teachers.

In the world of Buddhism books, it is usually hard to find a book that contains a complete practice under one cover, that isn't a translation of a traditional text. Don't get me wrong im not knocking traditional texts, if you really want to follow a Buddhist path, you really need to be referencing some of them. Which there are many, depending on what you choose to focus on.
But what I do like about this book, and some people knock it because traditionally "labeling" and "following" progress this closely is (and there right) not really what you are suppose to be doing on the Buddhist path.
But, if you are a person like me, that isn't a Buddhist, but incorporate meditation practice, and other areas of Buddhism into their life, then this shouldn't really bother you.
This is a concise guide, that takes you step by step, threw a very complete practice, that if you actually follow the instructions will pay off. Its straightforward, easy to follow, and well written.
The author obviously is very experienced and knowledgeable on the topic and practice and it shows.
Honestly, this is a book that anyone whom wants to start a serious practice, should pick up, especially for us westerners, and especially for westerners that have not had much exposure to eastern philosophy.
Overall great text. I recommend it!

Very clear, readable and inspirational guide to meditation and workings of the mind. Useful for beginners and long time practitioners, this book may very well be an all in one guide to start, sustain and excel at a meditation practice. This book has been immensely helpful to me in my personal meditation practice and in helping me understand the workings of my own mind. Unlike much of the "spiritual" literature, which promises a lot but often delivers vague, impersonal and complex instructions, this book is grounded, systematic and seems to be based on personal experience. Highly recommended.

As others have stated beautifully, this is simply the best, most practical meditation guide that I have ever encountered, but from the traditional primary sources and from modern meditation teachers. It is rather easy to identify where you are on his maps in your practice if you are already a skilled practictioner, but I still found it worth while to go back and stregthen a few skills that I had not mastered at the easier stages.
I was particularly impressed by the clarity of his explanations of the functioning of the mind. The information in the sixth and seventh interludes were especially transformative to me because they recontextualized my practice into something that was more practically helpful and less confusingly mystic. I cannot recommend this book highly enough and I have already convinced my friends to get copies for themselves.

This is the most important piece of work ever published on how to meditate. I've read probably 20 books about learning or how to meditate and this is the most valuable resource, hands down. Wish I had picked this one up first. It's similar to a college textbook in its depth, but with a practicality and readability that makes it accessible to anyone.

This book is truly impressive. Culadasa has done a great service by unraveling a complex, mystifying topic. This book has inspired and encouraged me to undertake a daily meditation practice - something I've tried and failed at for years. I feel grateful to have discovered this transformative book. Clear, kind, practical and understandable. Very highly recommend it.

If you know Culadasa, while reading The Mind Illuminated you’ll no doubt see in your mind’s eye Culadasa’s affectionate visage. Among his co-authors skillful contributions is a careful edit that allows his friendly voice and gentle humor to shine through.

Those who are developing jhana (the meditative absorptions), in particular those who have worked through other textual material, will profit from Culadasa’s straightforward descriptors and explicit instructions.

Christine Johnson
Tucson, AZ

I stumbled upon this book by accident, read description and bought it right away.
It has all I missed in many many meditation book I've read so far.
In short- it provides you with detailed road map of meditation practice development.
On top of this it helps to gain a better understanding on where you are and what are the steps to take.
Highly recommend to anyone interested in meditation!

This book describes meditation techniques based on traditional Buddhist approaches but using very modern language so that 21st century readers can get a good grasp of what this is all about.

The first half of the book has lots of tips for novice meditators which I found helpful.

Excellent book, as someone who want to learn and practice meditation, this is exactly the book I was looking for. Unlike other books which spell all theories, this focus more on the practical side. Guide you step by step all the way from beginner level to expert.

Greatly recommend to anyone who want to learn, explore and practice meditation.

The "The Mind Illuminated" is a very comprehensive book on meditation. Covers all the topics of meditation learning. Along with "The Path of Serenity and Insight" by Bhante H. Gunaratana, "Satipatthana:The Direct Path to Realization" by Analayo and "No River to Cross" by Daehaeng kunsunim, are the best books on Buddha-Dharma.

A precise course in meditating. I used this book as the text book in conjunction with a 6 week (1xper week) meditation course. The book could easily be used alone. I have been meditating for many years, I have had instruction by several long term and wise meditators. this book took me to another level in my meditation. I highly recommend it.

This is easily the most complete, practical, and nuanced guide on meditation I have come across.

Essential.

I have this and The Royal Seal of Mahamudra (another fantastic meditation guide, though more esoteric than this) and I reference both often.

This has given me a whole new perspective about what meditation is. Although I'm not sure I'm dedicated enough to reap the complete benefits of this system, it gives me greater insight into my practice. It's a little expensive, but definitely worth the price.

Undoubtedly the best book on meditation that I have ever read. Clear, coherent, comprehensive and comprehensible. The closest thing to a genuine connect the dots approach that I have ever seen. This book has cleared up areas of confusion that I have talked to others about for years. I am forever grateful.

I would strongly recommend this to anyone who has a meditation practice. It helps answer many questions one has during actual practice and provides a way to understand how to account for certain hindrances. Very well structured and written. This has helped me in many ways with my practice. Thank you very much.

Beautifully written in clear language and easy to follow-even for a complete novice like me.I am really enjoying my meditation practice already! It also provides great insight in how to live a better life day by day.I would recommend it to anyone interested in trying meditation