Hacker News Comments on
The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science
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All the comments and stories posted to Hacker News that reference this book.A pragmatic guide, that's been mentioned on HN a few times, is 'The Mind Illuminated' [0]. The subreddit [1] is a great resource as well.[0] https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Complete-Meditation-...
Do you consider this book to be snake oil?https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Complete-Meditation-...
For anyone put off by the more esoteric stuff written on the topic, I'd recommend Sam Harris (as mentioned here already), Shinzen Young, but above all, Culadasa. He's a professor of Neuroscience and _very_ accomplished meditator. He's written THE definite book on meditation that uses models of the mind originating from both neuroscience and most noble meditation traditions.https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Complete-Meditation-...
It's suitable both for beginners and advanced practitioners as it describes the progress of the practice in 10 very clearly described stages.
For those that don't yet have enough motivation, I'd second the Headspace app created by a former Thibetan Buddhist monk. It's really well made and contains a number of different meditation techniques provided in a guided meditation format.
Still, I'd switch to the Culadasa book and unassisted practice as soon as you start grasping the benefits you're getting from meditation and your motivation increases.
⬐ avtarI was hoping someone would mention Culadasa's book. I've been practicing for years and recently read this book. There were so many instances where I stopped and thought "I so wish I had read this ages ago." He covers so many nuances of practice, it's quite remarkable.
"The Mind Illuminated" ( https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Complete-Meditation-... ) is very good, and contains all you need for your practice.The author is both a long term meditator and used to be a neuroscience professor. The book teaches meditation in a stage by stage way which is very easy to follow.
Another excellent book is "Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond: A Meditator's Handbook" (https://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Bliss-Beyond-Meditators-H...).
I recommend The Mind Illuminated by John Yates. It's a brilliant book, see the reviews on amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0990847705/).
There are actually some wholesome mental states that are conducive to concentration. The most notorious are piti (translated as rapture, joy) and sukha (content, pleasure). Listen to this guy, may be useful http://dharmatreasure.org/piti-joy/ (his superb book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0990847705 ).
For anyone on HN seriously interested in this topic, I would wholeheartedly recommend the recently published "The Mind Illuminated" book written by Culadasa, professor of neuroscience and a _very_ accomplished meditator. [ http://www.amazon.com/dp/0990847705 ]For all the other commenters asking why Mindfulness and Concentration are used as technical terms - that's because they correspond to Sati and Samadhi - terms in Pali used by the Buddha.
One of the takeaways of the book mentioned above is that concentration is NOT a state of being concentrated on a single object. It's a state of unification of the mind that persists regardless of its current object. The other important information (obvious for any serious meditator) is that, once reached, it DOESN'T require lot of force to sustain. On the contrary - it's a much more energy efficient mode of functioning. That's why in the 4th Jhana (one of the most advanced states of concentration) the breath completely subsides. It wouldn't be possible if it required so much force. BTW it doesn't mean that the oxygen intake stops completely as there's still some absorption caused by the air diffusion in the lungs and through the skin (cutaneous respiration).
Again, I really recommend the book by Culadasa for anyone even remotely interested. It's amazing from theoretical point of view and even more concerning meditation practice.
⬐ pwmThis.There is a clear shift when you enter jhana. I think a good analogy would be when you suddenly clearly see the 3d image in an autostereogram, or when you manage to tune a radio and suddenly there is no white noise.
⬐ zuck9⬐ avtarDo you speak from experience?Thanks for the book recommendation, I'll definitely check it out.Shaila Catherine has written a couple of books on the topic of jhanas. Her most recent one is a meditation manual which covers insight meditation practice as well. It would make for a great companion on long retreats.
⬐ aaimnrThanks, it's on my kindle as well (haven't finished it yet though).As I see it, Culadasa is better suited both for general audience and for those more scientifically inclined - that's why it seems to be ideal fit for HNers. It also seems to be much more ambitious, systematic work (it's his opus magnum). Probably Shaila's books target more advanced meditators - that's not to say Culadasa is just for beginners.
⬐ pwmI have read Focused and Fearless from her. Some topics are indeed geared towards more seasoned practitioners, nevertheless it is a great book with a wealth of information that helps deeper understanding. Highly recommended.⬐ aaimnrI've seen a lot of praise about this one and I'm wondering whether it's worth reading it after Wisdom Wide and Deep (great titles btw :) or is the most important material from F&F repeated in the second one as well.