Umijeće meditacije : Zašto meditirati? O čemu? Kako?

by Matthieu Ricard, Ivan Fosin (Translator)

Knjiga upućuje čitatelja na razloge za meditaciju, o temama meditacije i metodama meditacije koje pomažu razviti pažnju, emocionalnu ravnotežu, altruizam i unutarnji mir. Meditacija, tvrdi autor, također smanjuje tjeskobu, osjetljivost na bol, sklonost depresiji i srdžbi, jačanju imunološkog sustava i općeg zadovoljstva.

Genres: Nonfiction, Buddhism, Meditation, Spirituality, Philosophy, Self Help, Religion

124 pages, Paperback

First published October 2, 2008

About the author

Matthieu Ricard, a Buddhist monk, trained as a molecular biologist before moving to Nepal to study Buddhism. He is the author of The Monk and the Philosopher (with his father, Jean-François Revel); The Quantum and the Lotus (with Trinh Thuan); Happiness; The Art of Meditation; Altruism: The Power of Compassion; A Plea for the Animals; and Beyond the Self: Conversations between Buddhism and Neuroscience (with Wolf Singer). He has published several books of photography, including Motionless Journey and Tibet: An Inner Journey, and is the French interpreter for the Dalai Lama.

Reviews

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been meditating for years and periodically I ask myself, "Why?" Why do I spend this time every day just sitting and breathing? What do I hope to get out of this?

I decided to look for a book that discussed this issue and checked Goodreads and the library. And of course I found this book.

And, yes, this book gave me excellent reasons to continue meditating as well as suggesting some specific meditations to do in addition to the ones I already practice.

I knew the reasons before I read this but hearing them articulated as clearly and powerfully as they are here was helpful. I feel inspired and return to my practice with renewed energy and commitment.

[Vui Lên · Rating 4 out of 5]

Là một nhà sư từ Phương Tây nên cách viết của Matthieu rất thuyết phục và dễ hiểu.

Tuy vậy cuốn này không hợp lắm với các bạn chưa biết gì về thiền. Cuốn 8 phút thiền thì sẽ là hợp hơn.

Cuốn này dành cho những bạn đã quen với việc thiền đều đặn mỗi ngày. Đọc sách sẽ thêm nhiều góc nhìn, nhiều kĩ thuật thiền để tham khảo và áp dụng.

Hơi tiếc là sách mỏng, mình phải đi mò thêm về tác giả để đọc những cuốn sách khác mà bác ấy đã viết. Tình cờ tìm được Bàn về cách sống mình rất thích, vừa hay cuốn Vượt qua cái tôi của bác cũng vừa ra mắt.

[Ruxandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite basic. Lots of words and metaphors but the book doesn't feel convincing. I would've expected something else. I guess I prefer other approaches in explaining the usefulness of such practices.

[Nuno R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Presented in a generous and helpful way. It is a very good way to realize the potential for transformation that resides within. Matthieu Ricard took his experience and focus on sharing what he knows and created a book that is a very clear and insightful starting guide. The way he constructed this guide made it, from the start, a good structure and meditation inspiration, with thoughts and teachings from the great masters. This can become the guide for the first weeks of getting into mindfullness based meditation, or getting to know more about the subject, or just getting to understand the reasons for seeking something like meditation. And it is so full of precious teachings and inspiration that it can be nearby for the coming years, and keep you good company. If you already know who Matthieu Ricard is, then you know why this is one of the best practical introductions to the theme you can get. And done as a generous act for those who want to alleviate their suffering and the suffering of others.

[ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧D'Livresﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Très bon livre rempli d'humour et de bienveillance.
Ma review sur youtube
⏭️⏭️ https://youtu.be/LBDoeP9nKJc

[Rif A. Saurous · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful little book, short and lucid. I recommend it to people who are considering starting a meditation practice, or to people who have been meditating for a few months and want a nice perspective. This can't be your only book; I highly doubt you could base a serious practice entirely on the "how to" advice in this book, which in turn implies Ricard could have cut a lot of that and made an even shorter book, although perhaps then it would have been too short to sell? But if you're not sure why you'd *want* to meditate beyond basic ideas of "stress and anxiety reduction", this is a great read. I especially appreciated the clear treatment of topics like the interplay between thoughts and emotions, and how it is not the case that a goal of meditation is to "suppress" emotions.

For a one-book-to-rule them all, I continue to recommend "The Mind Illuminated", but that will take you a lifetime to read and this will take you a couple hours, so this has its place.

[Lee Broderick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite simply, this is not what I was looking for. This is not a guide to meditation, an explanation of meditation or an examination of meditation. It is a guide to Buddhist meditation. If that's what you're looking for then this may be the perfect book for you but if you're looking for anything more general then it really isn't.

[Ali Hussein · Rating 3 out of 5]

This books got more meditations than a Chinese has dollars. Not a bad book. Perhaps would be better for beginners of meditation. Therefore I’d have been better off reading this 6 months ago. Good tips though and insights on meditation. Probably give it to my NOOB friends like Lakhan and Jamie. Elton the square head cunt ain’t even worthy to be classed as a NOOB so he’s off the list.

[Sandra Candal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mi nuevo libro de cabecera ya! Si quieres iniciarte en la meditación, es todo un clásico que tener a mano para consultar y releer una y otra vez. Me encanta, de nuevo, la sencillez del estilo de Matthieu Ricard para explicarnos un proceso tan filosófico, largo y complicado. ❤️

[H.A. Leuschel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un livre magnifique à lire et à relire!
L'auteur souligne que la méditation n'est pas un moyen d'échapper à la réalité mais au contraire une manière de nous faire voir la réalité telle qu'elle est. Ensuite, avec détermination et persévérance, c'est une maîtrise qui peut nous libérer et le livre offre une panolies de sources d'inspiration pour y arriver.

[Bunly · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a complete guide to meditation, an act to calm our mind and free it from massive floods of thoughts. The book explains two types of mediation in Buddhism, Shamatha and Vipashyana. In Sangkrit, the first technique is used to seek “peaceful state of mind”, whereas the later aimed to “liberate the mind” to a deeper insight. Metaphorically, they could be used to calm the lake or sea in order to see what beneath her ground. A powerful idea I learnt from the book is that we have no power to stop thoughts coming to us; however, they neither have power to remain or evolve in our heads unless we cling to them. We could acknowledge their presence and let them go by focusing on what we are doing right now. It is simple but powerful to keep serenity in our mind. Recommended.

[Hákon Gunnarsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a short book, with bibliography it reaches 191 pages, but Ricard manages to make it seem bigger than it is. I think it is a pretty good book for anyone interested in meditation. It goes into why, and how of meditation, and does it in an interesting manner.

There are only a few places where I think it might have been better thought out, but all in all a good book. This is the first book, but probably not the last that I read by Matthieu Ricard. He’s a good writer.

[Anthony Louis Garavito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente libro! De uno de los autores más admirables que conozco! Experto en el arte de la meditación! Nos enseña que podemos controlar nuestros pensamientos y emociones y como consecuencia mejorar nuestra vida y convertirnos en un gran ser humano!. La meditación como todo arte, lleva tiempo y esfuerzo, como tocar un instrumento, aprender un idioma. Pero sus frutos son vitalicios y nos evitan caer en los venenos mentales, como los celos, ira, depresión, ansiedad. Etc.

[Ellison · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a novice I found the first 1/3 of the book useful. The last 2/3 too full of, to me, meaningless phrases: 'rest in state of perfect equilibrium' etc.

[Bá Lý · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75*

Cuốn sách dễ thương này với tựa Việt là “Thực hành thiền định” của Matthieu Ricard, một cuốn sách mỏng, nhẹ nhưng vẫn khá đầy đủ về thiền và các cách để thực hành thiền.

Tuy vậy, cuốn sách này sẽ không phù hợp với các bạn mới bắt đầu thiền vì các vấn đề được đề cập đến trong sách khá khó. Sách sẽ phù hợp hơn với những bạn đã thiền được một thời gian, đọc để tham khảo thêm về các góc nhìn, phương pháp khác về thiền!

[Mark Desrosiers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book on how meditation can change the understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Meditation is something that you can carry around with you and refer to the experiences at any time of the day. Being aware of the breath is the bridge between the body and the mind. Many beginning meditators say they cannot still the mind long enough to focus on the breath, but just being aware of your thoughts, letting them go and bringing your focus back on the breath over and over again is what meditation is all about.

[Alberto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Si buscas un acercamiento a la meditación desde el punto budista o un buen recurso que puedas consultar cuando te asalten dudas respecto a que propone dicho camino, totalmente recomendado.
Eso sí mencionar que para ver las piezas encajar mejor según lees, no está de más tener cierta base de conocimiento o experiencia sobre el tema.

[Anita Lopes · Rating 4 out of 5]

it delivers its purpose. Nothing special. But maybe what makes it special is how simple it is.

[Gary Pointon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll let you know after i put it into practice a fair bit

[Lusem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Passionnant

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not all aspects of Buddhist philosophy are for everyone (including me), this is a clearly written, accessible introduction to the Buddhist method. It was refreshing to read something on this topic which emphasised developing compassion for others as opposed to the standard self-help perspective.

[Luis José Sánchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buen libro para acercarse a la meditación y empezar a ponerla en práctica.

[MAZEAU Loïc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind-changer guide to be kept and read multiple times.

[Etienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intéressant pour les débutants. Offre un tour du sujet simple et accessible aux néophytes. Par contre, j'aurais aimé une plus grande réflexion philosophique, au final, il s'agit plutôt d'un guide pratique sous forme d'introduction à la méditation. Sans être mauvais, clairment pas ce que je cherchais, et un peu terne.

[Armando Espinoza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sought help when my depression was getting too much to bear and nothing else seemed to be working. After some research, I stumbled upon meditation again, and I say that since I used to "meditate" during Tae-Kwon-Do classes when I was a kid. I figured it'd at least get me back in touch with it, as I do remember it helping.

I was amazed by the sheer amount of instruction this book contains. Matthieu Ricard makes a complete effort that addresses basically any question a beginner may have with what meditation is and how it works. First, he describes the practical ways (backed by scientific studies) it helps. Then, he gets more into the spiritual side, how it's supposed to work, and what you're supposed to do and expect. He does an excellent job putting a complicated thing like meditation into layman's terms without having it lose any of its deep meaning. He even includes some figures and examples to keep you on the right path (even if you haven't done it before) and make sure that you understand what meditation is.

The interesting thing is that I've taken real meditation classes as of recent in well-known places such as Tibet House and I'm pleased to say that everything they teach in these classes are basically the same principles the book has. I never thought a book could teach something so well. If you don't have access to classes, this is almost as good (or even the same in my opinion). If you follow the book and practice, you can also get Tibet House quality instruction. Fear not, for this is the real deal, but the book makes it so easy a caveman can do it. The CD (that comes with the hard copy of the book) is a nice recap of the teaching of the book and functions like an audiobook, so you can take it anywhere you want to meditate.

I wound up buying this book more than once for some of my friends when they needed help going through some tough times like I have. I find it as one of the best "self-help" books out there in order to find your true happiness.

[Antonio · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a brief and concise description of the main type of meditative practices in Tibetan Buddhism. I am a practitioner with less than a year of being inmersed in Tibetan Buddhism, and have a prior three-year experience in and out in meditation.

So I had been exposed by teachings and readings, attending to meditation retreats, and there have been a numerous meditative practice instructions, some detailed to some extent and others that I have just heard but not being trained for. Still, I consider myself a beginner, with lots of information, some transmission and eager to learn and practice more.

In my point of view, this book is very valuable, since it is a quick reference to the practices I had learned before. I guess people that have some understanding of Tibetan Buddhism might see the book in the same way.

For other people, that are unfamiliar or have little experience with meditation, I think it is a good introduction of the different meditation practices in Buddhism. Although this is based mainly on Tibetan Buddhism practices, it overlaps with other traditions, like Theravada traditions. Even quotes of Mindfulness in Plain English were used, in the Theravada tradition. This book is a very good manual on how to practice mindfulness meditation, it is very clear and concise.

The explanations in Why Meditate are very simple, and the sweet way of expressing from Matthieu Ricard is transmited in his words. Look up his TED talk on happiness, it is marvelous.

[Marta Pestana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super practical. Will read it continuously!

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book I will read again and again. Matthieu Ricard is a Buddhist monk and his guide to meditation is very practical and written with a secular reader in mind. Ricard is also involved in the Mind and Life Institute, (http://www.mindandlife.org/) dedicated to the collaboration between Buddhism and modern science. Universities such as Princeton, Harvard and Berkeley are conducting intensive studies on meditation and its long-and short-term effects on the brain (page 21) and Ricard himself has been a subject of such studies.

Ricard defines meditation, suggests what one should meditate on and explains how to meditate. He includes exercises, inspiring extracts from learned writers on meditation and a detailed bibliography, citing Buddhist and scientific sources.

In his acknowledgements, Ricard refers to his "lack of natural literary talent". He is being too modest. Ricard writes simply and elegantly and no one could ask for more than that.

[Chloe (thelastcolour) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been curious about meditation and the effects that it has had, and continues to have, on people's lives. As someone who suffers from both anxiety and depression I have sought natural and non-medical approaches to help myself live with this illness. This book was both thorough and thought-provoking without it completely bombarding me with religion and extremely technical terms. I found that it was relatively easy to grasp the concepts that Ricard wanted the reader to take away from this book. I look forward to exploring this particular aspect of the spiritual world further and hope that it will provide some sort of comfort for me. I will most definitely keep an open mind when it comes to meditation and will seek apps that provide a guided approach. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a certain curiosity about how to approach meditation and the possible effects it will have on both you and the people who are close to you.

[Kaberoi Rua · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art of meditation is a great short read for those seeking more knowledge on meditation and/or learning to meditate for the first time. The author answers the why meditate, what to meditate on, and the how to meditate. He covers all the benefits of meditation and a basic meditative posture. As someone who has experienced meditation over the last year and actively attempting to awaken my kundalini energy and chakras I felt this book was geared more for beginners or those contemplating meditation. I was thinking I could learn a few more meditative tactics but this book is very basic and not written for those who have experience meditating.