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Minding Closely: The Four Applications of Mindfulness
“Draws on wisdom from both Theravada and Vajrayana traditions to offer a systematic and practical approach to liberation through mindfulness.” —Jack Kornfield, author of The Wise HeartBringing his experience as a monk, scientist, and contemplative, Alan Wallace offers a rich synthesis of Eastern and Western traditions along with a comprehensive range of mindfulness meditation practices interwoven throughout the text. An ideal reference for both students and teachers, Minding Closely presents the guided meditations systematically, beginning with very basic instructions, which are then gradually built upon as one gains increasing familiarity with the practice. This edition includes a new preface and three never-before-published translations by B. Alan Wallace from three renowned traditional Buddhist works on mindfulness.
369 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 13, 2021
Миний амьдралдаа уншиж байсан хамгийн хэрэгтэй номнуудын нэг байлаа!
Сургуулиа төгсөөд, гайгүй ажил хийгээд, гэр бүлтэй болоод, хүүхдүүдээ өсгөөд, санхүүгийн эрх чөлөөнд хүрээд,... гэх мэтээр амьдралаа эцсийг нь тултал хараад үзвэл ерөөс уйсах сэтгэл, ахуйн аахар шаахар асуудлаас цааш давуулж юмс үзэгдлийн, өөрийнхөө мөн чанарыг харах хүсэл төрдөг юм байна.
Доктор Аленд ч яг ийм сэтгэгдэл төрсний улмаас 70 -аад оноос эхлэн Буддын гүн ухаан, бясалгалыг судлах болжээ.
Сургуулиа төгсөөд, гайгүй ажил хийгээд, гэр бүлтэй болоод, хүүхдүүдээ өсгөөд, санхүүгийн эрх чөлөөнд хүрээд,... гэх мэтээр амьдралаа эцсийг нь тултал хараад үзвэл ерөөс уйсах сэтгэл, ахуйн аахар шаахар асуудлаас цааш давуулж юмс үзэгдлийн, өөрийнхөө мөн чанарыг харах хүсэл төрдөг юм байна.
Доктор Аленд ч яг ийм сэтгэгдэл төрсний улмаас 70 -аад оноос эхлэн Буддын гүн ухаан, бясалгалыг судлах болжээ.
November 16, 2013
A book filled with wonderful insights from a seasoned practitioner. This is not an "introduction to meditation" type book. But if you are looking for some fresh perspectives for your meditation journey, I would highly recommend this book. Wonderful!
May 28, 2022
I'd give this about fourteen stars were that an option. Highly recommend.
Read
February 6, 2022It is a tough and demanding read. It introduces one to a variety of different concepts and foods for thought, inclined more towards the philosophy of consciousness. Also there are too many things in the same book, which makes it a little difficult to grasp and understand the overall theme behind it.
Writing Style
Structure and presentation of content is a bit unclear. Writing is not lucid and demands high concentration, with which it can be quite rewarding. Naming of titles of various sections are vague and don't fit clearly with the overall topics and structure of the book. Sometimes it feels like one is reading unrelated topics not finding any underlying idea or main topic with which to connect.
Not for Beginners
Content is not for beginners. If you are already exposed to various topics then only it becomes a bit satisfying read. You must be a little aware of Tibetan, Mahayana and Theravada Buddhist traditions and their practices, otherwise you will find it hard to connect with the material.
Not just Meditation
The scope is not limited to Buddhist spirituality, but also relates it with Physics, Psychology, Philosophy and Biology. If you are already aware of those ideas then the comparative analysis will be quite helpful for better understanding of Buddhist thought.
The analysis of Experiential or Non Physical concepts is done brilliantly by corelating it with physical or material concepts, to illuminate the absurdity of such attempts. For example, how it is so commonly believed in western society that what can't be seen must not be real. Similarly the idea that mind and brain are one and the same thing. Many such ideas are brilliantly analyzed and busted.
"If we limit ourselves to studying physical phenomenon, we are sure to find that only physical phenomenon exist."
"I have met scientists who say, "My Mind is scattered, My memory's shot, and I can't focus my attention". They might be excellent scientists, but their minds are far out of balance."
Buddhism and Meditations
Biggest learning from this book is the repeated emphasis on not mistaking 'Samadhi' as a goal, but to see it as a necessary step towards Liberation, insufficient in itself.
There are enough guided meditations along with a set of empirical questions to keep one occupied for many many years. Few guided meditations are too advanced, and most of them have been described using difficult words, which makes the whole thing more complex and one feels the need of a teacher or a Guide. (no pun intended)
Even though the style of writing is modern and contemporary, it still refrains from doing what is most commonly done in the modern books on Meditation, that is to put Meditation out of context of Buddha-Dharma framework. On the contrary this book first sets up the framework first, before going into Mindfulness and Meditation practices.
"You may pursue peace in a meditative retreat by practicing Shamatha, but the practice of Vipashyana is an expedition in the pursuit of freedom."
Critique of Modern Scientific Outlook
Reading about Wheeler Information theory and its relationship with the way science looks at the world around us was a revelation and also a kid of disillusionment from Scientific way of understanding the world and our place in it.
A very basic understanding that "What our observation reveals, depends on the mode of observation" can be quite liberating. Think about it!
"The mind of the observer can never be separated from the observation to yield a completely objective result."
Interesting Quotes from the Book
"The moment you focus awareness upon the desire itself, the desire has passed, because you are no longer attending to the object of desire."
"Waking experience is dream experience with physical constraints, while dream experience is waking experience without physical constraints"
"Feelings do not have absolute, inherent tonality. Whenever we experience a feeling, it manifests relative to the context of feelings that have preceded it."
"There is no absolute demarcation between thoughts and feelings; they arise concomitantly and interdependently. "
Writing Style
Structure and presentation of content is a bit unclear. Writing is not lucid and demands high concentration, with which it can be quite rewarding. Naming of titles of various sections are vague and don't fit clearly with the overall topics and structure of the book. Sometimes it feels like one is reading unrelated topics not finding any underlying idea or main topic with which to connect.
Not for Beginners
Content is not for beginners. If you are already exposed to various topics then only it becomes a bit satisfying read. You must be a little aware of Tibetan, Mahayana and Theravada Buddhist traditions and their practices, otherwise you will find it hard to connect with the material.
Not just Meditation
The scope is not limited to Buddhist spirituality, but also relates it with Physics, Psychology, Philosophy and Biology. If you are already aware of those ideas then the comparative analysis will be quite helpful for better understanding of Buddhist thought.
The analysis of Experiential or Non Physical concepts is done brilliantly by corelating it with physical or material concepts, to illuminate the absurdity of such attempts. For example, how it is so commonly believed in western society that what can't be seen must not be real. Similarly the idea that mind and brain are one and the same thing. Many such ideas are brilliantly analyzed and busted.
"If we limit ourselves to studying physical phenomenon, we are sure to find that only physical phenomenon exist."
"I have met scientists who say, "My Mind is scattered, My memory's shot, and I can't focus my attention". They might be excellent scientists, but their minds are far out of balance."
Buddhism and Meditations
Biggest learning from this book is the repeated emphasis on not mistaking 'Samadhi' as a goal, but to see it as a necessary step towards Liberation, insufficient in itself.
There are enough guided meditations along with a set of empirical questions to keep one occupied for many many years. Few guided meditations are too advanced, and most of them have been described using difficult words, which makes the whole thing more complex and one feels the need of a teacher or a Guide. (no pun intended)
Even though the style of writing is modern and contemporary, it still refrains from doing what is most commonly done in the modern books on Meditation, that is to put Meditation out of context of Buddha-Dharma framework. On the contrary this book first sets up the framework first, before going into Mindfulness and Meditation practices.
"You may pursue peace in a meditative retreat by practicing Shamatha, but the practice of Vipashyana is an expedition in the pursuit of freedom."
Critique of Modern Scientific Outlook
Reading about Wheeler Information theory and its relationship with the way science looks at the world around us was a revelation and also a kid of disillusionment from Scientific way of understanding the world and our place in it.
A very basic understanding that "What our observation reveals, depends on the mode of observation" can be quite liberating. Think about it!
"The mind of the observer can never be separated from the observation to yield a completely objective result."
Interesting Quotes from the Book
"The moment you focus awareness upon the desire itself, the desire has passed, because you are no longer attending to the object of desire."
"Waking experience is dream experience with physical constraints, while dream experience is waking experience without physical constraints"
"Feelings do not have absolute, inherent tonality. Whenever we experience a feeling, it manifests relative to the context of feelings that have preceded it."
"There is no absolute demarcation between thoughts and feelings; they arise concomitantly and interdependently. "
February 17, 2025
This authoritative and carefully mapped-out guidebook seeks to help the Buddhist meditator through the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.
In a series of 34 guided meditations, the author takes the student from the zero point of an introduction to mindfulness meditation, on through the vipashyana practices usually called the Four Foundations of Mindfulness but in this work more fittingly referred to as the Four Applications or Four Close Applications of Mindfulness--for this is what the student is actually doing: applying mindfulness to the task of examining the elements of experience. The Four Foundations--Mindfulness of Body, Mindfulness of Feeling, Mindfulness of Mind, and Mindfulness of Dharmas or Phenomena--constitute a journey of progressively more subtle investigations into the nature of experience, and in this work, thanks to the author's Vajrayana training, they take the student all the way to the threshold of Dzogchen, the highest practice of all and the end of the road.
The author has spent decades studying and practicing under some of the world's greatest Buddhist masters, including the Dalai Lama, so he writes with great authority. I've been a Buddhist since 1987 and have made a few attempts to study and practice the Four Foundations, but this text has reminded me of my beginner status. I'm working my way carefully through the guided meditations, and I'm finding them very helpful. Very gradually I feel like I'm starting to "get" the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, and this text has done more than any other to give me that feeling.
Although this text starts from what I have called the zero point, I don't really think it's for total beginners to meditation. The Foundations themselves, being a vipashyana practice, require a preceding grounding in mindfulness meditation, or shamatha. This text does provide that grounding in the first 8 meditations, so you could use this text as your mindfulness guide, and just stick with those first 8 until you're ready to move on. Otherwise, you might consider another work devoted to mindfulness, and here you would do well to read The Attention Revolution, Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind by the same author--also excellent.
For the serious student of meditation, this book is about as good as it gets. It's already making a difference in my own practice, and I'm sure it will in yours as well.
In a series of 34 guided meditations, the author takes the student from the zero point of an introduction to mindfulness meditation, on through the vipashyana practices usually called the Four Foundations of Mindfulness but in this work more fittingly referred to as the Four Applications or Four Close Applications of Mindfulness--for this is what the student is actually doing: applying mindfulness to the task of examining the elements of experience. The Four Foundations--Mindfulness of Body, Mindfulness of Feeling, Mindfulness of Mind, and Mindfulness of Dharmas or Phenomena--constitute a journey of progressively more subtle investigations into the nature of experience, and in this work, thanks to the author's Vajrayana training, they take the student all the way to the threshold of Dzogchen, the highest practice of all and the end of the road.
The author has spent decades studying and practicing under some of the world's greatest Buddhist masters, including the Dalai Lama, so he writes with great authority. I've been a Buddhist since 1987 and have made a few attempts to study and practice the Four Foundations, but this text has reminded me of my beginner status. I'm working my way carefully through the guided meditations, and I'm finding them very helpful. Very gradually I feel like I'm starting to "get" the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, and this text has done more than any other to give me that feeling.
Although this text starts from what I have called the zero point, I don't really think it's for total beginners to meditation. The Foundations themselves, being a vipashyana practice, require a preceding grounding in mindfulness meditation, or shamatha. This text does provide that grounding in the first 8 meditations, so you could use this text as your mindfulness guide, and just stick with those first 8 until you're ready to move on. Otherwise, you might consider another work devoted to mindfulness, and here you would do well to read The Attention Revolution, Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind by the same author--also excellent.
For the serious student of meditation, this book is about as good as it gets. It's already making a difference in my own practice, and I'm sure it will in yours as well.
July 29, 2014
An open letter of sorts to any who are suffering as I suffered: I hope that my experience might lessen your suffering or wipe it away. Taking care of my mother before she died, wading moment by moment through the sorrow as she died before my eyes in hospice, I held dear the insights and techniques I gathered from this book. It aided me in my care-giving. I has aided me in the aftermath - plumbing the depths of my sorrow, examining it, working through it. It has helped me with the rest of my life, examining past relationships and understanding them better - gaining peace concerning them. It has helped me to understand better the relationships I have had with the various parts of myself...and, not to sound too pretentious, my Self and my non-self.
To any similarly afflicted, I wish that your heart's desire become manifest and bring you only contentment and fulfillment; may you be peaceful and happy, light in body and spirit; may you be safe, healthy and free from injury; may you be free from all afflictions, fear, anger and anxiety.
To any similarly afflicted, I wish that your heart's desire become manifest and bring you only contentment and fulfillment; may you be peaceful and happy, light in body and spirit; may you be safe, healthy and free from injury; may you be free from all afflictions, fear, anger and anxiety.
September 26, 2016
I just finished reading Minding Closely, the four Applications of Mindfulness. I am deeply impressed by the book and consider it, subject-wise, one of the best I have read so far. It is very practical and at the same time packed with deep inside. If I only could keep one of my many books I would keep that one.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews