Close to the Ground: Reflections on the Seven Factors of Enlightenment

by Geri Larkin

After all the bliss and generalized euphoria we might experience along our spiritual path, what’s left are the karmic knots of conditioning that still need unraveling. Untying them is the work of spiritual warriors—that is, all of us. The seven factors of enlightenment are a grease to loosen them, all the while keeping us upright in our mindfulness, the investigation of phenomena, energetic effort, ease, joy, concentration, and equanimity.

In Close to the Ground , longtime Buddhist teacher Geri Larkin uses stories from her own life to share some of the gifts that these factors bring. Because she refuses to be anything special, her stories are all of our stories, her humor, all of our humor, her heartbreaks, all of our heartbreaks. In this book, readers discover (or rediscover) that they have many more tools available to help with this work of "life and death" than they realized.

Genres: Spirituality

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Rick Weber]

This book provides good insight into Buddhism. I've read a lot of this before, and, despite my underlining and review of what I've read in different books, I keep forgetting, when I find myself in stressful situations, to practice what I've learned, so repetitive review from new perspectives, like this book, is helpful. The book ends by asking, "Where do I need to focus?" I've decided to focus on the factor of "ease," which means simply enjoying the passage of time, which should hopefully help me find the factor of "joy," which is the sweet feeling that everything is OK.

[Cherie]

Larkin goes step by step over the seven factors of enlightenment, sharing stories, anecdotes, and advice. While I doubt I'm close to enlightenment anytime soon, this book helps me live to be a better person.

[M]

read

[Lisa]

I didn't love it as much as I have loved her previous books (Stumbling Toward Enlightenment especially), but she is a great writer with an interesting perspective. Her stuff is well worth the time.

[Louisa Punt-Fouché]

Lived experience

Geri Larkin writes from a place of experience and practice and has acquired a deep, deceptively simple way of participating with the world.