Don't Look Down on the Defilements: They Will Laugh At You

by Ashin Tejaniya

Don’t look Down on the Defilements contains guidance on understanding mental defilements, establishing right attitude, the right effort of continuity, the mind work of meditation, working with pain, posture, sounds and the wandering of the mind and the development of wisdom. Lots of food for thought to support your practice.

Genres: Buddhism, Meditation, Philosophy

193 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Hanhnguyen_94 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This belongs to the series of Mindfulness practicing method written by Ashin Tejaniya. It is well illustrated with clear example and explanation that made me understand more about what and how to practice mindfulness, especially in daily life. I like the sense of humor that Master Tejaniya use to approach Meditation. It makes me feel like meditation is easy to practice (even though it's not that easy) and interesting.

[Olivier Goetgeluck · Rating 4 out of 5]

You are not practicing to prevent thinking, but rather to recognize and acknowledge thinking whenever it arises.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit repetitive, but a fun and informative look at how to build or develop a meditation practice.

[Johan Kwok · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't help but judge the moralistic tone of this book's title and the "weird looking" cover kinda put me off too. Nevertheless, this is a prequel to "Awareness is not Enough" , the one that I actually wanted to read(because of a quoted text that resonated in me in"Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening" by Joseph Goldstein), so I felt compelled to read the whole series from the start.

Surprise surprise, it was good. I liked the straightforward format of short tips and advices, it was a nice breather from the overly theoretical tone from Goldstein's book. The random pictures that at first bothered me(frequency and the Manichaean view of good/bad), became sort of funny by the end.

This book shone more light to the variety of the mindfulness practice, which is something that I think I'm coming to grips with more recently. Like, every master or tradition or school has their own views, so there's no need to worry so much about the "universal truth". I'll just do it my way, always listening to what they have to say, but ultimately doing what seems particularly good to me.

Main takeaways for me:
- Relaxation first, don't force it otherwise you won't get far
- Permission to aim for mindfulness the whole day, but not in a strenuous way
- Discipline(right effort, information, attitude) like a solid structured to glue everything together
- Simplicity of the practice
- Everything could be an object, something to sprinkle the magical mindfulness powder on(that's the important part)
- Cycle of faith, effort, mindfulness, stability of mind, understanding, faith.

[Nguyen Harley Phuong · Rating 5 out of 5]

learn to be calm, perceive the negative emotions with neutral approach with ultimate goal is becoming mindful. the way he explains terms is so simple but everyone feels relatable. the rats’ illustration is funny also. I got it from a friend who joined the monk’s meditation course. It is pretty short but it takes me some time to read to think and reflect his message.

[Billy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good explanation of mindfulness

[Pragthika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, its a pretty decent book. The general rules were good to ponder on.

[Jussi Rosti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, gentle and wise 😊

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first reviewed this book over 7 years ago. I recently read it again after reading a review on Goodreads.com that framed it as a less dense version of the book "When Awareness Becomes Natural" by the same author.

It is not a complete book, it is part of a series (ashintejaniya.org/teachings) so it is not suitable for beginners. People familiar with insight (vipassana) meditation, why it is done, and how it ties into Buddhism will find it to be a delightful quick start guide to continuous awareness. Continuous awareness is applying mindfulness all day long. It is what Thich Nhat Hanh described

[Siska · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent read, meditation explained in easy terms, complemented with smart illustrations. The approach is somewhat new and different from traditional vipassana.

I am not sure whether this is something suitable for beginners, but anyone would still benefit from the teaching, whether now or later. Highly recommended.