How to Meditate: A Practical Guide

by Kathleen McDonald (Sangye Khadro), Robina Courtin (Editor)

What is meditation? Why practice it? Which techniques are best? How do I do it? The answers to these often-asked questions are contained in this down-to-earth book, making it of enormous value for anyone who wishes to begin and maintain a meditation practice. Written by a Western Buddhist nun with solid experience in both the practice and teaching of meditation, How to Meditate contains a wealth of practical advice on a variety of authentic techniques, from what to do with our minds, to how to sit, to visualizations and other traditional practices. Best of all, McDonald’s approach is warm and encouraging. The next best thing to personal instruction!

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

269 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 1984

Reviews

[Meghan Oona · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is the 1st ever meditation book that i really engaged with. it's basic yet transformative in a very clear way. i first read it at age 16, and continue to use it, many years later :)

[Dawn Lennon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was wonderful to find a "how to" book that captured both concept and practice in a clear, process-based format. Yes, you read this book, learning how to meditate (the steps and practices) and why it's important to your health on so many levels.

What struck me was how McDonald, an American Buddhist nun, was able to communicate the precepts of meditation for everyone, no matter what their faith, spiritual level, or current "need" state. She explains the benefits of mediation in the context of overcoming the negatives that can consume us (anger, anxiety, fear), demonstrating them as misconceptions and delusions. Her perspectives offer an about-face for our own thinking.

Key to mediation is the awareness that the mind (which doesn't exist anywhere in us physically and which it not the brain) is always on the move, doing whatever it senses as its focus at the moment. Meditation begins a process where we develop more control over what the mind is doing, as a way to reclaim the positives in our lives. This I found fascinating and helpful.

This is a book that serves as a companion, an easy resource to revisit as a meditation beginner or as someone advanced. There is plenty of material on Buddhism, including types of meditations and prayers. So it runs the gamut, while providing a clear foundation and understanding for those who wanted to get started like me.

[Sister Dharma Gettin · Rating 5 out of 5]

"How to Meditate: A Practical Guide" is a must read for anyone who is interested in becoming the master of their own mind! It's down to earth language complements the book's easy to follow instructions and clear, understandable explanations. A comprehensive manual for the beginner meditator, and likewise, extremely valuable for the experienced, as well. Upon reading, this book will quickly become and essential title in your spiritual library.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to meditate is more than a practical guide. Shows why and how to get benefits from meditation on simple steps. True has many options (exercises) as read before on others people reviews.

Is full of motivational wisdom and enlightenment. How to achieve positive aspects of mind, healthy balance, and so on.

Explains how to change from negative to positive emotions, with daily routines until get a solid habit. Really helpful book! Definitely can help to increase personal awareness.

[Oz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent and approachable introduction to meditation. It really is A Practical Guide that you can revisit anytime. Highly recommended for anyone exploring the topic for the first time.

[Tushar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good guide for the beginners.

[Michael Sweeney · Rating 5 out of 5]

My go-to meditation guide. This book has been a constant companion for the past 20 years, within easy reach from my meditation cushion.

[Charmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highlights:
1. We have to accept our positivity as well as our negative traits, and determine to nourish the good and transform or eliminate the bad aspects of our character. Free ourselves from ignorance, self-cherishing, and all negative energy in order to help others.

2. The greatest benefit this life can bring is the chance for spiritual development, transformation of your mind. Any devotion we do cultivate will be appropriate and productive, not a waste of energy.

3. DEATH: How we live our life inevitable affects how we die. If we live peacefully we will die with peace, but if we fail to take death into consideration and thus fail to prepare for it, we are likely to die with fear and regret—states of mind that will only compound our suffering. We should aim to die at peace with ourselves feeling good about how we lived our life and not leaving behind any unresolved conflicts with people.

4. MEANINGFUL LIFE: The only things that will truly benefit us at the time of death are the imprints left by our development of love, wisdom, peace, compassion and other positive attitudes. If we can realize this now, we will have the energy and determination to live a meaningful life.

5. Attachment is concerned with MY needs, my happiness, while love is an unselfish attitude, concerned with needs and happiness of others.

6. HAPPINESS: Real, lasting happiness can only be found within ourselves, and we will never find it as long as we can lean helplessly on others.

7. ANGER: Someone who arouses our anger is giving us a chance to learn that we still have work to do. Dying with unresolved anger creates havoc in your mind and makes a peaceful death impossible.

8. Someone who harms us is giving us available teaching on the spiritual path. We can turn our mind around to think of others and put their needs and desires first, we will find peace.

9. EGO: A part of us, the ego, craving security and immortality, invents an inherent, independent, permanent self. Ego’s appetite is insatiable—trying to fulfill its wishes is a never-ending job. No matter how much we have, ego continuously grows restless and looks for more.

10. When someone criticizes us to our face or behind our back, we should not angrily try to defend ourselves or hurl abuse in return. Instead we should remember that any bad experience is the natural outcome of our own past actions—we can probably think of many instances when we criticized others.

[Michael Tapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best philosophy/psychology books I've ever read.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is extraordinary!

I have practised Buddhism for about thirty years and listened to and read many teachings. However I found myself on almost every page finding new and precious insights from the wisdom and experience of the author Kathleen McDonald. The book completely refreshed and invigorated my meditation practice and for that I am extremely grateful to her.

Kathleen McDonald herself is an American Buddhist Nun in the Tibetan tradition (FPMT) called Sangye Khadro. She is absolutely wonderful: kind, loving, gentle, wise, humble, moral and blissful. (You can find videos of her teaching on YouTube)

This is a book you can completely rely on for your daily meditation practise, for a lifetime. It covers the essence of all of Buddha's teachings. Once you have finished it you can just start the cycle of meditations again. Gaining deeper insight each time you progress through the book as all the meditation topics enhance each other.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I often come back to this book and read over different techniques/sections before I start a session. It is choc-loaded with detail and always helps me overcome my mind. Well done Kathleen, we can all learn something from your powerful book *blinking smiley face*

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite guide to the practice. Clear, written to make sense to Westerners.

[Monet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never let go of my copy of this book.

[Marquita Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for those who are interested in learning how to meditate.

[Natasha Cassinerio · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very simple, easy to absorb book. I really enjoyed reading it. The author comes across as kind and never pretentious. I got a lot out of the meditations offered in this book.

[Tom Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A meditation manual from the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition that covers a variety of meditation objects. The author nicely explains how meditating on each object may lead to a different insight or resolve a different ailment, but the general method of using inquiry to identify the object, then calmly dwelling in the intuitive understanding/feeling remains the same. This is a great instruction.

I have meditated for several years now but there was lots to learn from this still. It was nice to learn more about visualisations, for example. The explanations are concise but perfectly detailed. I like the exposition to explain the importance and relevance of each method. The book also has a positive tone that will help the Way-follower to be motivated in their practice. I also like the emphasis of framing the practice within a devotional context - relying on the Guru and Three Treasures, as well as the importance of the precepts and repentance for past wrongs.

Perhaps my only critique is the lack of positive explanation, i.e., more detail about Buddha Nature: what is is, how to connect with it, etc. So I believe this book is not comprehensive but is still very good for all Way-followers.

[Ezra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very useful manual on Tibetan Buddhist meditation practices. As someone who practices Theravada Buddhism and is learning a different meditation modality, I found this book helpful. It shows you how to practice a specific Tibetan Buddhist form of meditation that involves mantras, visualizations, and purification practices. I won't be able to practice most of the techniques because I come from a different tradition and follow a different approach. Nevertheless, this is a great book for anyone interested in learning Tibetan Buddhist meditation practices.

[Mark Yashar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a Tibetan Buddhist nun and teacher, the focus here is more on Buddhist meditation and related (spiritual) practices, rather than on meditation in general.

Mantras:
Om mani padme hum (Avalalokiteshvara mantra)

Om benza satto hung (purification mantra)

Om muni muni maha muniye soha (Shakyamuni mantra)

Om tare tuttare ture soha (Green Tara mantra)

[Justin Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

BLUF: Book teaches meditation practices from a Tibetan Buddhist (Vajrayana) perspective very well. It includes some additional devotional practices and mantras that one can use at the end of the book. Very good book to start a meditation practice around. Do wish there was some audio files to go along with this but those can be found with other available sources.

[Sean Edmunds · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to learn to meditate and are a complete beginner, there's no finer place to start. Written in plain English with a complete grasp of her subject, Kathleen McDonald will take you from Stabilising meditation to Analytical meditation and beyond. Enjoy.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suggested reading list for upcoming Buddhist retreat. Packed with a lot of helpful meditation suggestions, both styles and specific objects of meditation. But these Buddhist texts lose me when they start asserting that anything bad that happens to us is a result of bad karma in a past life.

[Frank Boucher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good, just not what I was expecting.

[Vibhu · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfect handbook for beginners and experienced buddhist practitioners alike

[Mat J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn’t finish it

[Joshua Loong · Rating 4 out of 5]

My descent into Buddhism continues. I actually borrowed this years ago from my (now) mother-in-law when I started doing more meditation. But after several attempts at reading the introduction I found it largely inscrutable since this is a meditation guide from a Buddhist perspective, and not from a secular, mindfulness perspective of which I was coming from.

Now having read more on the topic, I was finally able to get to read through this. The forms of meditation here, coming from a largely Vajrayana perspective, are quite different than what I’m used to. More chanting / prayer / visualization than the larger silent contemplation that I’m used to. I put a little of it to practice, but it’s something I’m not fully bought into since I’m still sort of finding my way in all of this. Very interesting read though and lots of thought provoking writing in here despite its title as a “practical guide”.

[Clara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does a good job of outlining the step-by-step process of basic meditation. Because its focus is Tibetan Buddhist meditation, it walks the reader through not only meditations on specific topics such as impermanence and equanimity (these are usually "antidotes" to specific issues such as attachment or anger), but deity-based meditations, such as meditations to Tara, "the Buddha of Enlightened Activity" and Avalokiteshvara, "the Buddha of Compassion." It also contains Tibetan Buddhist prayers and other devotions.

If you practice in the Theravada tradition, or if you're seeking meditation instruction with a more secular feel, you may want to look for another manual for meditation. With that caveat, it does deliver what it promises: practical guidance to meditation. And if you're curious about the Tibetan tradition, this is a clear first guide.

[Deodand · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book on a search for exactly what it is - a book on what to do during meditation. It was a really tough, stressful time in my life, and I owe a lot to this book. I'm not a Buddhist, and most of the back of the book doesn't hold much meaning for me, but the front is so utterly helpful that I recommend this book to everyone, not just those looking to meditate. I continue to learn the lessons taught here about humility, patience and perspective.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might end up giving this a higher rating later - I only had it out from the library for 3 weeks, so didn't get to try a lot of the guided meditations, just read through some of them. Great as a resource for beginners like myself - very easy, encouraging, practical directions for seated meditation. She comes from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, but doesn't dwell too specifically on their exact techniques.

[Sabio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meditation is not Meditation is not Meditation.

There are lots of techniques and they have different effects on different minds.
This book discusses many methods.
It is said that due to the variety of techniques and variety of minds, it is best to have a teacher help you choose suitable techniques.

[Carrieanne grucz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from the actual how to meditate part, I thought this book had some really smart philosophies or things to think about without sounding too new agey, or sound of one hand clappingy.
I did however skip the last chapters which included drawings of different buddahs, and different chants, or offerings to make to them.