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Wake Up To Your Life: Discovering the Buddhist Path of Attention – Essential Methods for Equanimity, Compassion, and Joy
The key to becoming fully alive and joyful is to develop our natural capacity for attention and to be fully present here and now. In this informative guidebook to practical Buddhism you
480 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
October 18, 2011
First, a confession. I did not-could not, in the time available-read this book as it was intended to be read. It is not simply that each meditative exercise described here in detail requires weeks of practice to be fully grasped, but also that each following exercise builds on all those that went before in such a way that the reader can easily get confused or lost without the experience needed to go forward. This is truly a workbook, in the full and best sense of that word. It is not a book to pick up simply for the read.
That said, let no one be discouraged, because this is one of the most complete and satisfying workbooks of its kind. The shelves of bookstores abound with those neat, slim how-to volumes that seem to promise to make meditation easy-and certainly these books fulfill a purpose. At its most basic, meditation is easy: it's a matter of setting the tush on the cush, as they say, (the rear end on the zafu), and paying close attention to the breath. Who's to say that the wonderful sense of calm and connection one can achieve in this way is not of important spiritual value? And, in its simplicity and directness of experience, in its insistence on pure awareness and on being present in the here and now, the aims of this basic practice are frankly not so far removed from what Ken McLeod is offering.
But McLeod beckons us into much more dangerous territory. He reminds us that "the purpose of practice is to move out of the reactive patterns that create suffering" in our lives, "to wake up from the sleep in which we dream that we are separate from what we experience." He challenges his reader to take the uncompromising path-the way that requires us to cast the unsparing light of consciousness into the darkest, most uninviting corners of our lives and root out those often unsuspected patterns of behavior or belief that cause suffering to ourselves and those around us. "Think of these exercises," he writes, "as putting your life on a dissecting table and taking it apart to see what it is." Ouch!
But the metaphor is a good one. As McLeod points out, "All spiritual work is essentially destructive in nature," a way of developing "an outlook that shows us the way out of the confusion of patterned existence." This outlook, he adds, is not a belief, but rather "points to the mystery of being and shows us how to open to it and live in it." The exhaustive road map of practices he provides us with, if we are willing to work with him, is rooted solidly in his training in the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, but recontextualized from its remote cultural origins into a language and system that speaks beyond religious affiliation to the contemporary American mind.
Blending personal experience with anecdote, meticulous instruction, and commentary-and refreshing the eye and mind from time to time with large-print citations-McLeod leads us through a series of profound contemplations on death, karma (understood in good part as the way that patterns operate in our lives), and the tyranny of reactive emotions, toward the mastery of the Buddha's "four immeasurables" of equanimity, loving kindness, compassion, and sympathetic joy. He elucidates the benefits of mind-training through the difficult practice of tonglen ("giving and taking"), which requires the practitioner to absorb the suffering of others and surrender his own well-being to them in exchange, and guides the reader through the experience of "emptiness" (the recognition that everything we take to be real, including our selves, is no more than self-created illusion) toward the eventual freeing of mind and the realization of our original nature in oneness with pure being.
This is heady stuff, and an area where it is all too easy to fall into feel-good cliché. McLeod avoids the pitfalls because he remains rooted securely in the practical immediacy of direct experience, and hews closely to the time-tested methods and teachings of Tibetan masters through the centuries. In a spirit of good intentions-not to mention personal curiosity-I worked through some of the meditations with which I was not familiar (over days, however, not the recommended weeks!) and found them to be of exceptional value and promise. For anyone serious about developing a meditation practice, this book will be an invaluable guide through the thickets of self-deception, skepticism, and despair that invariably accompany one along the path; and to those who accept the challenge, it will surely live up to its title far beyond the easy promises of that plethora of books that offer to change your life.
That said, let no one be discouraged, because this is one of the most complete and satisfying workbooks of its kind. The shelves of bookstores abound with those neat, slim how-to volumes that seem to promise to make meditation easy-and certainly these books fulfill a purpose. At its most basic, meditation is easy: it's a matter of setting the tush on the cush, as they say, (the rear end on the zafu), and paying close attention to the breath. Who's to say that the wonderful sense of calm and connection one can achieve in this way is not of important spiritual value? And, in its simplicity and directness of experience, in its insistence on pure awareness and on being present in the here and now, the aims of this basic practice are frankly not so far removed from what Ken McLeod is offering.
But McLeod beckons us into much more dangerous territory. He reminds us that "the purpose of practice is to move out of the reactive patterns that create suffering" in our lives, "to wake up from the sleep in which we dream that we are separate from what we experience." He challenges his reader to take the uncompromising path-the way that requires us to cast the unsparing light of consciousness into the darkest, most uninviting corners of our lives and root out those often unsuspected patterns of behavior or belief that cause suffering to ourselves and those around us. "Think of these exercises," he writes, "as putting your life on a dissecting table and taking it apart to see what it is." Ouch!
But the metaphor is a good one. As McLeod points out, "All spiritual work is essentially destructive in nature," a way of developing "an outlook that shows us the way out of the confusion of patterned existence." This outlook, he adds, is not a belief, but rather "points to the mystery of being and shows us how to open to it and live in it." The exhaustive road map of practices he provides us with, if we are willing to work with him, is rooted solidly in his training in the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, but recontextualized from its remote cultural origins into a language and system that speaks beyond religious affiliation to the contemporary American mind.
Blending personal experience with anecdote, meticulous instruction, and commentary-and refreshing the eye and mind from time to time with large-print citations-McLeod leads us through a series of profound contemplations on death, karma (understood in good part as the way that patterns operate in our lives), and the tyranny of reactive emotions, toward the mastery of the Buddha's "four immeasurables" of equanimity, loving kindness, compassion, and sympathetic joy. He elucidates the benefits of mind-training through the difficult practice of tonglen ("giving and taking"), which requires the practitioner to absorb the suffering of others and surrender his own well-being to them in exchange, and guides the reader through the experience of "emptiness" (the recognition that everything we take to be real, including our selves, is no more than self-created illusion) toward the eventual freeing of mind and the realization of our original nature in oneness with pure being.
This is heady stuff, and an area where it is all too easy to fall into feel-good cliché. McLeod avoids the pitfalls because he remains rooted securely in the practical immediacy of direct experience, and hews closely to the time-tested methods and teachings of Tibetan masters through the centuries. In a spirit of good intentions-not to mention personal curiosity-I worked through some of the meditations with which I was not familiar (over days, however, not the recommended weeks!) and found them to be of exceptional value and promise. For anyone serious about developing a meditation practice, this book will be an invaluable guide through the thickets of self-deception, skepticism, and despair that invariably accompany one along the path; and to those who accept the challenge, it will surely live up to its title far beyond the easy promises of that plethora of books that offer to change your life.
March 12, 2012
I spent over a year reading this book as part of Buddhist study group with a lay Buddhist minister leading the group. I hated the book for months. The style of writing was wordy, and I couldn't help but wish McLeod had had a better editor. BUT . . .
I'm so glad that I hung in there. There aren't many books that change my perspective radically, but this one did. By the time I finished the book and with some superb guidance by the group leader, I was seeing quite differently and my meditation practice deepened. I don't know if this would have happened had I read the book independent of the group process, but perhaps.
In any event, I am now re-reading Wake Up to Your Life and discovering things in the early part of the book that my great resistance blinded me to the first time around.
I'm so glad that I hung in there. There aren't many books that change my perspective radically, but this one did. By the time I finished the book and with some superb guidance by the group leader, I was seeing quite differently and my meditation practice deepened. I don't know if this would have happened had I read the book independent of the group process, but perhaps.
In any event, I am now re-reading Wake Up to Your Life and discovering things in the early part of the book that my great resistance blinded me to the first time around.
February 20, 2020
This is my go to recommendation for people who have an interest in Buddhist meditation and want to get a full picture of what such a practice entails and what it promises. It’s more detailed and pragmatic then most introductory mediation books; it presents the religious/spiritual purpose of the different meditations without being sectarian or unapproachable for the general reader .
It presents multiple types of meditations in a progressive manner. It doesn’t cover the more esoteric meditations like Dzogchen, Mahamudra, Atiyoga in depth though it does touch on them a bit which I think is probably for the best for a general overview. It does place them within the overall context of Buddhist practice which is important.
I hadn’t read it in over 14 years so I wondered how well it would hold up. It held up great!! I still think it’s the best book of its kind. There are more in-depth Buddhist mediation books and there are many more basic short introductory books, but I don’t know of a better balanced book in terms of depth, scope, accessibility, readability.
Mcleod uses Sufi stories, Zen stories, and some jokes to illustrate points but I found his actual commentary is mostly related to Tibetan Buddhism and some parts of shared Buddhist meditation.
Along with the regular aspects of meditation like concentration, mindfulness, and insight meditation, the book also presents more involved practices like Dakini mediations, mediations on the four immeasurables, tonglen, lojong (mind training), and pointing out instructions.
I’m including a long edited excerpt that talks about the purpose and process of the Dakini meditations because it’s a good example of taking a very esoteric practice and making it a bit more accessible. Some of the vocabulary might sound strange but in the book it is all defined earlier. The actual practice instructions are much longer and more detailed as the chapter on Dakini meditations is 36 pages long.
“The five dakinis meditation uses symbols and visualizations to bring a higher level of attention to the reactive chains and to transform their operation from reaction into presence. In Buddhism, as in many other traditions, the feminine represents natural, unconditioned knowing….By imagining the dakini in front of you, you are invoking the mystery of being and the possibility of direct awareness….The elixir is pristine awareness in liquid form. As it pours into you, you shift to a higher level of attention and experience…..When the reactive quality and the underlying feeling are held in attention, they go empty. They seem to disappear. At this point, you touch the basic fear that drives the reaction chain. That fear is directly connected to a loss of the reference that the reaction chain uses. The loss is experienced as open space…….Ordinarily, the space feels like a threat, and the reaction chain reforms. By imagining that your body is made of light, you loosen the hold of the reaction chain in the mind of the body so that you have a greater capacity to observe its operation.….In particular, you stay present in the fear and the experience of loss of reference or open space. The fear and open space ordinarily flash by very quickly, so you may have to go through the reaction chain two or three times before you identify them clearly enough to rest in them. Up to this point, you have been observing the movement from form (the reaction) to emptiness (loss of reference and open space). With the reforming of the reaction, the movement from emptiness to form begins. The movement into form is experienced as a reassertion of the original reactive quality….The reactive chain runs again and again, spiraling up to higher levels of energy and greater reactivity.…In the meditation practice, you hold the experience of the five components of the reactive chain in attention simultaneously. The elixir and the light represent the operation of attention. The whole reactive process dissolves into energy, which then powers attention. The higher level of attention opens up the nonreactive or present quality of each element….The quality of presence takes the form of a symbol that appears at the body center associated with the element. Feel the quality of presence as strongly as you can without contrivance, and view the world as if you have that quality in abundance….At the same time, the operation of attention uncovers the corresponding aspect of pristine presence. Understanding arises in you, an understanding that has no beginning in time, is completely natural, and is available to you all the time…..The five dakinis practice is principally about opening to experience…..During formal practice sessions or during the day, you may have strong feelings of warmth and bliss. You may also develop a tender and loving connection with one or more of the dakini. The warm or blissful feelings are the result of higher levels energy generated by the practice. The tender feelings come from energy flowing into patterns of projection and relationship. The only caution is not to attach to the feelings. Don’t suppress the feelings….instead, open to them, letting warmth and bliss flow through body and mind….Regard everything that arises in practice as feelings and apparitions that arise in a dream, vivid and clear but not objectively real.(p223-226)”
It presents multiple types of meditations in a progressive manner. It doesn’t cover the more esoteric meditations like Dzogchen, Mahamudra, Atiyoga in depth though it does touch on them a bit which I think is probably for the best for a general overview. It does place them within the overall context of Buddhist practice which is important.
I hadn’t read it in over 14 years so I wondered how well it would hold up. It held up great!! I still think it’s the best book of its kind. There are more in-depth Buddhist mediation books and there are many more basic short introductory books, but I don’t know of a better balanced book in terms of depth, scope, accessibility, readability.
Mcleod uses Sufi stories, Zen stories, and some jokes to illustrate points but I found his actual commentary is mostly related to Tibetan Buddhism and some parts of shared Buddhist meditation.
Along with the regular aspects of meditation like concentration, mindfulness, and insight meditation, the book also presents more involved practices like Dakini mediations, mediations on the four immeasurables, tonglen, lojong (mind training), and pointing out instructions.
I’m including a long edited excerpt that talks about the purpose and process of the Dakini meditations because it’s a good example of taking a very esoteric practice and making it a bit more accessible. Some of the vocabulary might sound strange but in the book it is all defined earlier. The actual practice instructions are much longer and more detailed as the chapter on Dakini meditations is 36 pages long.
“The five dakinis meditation uses symbols and visualizations to bring a higher level of attention to the reactive chains and to transform their operation from reaction into presence. In Buddhism, as in many other traditions, the feminine represents natural, unconditioned knowing….By imagining the dakini in front of you, you are invoking the mystery of being and the possibility of direct awareness….The elixir is pristine awareness in liquid form. As it pours into you, you shift to a higher level of attention and experience…..When the reactive quality and the underlying feeling are held in attention, they go empty. They seem to disappear. At this point, you touch the basic fear that drives the reaction chain. That fear is directly connected to a loss of the reference that the reaction chain uses. The loss is experienced as open space…….Ordinarily, the space feels like a threat, and the reaction chain reforms. By imagining that your body is made of light, you loosen the hold of the reaction chain in the mind of the body so that you have a greater capacity to observe its operation.….In particular, you stay present in the fear and the experience of loss of reference or open space. The fear and open space ordinarily flash by very quickly, so you may have to go through the reaction chain two or three times before you identify them clearly enough to rest in them. Up to this point, you have been observing the movement from form (the reaction) to emptiness (loss of reference and open space). With the reforming of the reaction, the movement from emptiness to form begins. The movement into form is experienced as a reassertion of the original reactive quality….The reactive chain runs again and again, spiraling up to higher levels of energy and greater reactivity.…In the meditation practice, you hold the experience of the five components of the reactive chain in attention simultaneously. The elixir and the light represent the operation of attention. The whole reactive process dissolves into energy, which then powers attention. The higher level of attention opens up the nonreactive or present quality of each element….The quality of presence takes the form of a symbol that appears at the body center associated with the element. Feel the quality of presence as strongly as you can without contrivance, and view the world as if you have that quality in abundance….At the same time, the operation of attention uncovers the corresponding aspect of pristine presence. Understanding arises in you, an understanding that has no beginning in time, is completely natural, and is available to you all the time…..The five dakinis practice is principally about opening to experience…..During formal practice sessions or during the day, you may have strong feelings of warmth and bliss. You may also develop a tender and loving connection with one or more of the dakini. The warm or blissful feelings are the result of higher levels energy generated by the practice. The tender feelings come from energy flowing into patterns of projection and relationship. The only caution is not to attach to the feelings. Don’t suppress the feelings….instead, open to them, letting warmth and bliss flow through body and mind….Regard everything that arises in practice as feelings and apparitions that arise in a dream, vivid and clear but not objectively real.(p223-226)”
February 1, 2015
This is a book that I hope will be in my life for years to come. I've been doing attention meditation for years now, but I have not found a book about meditation (in this case contemplation meditation) that is more poignant, useful, and accurate for a western audience. Unlike most books on growth or self-improvement, Wake Up To Your Life does not offer easy fixes, but recognizes that spiritual and mental growth is simply hard, sober work and time. These practices involve re-evaluating your life and uprooting the things that decrease the quality of your experience. Many things I've read on meditation present it as being mystical or esoteric, and after practicing and gaining knowledge on the discipline, I can see the reason for this style of presentation; unfortunately, this style does not suit western tastes. Meditation is a powerful (but oh so difficult; the good things in life don't come easy) way to improve every aspect of your life, and so I'm surprised that the West has not been convinced of its benefits when we seem so enamored with self-improvement and productivity.
Rather than piddling around with self-affirmations and feel-good ego boosters, Mcleod recognizes (along with mystics of old) that real change in our lives requires real work, and namely mental work in the form of meditation. Wake Up To Your Life is a straightforward guide that I believe, if truly put into practice, will increase your satisfaction with life more than any quick-fix program or activity out there.
Rather than piddling around with self-affirmations and feel-good ego boosters, Mcleod recognizes (along with mystics of old) that real change in our lives requires real work, and namely mental work in the form of meditation. Wake Up To Your Life is a straightforward guide that I believe, if truly put into practice, will increase your satisfaction with life more than any quick-fix program or activity out there.
November 4, 2015
I'm marking this book as read, but I don't think I will ever stop reading it during times of need or reminder. I started it as part of some sessions I took with Pema Chodron over the summer and it added great depth to that study, especially in understanding my own reactivity and deepening my meditative practice.
I find Buddhism fascinating as a philosophy. There will never be a point when I feel that I know enough or have understood myself enough or have come to the a point of completion in my spiritual evolution. Yet, understanding more, incorporating my own experience and gaining whatever insight I can from all of what's inside and outside is what's its really all about.
So, I'm marking this book as read, but I will never stop reading it or learning from it or continuing my practice inasmuch as I can.
I find Buddhism fascinating as a philosophy. There will never be a point when I feel that I know enough or have understood myself enough or have come to the a point of completion in my spiritual evolution. Yet, understanding more, incorporating my own experience and gaining whatever insight I can from all of what's inside and outside is what's its really all about.
So, I'm marking this book as read, but I will never stop reading it or learning from it or continuing my practice inasmuch as I can.
May 26, 2008
I come back to this book again and again for practical excercises in awareness from the perspective of Tibetan buddhism. The section on emotional reactivity is very helpful. It has all the weird and wily imagery of the tradition it is rooted in, but in a very down-to-earth manner that is comforting to western sensibilities.
April 4, 2011
I don't think I was ready for this book when I got it. It feels like something I would like but when I sat down to try and read it I found it hard to get into and a bit overwhelming. Perhaps in the future I'll be ready for it, but right now I'm not.
April 19, 2018
"Pound for pound, the amoeba is the most vicious animal on earth. What do amoeba have to do with meditation? Nothing, of course, but did you expect to be thinking about amoeba when you chose to read this book? We cannot and do not control what will happen in the next moment or tomorrow, much less the course of life.
Life is a mystery. Life is what we experience, and we cannot and do not know what the next moment of experience will be. While we live in a mystery, we reactively and automatically try to control what we experience. To be present in our lives, we have to let go of the illusion of control, and that is exactly what we do in meditation."
Life is a mystery. Life is what we experience, and we cannot and do not know what the next moment of experience will be. While we live in a mystery, we reactively and automatically try to control what we experience. To be present in our lives, we have to let go of the illusion of control, and that is exactly what we do in meditation."
November 29, 2012
This book would take years to read and implement thoroughly. I read some of it and got some benefit from it, but have learned enough about the author to decide that he may not be the wise teacher he has claimed to be. Unfortunate.
January 2, 2011
Must practice.
August 8, 2012
Practical spirituality. Excellent book for people who really want to change themselves. For better, of course.
February 26, 2012
One of the more important books in my life.
Currently reading
July 26, 2012So far, this book is simply incredible. :::
December 21, 2017
Full book is available on Spotify, but the PDF or hardcopy has useful charts.
https://open.spotify.com/album/43FNMm...
https://open.spotify.com/album/43FNMm...
December 31, 2025
Read a little every morning before meditating. This book is hard. I work mostly with my lifetime work of dissolving the dakini of anger. The questions and visualizations help me to ever deeper in that journey. I have become skilled in the last two decades of not reacting, especially in organizational settings, but there is still so much more work to do with what goes on internally. Though, I find great insight working with void as well, I will dive deeper into void next year.
September 12, 2017
Such clear, precise and meaningful guidance around several key practices for cultivating attention, awareness and insight. Ken has really helped to simplify and refocus my practice, helping me to clarify purpose and understand the intention of certain practices, as opposed to mistaking the immediate experience(s) for the 'results'
September 22, 2022
First, I have to say that if you really use this book, you are never truly finished with it. Also, this is not a book you sit and read straight through - I've spent about 18 months working through the bulk of it and will probably revisit parts of it again and again. Well worth the time if you are interested in starting and/or deepening your Buddhist practice. Not easy but very fruitful.
May 2, 2020
I felt the book was clear and well written. It soon became clear to me that if I was to try to do most of the practices I would need guidance from a teacher. I did glean some meaningful information from the book.
July 19, 2021
There were several passages that I found to be useful. I put into my meditation practice some of what I read.
I did not find the parts, which were many, where the author provided commentaries, to be helpful.
Overall, this was a good book.
I did not find the parts, which were many, where the author provided commentaries, to be helpful.
Overall, this was a good book.
July 8, 2018
Invaluable but not for everyone
May 9, 2019
A fantastic book filled with practical advice, step by step instructions for meditation and marvelous stories.
October 13, 2023
deeennnnnseee. but good!
March 15, 2025
Кен излагает доходчиво и прямо, так что даже от перечитывания знакомого материала много пользы, не говоря об отдельном угле его взгляда. оценивать это у меня, впрочем, нет квалификации и заслуг
May 25, 2020
Very solid material, though the eventual repetition is ironic, if not humorous. The entire book is about not getting stuck in patterns, but the last couple of chapters seem like exactly that. It rehashes the same methods to cut a negative pattern from life. The last 50 pages or doesn't reach the level of being iterative and could have been trimmed entirely. Perhaps that was on purpose as an exercise in meditation and patience?
Aside from that, the book provides plenty to reflect on and was well worth the read.
Aside from that, the book provides plenty to reflect on and was well worth the read.
June 28, 2015
While technically I "finished" this book, I actually read, returned my loaned copy to the public library and then went out and bought my own copy. As a previous reviewer stated, this is more of a workbook for the long-term.I'm thrilled to have come across this book. (Thanks to all the people on Goodreads where I first heard of it!)
April 23, 2016
An excellent book. However, is probably better suited to someone more advanced in the practice of Buddhism than I am at the present time. Very heavy material which can provoke some complicated emotional responses. If one is to practice this material, I would recommend they have a competent and knowledgeable Buddhist meditation instructor to assist them through this material.
December 16, 2019
This is a very good book. Maybe the most important book I have ever read. I have been studying it for more that 10 years and it keeps on giving. The more i study and practice the more the qualities of the book stand out clearly. If you are a devoted meditator I highly recommend it.
April 27, 2008
Superb. This is my personal path.
October 1, 2008
very helpful for a beginning meditation practice.
September 4, 2010
Great study book. And recommended by Pema Chodron.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews