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Bear Awareness: Questions and Answers on Taming Your Wild Mind
The bestselling author of Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung? and one of the world’s most beloved Buddhist monks answers meditators’ questions.
In Bear Awareness English monk Ajahn Brahm answers actual questions from his meditation students–– questions you may have had as well. While most mindfulness meditation teachers praise the benefits of bare awareness, he teaches bear awareness. He helps us make friends with the scary things that come up on the cushion, and he knows how to lift the mood with a well-placed stuffed teddy––or a well-timed pun.
The intimacy of the question-and-answer format provides a fresh experience of learning from a master meditator. Whether he is urging readers to fly Buddha Air (sit back and relax on your way to nirvana), giving tips for dealing with panic attacks or depression, or extolling the bliss of meditation that is better than sex, he gives us permission to enjoy our lives and our practice.
In Bear Awareness English monk Ajahn Brahm answers actual questions from his meditation students–– questions you may have had as well. While most mindfulness meditation teachers praise the benefits of bare awareness, he teaches bear awareness. He helps us make friends with the scary things that come up on the cushion, and he knows how to lift the mood with a well-placed stuffed teddy––or a well-timed pun.
The intimacy of the question-and-answer format provides a fresh experience of learning from a master meditator. Whether he is urging readers to fly Buddha Air (sit back and relax on your way to nirvana), giving tips for dealing with panic attacks or depression, or extolling the bliss of meditation that is better than sex, he gives us permission to enjoy our lives and our practice.
215 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2017
52 people are currently reading
319 people want to read
About the author
Ajahn Brahm
78 books471 followersAjahn Brahmavamso Mahathera (lovingly known to most as Ajahn Brahm) was born Peter Betts in London, United Kingdom in August 7, 1951. He came from a working-class background, and won a scholarship to study Theoretical Physics at Cambridge University in the late 1960s. After graduating from Cambridge he taught in high school for one year before travelling to Thailand to become a monk and train with the Venerable Ajahn Chah Bodhinyana Mahathera.
Whilst still in his years as a junior monk, he was asked to undertake the compilation of an English-language guide to the Buddhist monastic code - the Vinaya - which later became the basis for monastic discipline in many Theravadan monasteries in Western countries.
Whilst still in his years as a junior monk, he was asked to undertake the compilation of an English-language guide to the Buddhist monastic code - the Vinaya - which later became the basis for monastic discipline in many Theravadan monasteries in Western countries.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 23, 2018
This is the fourth book of Ajahn Brahm's I’ve read, and the first that makes me wonder whether I'll continue reading him. This is a shame because I like him; I've done one of his 30-minute guided meditations about every day for four or five months. On one page, he claims to always trust science. Yet on multiple other pages, he confidently gives specific details about rebirth, past lives, and how consciousness can continue after death. Frankly, I could forgive those. It's the price one pays for reading Buddhist authors not from the Zen tradition. But he falls for the most obviously bogus urban legends/Snopes fodder more than once. For example, he tells matter-of-factly about a supporter of his monastery in Thailand who had a curse put on her where an evil spirit was sent to kill her so one of his fellow monks contacted the demon and learned that the demon had been following her for a couple of years but couldn’t get close because she's so good from following Buddhist precepts, so the demon ends up dying because he couldn't fulfill his mission. Now the way I’ve told this, it might sound like sort of a fable intended to impart a lesson, but Ajahn Brahm tells it as fact. Later he tells another story about a guy he knows who meditated so deeply, his wife called the medics who determined he was dead because he showed no heart or brain activity on an ECG and an EEG. He even kept meditating through being shocked with paddles. Then the guy woke up confused, asking how he ended up in the hospital, and everyone had a good chuckle. I call b.s. If the guy was meditating, no matter how deeply, brain activity would show on an EEG. Ajahn Brahm has an endless stream of such nonsense portrayed as real. Proceed with caution. Grade: C-
January 31, 2022
Enlightening !
A truly wonderful read. A clear well written beautiful book on meditation and on the principles and practicalities of Buddhism. I am buying a hard copy for my bookshelf.
A truly wonderful read. A clear well written beautiful book on meditation and on the principles and practicalities of Buddhism. I am buying a hard copy for my bookshelf.
June 1, 2018
A fellow Vipassana practitioner urged me to listen to Ajahn Brahm's teachings online. Since I tend to do better with the written word, I instead picked up Ajahn Brahm's latest book. The title alone made me smile. Who associates a bear with meditation? I sometimes take myself too seriously - and Ajahn Brahm's books tend to not themselves too seriously. So, this was fun to read. And enlightening at some levels. "Lighten up. Let go." That's about what Brahm is saying, and I accept, Brahm.
This was quite a change from the usual Buddhist-related books I have read in the recent past. Brahm has a tendency to crack, in his own words, 'awful' jokes, and the teachings here are mainly from Theravada Buddhism- a branch of Buddhism that I am not too familiar with. Not that I am too familiar with any part of Buddhism, come to think of it. But just as with any of the Buddha's teachings- take away the jokes - and the learnings are the same - live a life of kindness and compassion. Those two words will haunt me, I think, till the day I die!
The book follows a Q&A format - questions that meditators have asked Brahm at his retreats - and the answers that Brahm jocularly provides. Some of the answers went over my simple head, and there were instances where I felt Brahm contradicts himself, but I loved the way Brahm intersperses stories into his answer. Not all the stories make sense, but the ones that did left me chuckling and hopefully, a bit wiser.
*Note: Brahm uses a lot of Buddhist words and concepts like 'nimittas' and 'jhanas' would be confusing for a non-Buddhist.
This was quite a change from the usual Buddhist-related books I have read in the recent past. Brahm has a tendency to crack, in his own words, 'awful' jokes, and the teachings here are mainly from Theravada Buddhism- a branch of Buddhism that I am not too familiar with. Not that I am too familiar with any part of Buddhism, come to think of it. But just as with any of the Buddha's teachings- take away the jokes - and the learnings are the same - live a life of kindness and compassion. Those two words will haunt me, I think, till the day I die!
The book follows a Q&A format - questions that meditators have asked Brahm at his retreats - and the answers that Brahm jocularly provides. Some of the answers went over my simple head, and there were instances where I felt Brahm contradicts himself, but I loved the way Brahm intersperses stories into his answer. Not all the stories make sense, but the ones that did left me chuckling and hopefully, a bit wiser.
*Note: Brahm uses a lot of Buddhist words and concepts like 'nimittas' and 'jhanas' would be confusing for a non-Buddhist.
January 15, 2018
The humor is hit or miss. There are aspects of what I assume are Theravedan Buddhism, such as the nimittas, that were new to me and a point of interest, so I am grateful for that. For someone who leans more toward Mahayana and Vajrayana views, this book feels like an interesting, if difficult view from another perspective. I do not agree with what come across as negative views of other Buddhist traditions, and at times there is a bit of a creeping materialism in this book. That common misconception of Buddhism as a nihilistic system also seems apparent.
All of that said, this is my first exposure to Ajahn Brahm's work. The book gave me a few more points to look into and touches on issues to question on my path. I may not agree with the book, but one can learn from it.
All of that said, this is my first exposure to Ajahn Brahm's work. The book gave me a few more points to look into and touches on issues to question on my path. I may not agree with the book, but one can learn from it.
July 18, 2017
"Bear Awareness" uses a question and answer format to explore Buddhist meditation as well as related precepts. Matters go deep enough for practicing Buddhist to enjoy and yet a novice or anyone interested can learn and grow. Of course, the author includes dashes of his signature humor.
My copy was a gift through Goodreads First Reads.
My copy was a gift through Goodreads First Reads.
January 21, 2018
Light and easy reading. Some nice humour. An introduction to Theravada Buddhism for me. A bit lost on some of the terminologies and with the glossary at the end of the book. That's the problem of reading an ebook.
Not very structured with the book basically consist of Q&A from all over. Still, I recommend it as it is an easy read.
Not very structured with the book basically consist of Q&A from all over. Still, I recommend it as it is an easy read.
November 26, 2019
I'm going to admit that I'm probably biased as I've been listening to Ajahn Brahm's podcast for over 15 years on and off so I knew what the humour & target audience for this Q & A book on Buddhism was going to be. I've seen some of the reviews on here where the stories are taken far too literally and I think thats a shame, there is alot of the English tongue in cheek in this chap still. I really enjoyed the book, it is suitably uplifting and educational, the terms take a bit of getting used to but they're just names that will become easier as you progress through the book, just focus on the bigger picure and the rest will fall into place. I will now have to see about getting some more of his books :)
August 17, 2021
Many great insights! As someone new to Buddhism, this book is tremendously helpful in clarifying beliefs in Buddhism and offers sound advice for meditation, something that I aspire to do more often in the coming years.
July 21, 2025
Ajahn Brahm to dla mnie autorytet, więc nic dziwnego że sięgnęłam po tę i inne jego książki. A ta urzekła mnie szczególnie z uwagi na mądrość przeplataną humorem, czyli coś czego u Brahma nigdy nie brakuje. Bardzo wartościowa książka, polecam.
August 15, 2020
A masterpiece!
February 18, 2026
most teachers are wise but not many are funny on top of that wisdom ajahn brahm has both 💛
July 9, 2018
Interesting book about meditation. Although he is a Theravada monk (or whatever it is), the technique and lessons in this book could be applied to almost any kind of meditation.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews