Resting in Stillness

by Martin Jamyang Tenphel, Pema Düddul

Buddhist practice is like making a cup of tea. We prepare by studying and contemplating the teachings, this is like putting tea and sugar in the cup. Then we pour boiling water into the cup and let it steep. The steeping process is equivalent to our meditation practice. The longer we let the tea steep, the stronger, more powerful, and more flavourful the tea will become. What do we need to do to help the tea steep? Nothing. We just rest, relax and wait for it to do its own thing. The same goes for meditation practice. The more we practice relaxing and resting in the stillness of meditation, the more we will experience the deep satisfying joy of our true nature. This book is a collection of short pieces about the heart of the Buddhist path and especially about meditation and compassion. Many of the pieces were answers to questions posed in meditation classes or in online discussion groups, but some are essays written in response to a need for a succinct, accessible explanation of a topic that is essential to Buddhist practice. All of the pieces are concise, grounded in experience and in a simple, unpretentious language that both beginners and advanced practitioners will appreciate. Martin Jamyang Tenphel and Pema Düddul have decades of experience, meditation practice and study behind them, and are well-versed in how to apply the Buddhist teachings in day to day life. They are the Co-Directors of Jalü Buddhist Meditation centre, an organisation that emphasises the path of simple meditation practice rather than of scholarly study or elaborate tantric practices. At Jalü, Jamyang and Pema teach meditation, mindfulness and the core of the Buddha's message in an authentic and accessible way that is appropriate to our modern world. Visit them www.jalumeditation.org

89 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 18, 2020

Reviews

[Ben Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Resting in Stillness covers the entire gamut of the Buddhist path without getting bogged down in cultural trappings. After reading the first 15 pages I already loved it. It is everything you need to know to practice dharma simply and directly. I'm going to go back and read one chapter per week and contemplate them properly. They are too profound to skip over. It is a series of short pieces of advice that are reminiscent of the pith instructions of the great masters of the past. Each brief section is clearly based on direct experience. The authors are Australian-born, western Buddhists who have been in the dharma for decades. They are not hobbyists, they are true meditators. This profound little book is good for beginners and advanced practitioners alike. It is my opinion that this is THE dharma book of 2019/2020. A book doesn't need to be big to have a huge impact. Resting in Stillness has changed my life already.