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Touching Enlightenment: Finding Realization in the Body
written by Reginald A. Ray
Studio : Sounds True, Incorporated
by Sounds True, Incorporated
Publisher : Sounds True, Incorporated
Released : 2008-01-01
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9781591796183
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 6 reviews)
List Price : $24.95
Our Price : $14.91
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Product Description |
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How is it that a person can meditate for five, ten, twenty years or more?and hardly change? Because they?ve reduced it to ?a mental gymnastic, ? explains Reggie Ray. In Touching Enlightenment, the esteemed author of five books on Buddhist history and practice guides readers back to the original approach of the Buddha: a systematic process that results in a profound awareness ?in our bodies rather than in our heads.? Combining the scholarship he's renowned for with original insights from nearly four decades practicing and teaching meditation, Reggie Ray invites readers to explore: ? The body as the ideal place for spiritual pilgrimage ? How to cultivate imagination, deal with pain, breathe more naturally, and other essential skills ? Why ?rejected? experience becomes imprinted in the body?and the steps to release it |
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a brilliant scholar and meditation teacher |
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shares a lifetime of experience with us about how we can learn to meditate with real awareness of our bodies to truly effect personal transformation. This is a very important book and we are lucky to have him show us this path. |
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Comprehensive and immensly helpful |
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I don't give many reviews unless I consider what I've just read as great or awful. This book is great. If you wish to develop a meditation practice that will retain your enthusiasm for what many consider a boring exercise, this book could very well be for you. It first provides the basis for this particular practice then, at the end, provides a few sample meditations. I have been practicing zen for a year; the instruction given by Reginald A. Ray is compatible with my zen practice. It is based on the basic teachings of the Buddha which incorporate the mind with the body which is the first step toward developing mindfulness in one's life with, gradually, the reduction of mental and physical pain. I have found it so helpful that I will be going to one of Dr. Ray's teaching retreats when he comes to NYC. |
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Please ignore the Publisher's Weekly review |
I strongly echo the sentiments in Mr. Bucher's review. This is an important book. Mr. Ray appears to be a rare example of someone who is both a serious scholar and a deep practitioner. By the latter, I mean someone who is not just talking about the realization that is contemplated by Buddhist philosophy as an intellectual exercise, but who has experienced it personally through his practice. Anyone who has embarked on that path with any seriousness comes to realize that language and ideas, no matter how eloquent, can't change us in the ways described by the Buddha; only direct experience, unmediated by the conceptualization implied by language, can be transformative. The practices Mr. Ray discusses, derived from Tibbetan Yoga traditions, are a very direct path to this experiential wisdom. Ray seems also well positioned to speak to the particular needs of the modern person, including Westerners. His body-based approaches also, as eluded to by Mr. Bucher, seem especially appropriate for people who have experienced trauma. Although not discussed in the book, this is consistent with recent neuropsychological research, which is revealing the extent to which emotions and "unconscious" material are experienced and held throughout the nervous system, and hence, the body (see, e.g., the work of Allan Schore [[Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self: The Neurobiology of Emotional Development; and Bessel Van Der Kolk Traumatic Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body, and Society.
I'm not sure how objectively I can evaluate the "tone" of the book--which two reviewers describe as a bit intellectual--having seen Mr. Ray at several talks prior to reading it. In person, he is warm, engaging, humorous, and most essentially, human. In fact, he emphasizes that the purpose of these practices is not to transcend our humanity, but to become fully human for the first time. I personally experienced the tone of the book in the same way I experienced Mr. Ray in person, but it's possible one may have colored the other.
I found this book, and most especially the practices Ray describes and teaches, to be extremely beneficial to my personal practice and growth. I'm not sure where the Publisher's Weekly reviewer is coming from, but my best suggestion is to ignore that review and read this book. |
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Excellent analyis of Buddhism in relation to the body |
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Reginald Ray's thoroughly researched book discusses the Buddha's teachings on attaining enlightenment through the body. This is an interesting angle and makes for a fascinating and useful book. The book has an academic tone, and feels very intellectual and analytical. The book resembles a dissertation that has been turned into a book (which isn't a bad thing, but does reflect on the overall tone of the book). Despite being a rigorous analysis of the body and enlightenment as it appears in Buddhist literature, the book contains many useful descriptions of hands on techniques. I suffer from chronic pain issues and found many of the techniques extremely helpful. I've often read about creating a shift in consciousness in relation to pain in the body - and I've never quite been able to grasp a "healthier" approach to physical pain. Touching Enlightenment is the first text to actually lead me to a different consciousness in regards to approaching physical pain. As a consequence, I feel a new level of relief and comfort in relation to my body and illness. Having these techniques, and the experience of practicing them, placed within the larger context of Buddhist theory was also helpful. Ray is strongest when discussing Buddhist literature, but is less successful when describing the emotional issues in his own life. That being said, this book is a welcome addition to the literature on Buddhist theory. People interested in yoga therapy and other healing modalities will also find Touching Enlightenment to be essential. |
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Finest American dharma book to date |
Given the dismal review listed earlier from Publisher's Weekly, I feel compelled to write this, my first (and probably last) review for amazon. I am a 20 year Zen practitioner and former assistant editor of the Mountain Record. In that capacity I wrote 25 or so book reviews, but none for the past 10 years or so.
Reginald Ray's book is a revelation; it is the finest, most original book written by an American to date, at least as far as I'm concerned. I am one of the many, many practitioners has practiced diligently in one's head for a long time, with less than completely satisfying results. He talks about his childhood Ferberizing and the cathartic breakthrough he had. That is sufficient, in my view. He doesn't linger on his personal experience any more than he has to. He clearly is a very accomplished, experienced, and compassionate teacher, and there is video evidence that shows this on his website and others.
In my case, much of the problem dates from childhood sexual abuse, memories that I recovered while living at Zen Mountain Monastery in the late 1980's. Ray's focus on the body, and his descriptive language is highly appropriate; excessive editing would kill the meaning and the message. Anyone who has spent time with the ancient Buddhist texts will recognize the wisdom of repetition with subtle variations, especially from someone who is as clear as Ray clearly is. Ray himself is humble and treats the book as a beginning, not an end.
The Publisher's weekly person seems to have a passing interest in Buddhism, and much deeper interest in the editorial process. Ignore the review and buy the book. I'll be re-reading it for the rest of my life. |
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