Diamond Mind : A Psychology of Meditation

by Nairn, Rob

• ISBN13: 9781570625367
• ISBN10: 1570625360
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-11-01
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

If meditation were easier, Rob Nairn writes, more people would hang in there and become enlightened. Fortunately, Rob's training in both Buddhism and psychology make him especially well qualified to help us do just that. With clarity and humor, he helps us understand how we generate the clouds of anxiety, desire, and anger that obscure our inherent happiness. Eight specific practices and five question-and-answer sessions illuminate the psychology of meditation--how our minds work when we meditate, and how we might release and dissolve the conditioning and unresolved issues that get in our way. This book is suitable as a course of study by individuals or groups, and includes a special appendix for group facilitators.

Author Biography

Rob Nairn's training in psychology and Buddhist practice brings him a unique ability to explain ancient Eastern concepts in modern, accessible terms. The author of What Is Meditation? and Diamond Mind, he is sought after internationally as a lecturer on Buddhist philosophy and meditation.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xiii
Preface	xv
Introduction	1	(2)
What Is Meditation?	3	(17)
The Journey Inward	3	(2)
Towards a Description	5	(1)
An Attitude of Acceptance	5	(4)
Beyond Ambition: No Goals	9	(1)
Motivation: Realizing Our Inherent Potential	10	(2)
Effects of Meditation	12	(2)
Meditation in Practice: Guidelines	14	(6)
Meditation Support	16	(1)
An Adventure	16	(1)
Ending Every Session	17	(1)
Meditation Using a Support	17	(3)
Outlook and Looking In	20	(16)
Attitude	20	(2)
Finding Out Where We Are	22	(7)
Observer Consciousness and Activity Mind	24	(5)
Beyond Expectations and Assumptions	29	(3)
The Four Foundations of Mindfulness	32	(4)
Hidden Reefs	36	(15)
Expectations	40	(2)
Assumptions	42	(2)
Goals	44	(7)
Letting Go of Goals	47	(4)
The Butterfly Mind	51	(12)
Why Is the Mind Unsettled?	51	(1)
How We Keep the Mind Unsettled	52	(1)
Unsettling through Reactivity	53	(3)
How to Settle the Mind	56	(2)
Where Does My Mind Go?	57	(1)
Making Friends with the Mind	58	(2)
Tranquillity Is Not a Lovely Feeling	60	(3)
It Just Flows By...	63	(22)
Stabilizing the Mind	63	(2)
Changing Habitual Patterns	65	(1)
Inner Surveillance	66	(2)
Backtracking	68	(2)
Backtracking	69	(1)
Mind Scheme 1	70	(2)
Mind Scheme 2	72	(2)
The Moment of Arising	74	(3)
The Moment of Arising	77	(1)
The Dawn of Freedom: Dissolving Conditioning	77	(2)
The Stabilized Mind	79	(6)
The Cycle of Thought	80	(5)
True Tranquillity	85	(14)
How to Catch a Monkey	85	(1)
The Reactivity of the Mind	86	(4)
Engaging Content	89	(1)
Tranquillity Is Not Fabricated	90	(2)
Obstacles and Openness	92	(2)
A Spectrum of Practices	94	(5)
The Path Is Obstacles	99	(5)
Near Enemies	101	(3)
The Three Modes	102	(2)
Enlightenment	104	(5)
A Diamond Buried in Mud	104	(5)
Appendix: Guidelines for Helpers	109	(8)
Acknowledgments	117