Stages Of Meditation is a extensive commentary written by the venerable Dalai Lama upon the middle section of the Bhavanakrama by Kamalashila; a translation of this section is included. The text and the Dalai Lama's wisdom offer insight into understanding all Buddhist scriptures, and covering such matters as how to embrace kindness and live, know calmness, and achieve insight. A "must-read" for followers of the Dalai Lama and an unquestionably worthy addition to Buddhist studies reading lists and reference collections.
This book may be read as a "how-to" guide to "The Art of Happiness." In this commentary, the Dalai Lama turns his attention to the intermediate section of the BHAVANAKRAMA, a meditation handbook composed by the ninth-century, "great scholar-saint" (p. 7), Acharya Kamalashila. A practice manual for taming the mind, this book is aimed at cultivating "within our minds those positive qualities taught by the Buddha" (p. 19). You will find teachings here to awaken your bodhichitta mind, and to help you find your way on the bodhisattva path to enlightenment.
This deeply-meaningful book offers a good introduction to Buddhism. It might just change your life, or temporarily liberate you from suffering. The Dalai Lama addresses compassion, loving-kindness, and calm abiding (Chapter 8), along with the often-difficult Buddhist concepts of equanimity (Chapter 4), suffering (Chapter 5), and emptiness in terms accessible to a Western reader. He writes, this book "can be like a key that opens the door to all other major Buddhist scriptures" (p. 27). Simply stated, this book delivers the dharma.
G. Merritt
