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Awakening: A Paradigm Shift of the Heart
An amazingly succinct and accessible answer to the question “What is enlightenment?”—from one of America's most prominent teachers of Insight Meditation
Former Buddhist monk and highly regarded Insight Meditation teacher Rodney Smith describes the process of enlightenment in a way anyone can understand—demonstrating in clear language why we operate with the illusion of separation, how we can move out of it to the realization of emptiness and no-self, and how we can live from that state of awakening. He provides brief, powerful exercises that enable us to challenge the reality of our thoughts in order to free ourselves from the illusion they keep us bound to—all the while steering us away from the temptation to regard spiritual practice as a process of self-improvement or a goal to be obtained.
“With systematic precision, and with subtle wisdom born of a lifetime of practice, Rodney Smith uses science, psychology, and traditional Buddhism to explain the the how and why of authentic spiritual awakening . . . an original work by a contemporary spiritual master at the height of his powers.” —Norman Fischer, author of Training in Compassion
Former Buddhist monk and highly regarded Insight Meditation teacher Rodney Smith describes the process of enlightenment in a way anyone can understand—demonstrating in clear language why we operate with the illusion of separation, how we can move out of it to the realization of emptiness and no-self, and how we can live from that state of awakening. He provides brief, powerful exercises that enable us to challenge the reality of our thoughts in order to free ourselves from the illusion they keep us bound to—all the while steering us away from the temptation to regard spiritual practice as a process of self-improvement or a goal to be obtained.
“With systematic precision, and with subtle wisdom born of a lifetime of practice, Rodney Smith uses science, psychology, and traditional Buddhism to explain the the how and why of authentic spiritual awakening . . . an original work by a contemporary spiritual master at the height of his powers.” —Norman Fischer, author of Training in Compassion
- GenresBuddhismSpirituality
256 pages, Paperback
First published March 11, 2014
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122 people want to read
About the author
Rodney Smith
4 books28 followersRodney Smith is a renowned insight meditation teacher. He is the founding and guiding teacher of the Seattle Insight Meditation Society. He is also a guiding teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. He was at one time an ordained Buddhist monk in Southeast Asia, and considers Ajahn Buddhadassa, Nisargadatta Maharaj, J. Krishamurti, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Adyashanti, Joseph Goldstein, and Eckhart Tolle to have been influential in his development as a teacher and practitioner. He lives in Seattle and teaches around the world.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 5, 2018
What a great book. Rodney Smith has to be my all time favourite writer of the Buddha. Every once in a while a book comes along that has a wonderful impact in terms of bringing insight and opening new possibilities. Rodney Smith is this kind of writer and all of his books have had a strong impact on me. Again here he shares a wisdom that he has come by only as a result of his commitment to know himself and to share his experience in a truth filled way.
July 10, 2014
Excellent book. Still digesting this. This is for the meditation practitioner who's starting to gain or looking for some perspective on the path of awakening. The author provides a simple meta-map with which to better understand or put a framework around other maps of awakening. By loosening our concepts of self, time and linearity, we begin to awaken to the remarkable nature of reality.
May 27, 2015
It is refreshing to see spiritual books integrate science into the dharma. Unfortunately, in Awakening by Rodney Smith, a number of errors are made in doing so. For example,
Page 9: The discussion in the first full paragraph centers concludes with the sentence “The universe sums to zero.” This is an unclear English sentence because a sum involves combining at least two items, and none are specified. The statement that “the total mass of the universe sums to zero” is incorrect because there is no negative mass that can reduce the mass of the universe to zero.
Page 10: In the first paragraph, the author states that “…each cell of the body ….. somehow instantly knows what all the other cells are doing.” It is unclear what a cell can know, and I doubt that many biologists would support this statement.
A more serious error is the inappropriate use of the first law of thermodynamics which occurs in a number of places in the book.
p29: The first law of thermodynamics is first cited on this page.Thermodynamics is concerned with the exchange of matter and energy between two parts of the known universe. The region of interest is called the system, and the rest of the universe is called the surroundings.
The first law says that the change in energy of the system is equal in magnitude and opposite in sign to that of the surroundings. It is said that energy is conserved. In using the first law, it is important to realize what energy means in thermodynamics. Here is the test for a change in energy: A system expends energy if the process can be configured to lift a mass in the surroundings against a gravitational force. In this process, the potential energy in the surroundings is increased, the energy of the system decreases by the same amount and the total energy of the universe is unchanged. The word energy in thermodynamics is narrowly defined; it is limited to measurable forms such as kinetic energy, potential energy, radiation energy, and the energy stored in chemical bonds.
“Energy” when associated with a thought, or of an emotion is outside of the realm that can be treated by thermodynamics because thoughts and emotions cannot be used to lift a mass. Thermodynamics has nothing to do with the author's use of the word energy and it is inappropriate to cite the first law as in page 33 “The energy would shift into a new paradigm that is no longer time and distance driven”.
Quoting from the discussion of energy on page 49 of Quantum Enigma, a source which the author uses several times in his discussion of quantum mechanics,
“What about psychic energy? Physics can claim no patent on the word “energy”. It was used long before being introduced into physics in the early 19th century. If “psychic energy” could be converted into an energy treated by physics, it would be a form of the energy we are talking about. There is, of course, no generally accepted evidence for that.”
I agree with the authors of Quantum Enigma that physics cannot be applied to how “the energy we were using for worldly gratification” must go either to the formed or the formless. Energy conservation can not be invoked for this“energy” because there is no experimental evidence or theoretical principle to support this assertion.
Page 9: The discussion in the first full paragraph centers concludes with the sentence “The universe sums to zero.” This is an unclear English sentence because a sum involves combining at least two items, and none are specified. The statement that “the total mass of the universe sums to zero” is incorrect because there is no negative mass that can reduce the mass of the universe to zero.
Page 10: In the first paragraph, the author states that “…each cell of the body ….. somehow instantly knows what all the other cells are doing.” It is unclear what a cell can know, and I doubt that many biologists would support this statement.
A more serious error is the inappropriate use of the first law of thermodynamics which occurs in a number of places in the book.
p29: The first law of thermodynamics is first cited on this page.Thermodynamics is concerned with the exchange of matter and energy between two parts of the known universe. The region of interest is called the system, and the rest of the universe is called the surroundings.
The first law says that the change in energy of the system is equal in magnitude and opposite in sign to that of the surroundings. It is said that energy is conserved. In using the first law, it is important to realize what energy means in thermodynamics. Here is the test for a change in energy: A system expends energy if the process can be configured to lift a mass in the surroundings against a gravitational force. In this process, the potential energy in the surroundings is increased, the energy of the system decreases by the same amount and the total energy of the universe is unchanged. The word energy in thermodynamics is narrowly defined; it is limited to measurable forms such as kinetic energy, potential energy, radiation energy, and the energy stored in chemical bonds.
“Energy” when associated with a thought, or of an emotion is outside of the realm that can be treated by thermodynamics because thoughts and emotions cannot be used to lift a mass. Thermodynamics has nothing to do with the author's use of the word energy and it is inappropriate to cite the first law as in page 33 “The energy would shift into a new paradigm that is no longer time and distance driven”.
Quoting from the discussion of energy on page 49 of Quantum Enigma, a source which the author uses several times in his discussion of quantum mechanics,
“What about psychic energy? Physics can claim no patent on the word “energy”. It was used long before being introduced into physics in the early 19th century. If “psychic energy” could be converted into an energy treated by physics, it would be a form of the energy we are talking about. There is, of course, no generally accepted evidence for that.”
I agree with the authors of Quantum Enigma that physics cannot be applied to how “the energy we were using for worldly gratification” must go either to the formed or the formless. Energy conservation can not be invoked for this“energy” because there is no experimental evidence or theoretical principle to support this assertion.
December 30, 2017
An absolutely wonderful book by a spiritual master. I'm already buying copies for loved one. A favorite quote from the book: "It takes extraordinary courage to admit there is no delay to wonder and that there is no separation from the mystery we seek and the one who it seeking it."
Bravo Mr. Smith, Bravo.
Bravo Mr. Smith, Bravo.
August 22, 2016
Read this book with a small group of friends. It took us months. It is a rich and powerful exploration through the journey of shifting awareness from delusion to clarity. It's the kind of book that having finished it, it just want to start over again.
August 4, 2018
Just LOVE this book. Keep reading it over and over again as supports just living in the pure moment and recognizing the relationship between past, present, and future. And the mind fu_ we play on ourselves with 'time'.
July 12, 2015
Full of interesting ideas, but didactic at times and confusingly wordy.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews