Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition

by Daniel P. Brown, Robert A.F. Thurman (Foreword)

Many books have been published in recent years on the topic of mahamudra, or meditation on the fundamentally clear nature of the mind. This book is different in the systematic way it draws from a variety of source texts in order to construct a complete, graded path of practice informed by an understanding of the particular obstacles faced by meditators in the West. Dan Brown is a clinical psychotherapist who has also spent much time evaluating the experiences of meditators on longterm retreats. He knows the Tibetan literature on mahamudra meditation and has over thirty years of both personal meditation experience and observation of the experiences of others. He co-wrote, with Ken Wilber and Jack Engler, the book Transformations in Consciousness , and he teaches an annual seminar on mahamudra meditation at the Esalen Institute.

Pointing Out the Great Way is a spiritual manual that describes the Tibetan Buddhist meditation known as mahamudra from the perspective of the 'gradual path.' The gradual path is a progressive process of training that is often contrasted to sudden realization. As such, this book contains a step-by-step description of the ways to practice, precise descriptions of the various stages and their intended realizations, and the typical problems that arise along with their remedies. Simply put, mahamudra meditation involves penetrative focus, free of conceptual elaboration, upon the very nature of conscious awareness.

A unique feature of this book is its integrative approach to the stages of mahamudra meditation. A number of works on Buddhist meditation stages in general and mahamudra meditation in particular are already available in English, yet none, single text or commentary on the stages of mahamudra meditation, captures the inner experience of these stages in sufficient detail to convey its richness. This book represents the needed alternative by integrating material from a variety of root texts, practical manuals, and commentaries. Another unique feature of this book is its relational approach. It is intended as a return to the original teacher/student style of teaching meditation, which may be better suited to Western culture than the monastic or retreat style of practice. The book distills and codifies the experiences of many great masters who have traversed the path of meditation to the point of perfect mastery.

Genres: Buddhism, Meditation, Spirituality, Nonfiction

608 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2006

About the author

Daniel P. Brown was the director of the Center for Integrative Psychotherapy in Newton, Massachusetts, and an associate clinical professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School. Trained in Buddhist philosophy and languages at the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he did his dissertation on mahamudra meditation texts, he maintained close relations with Tibetan teachers of the Gelug, Kagyu, and Nyingma lineages for more than thirty-five years as well as exploring the Theravada mindfulness traditions in Burma and Thailand. Dan was the author of fourteen books, including Transformations of Consciousness and he lived in San Francisco, California with his wife, Grethen Nelson.

source: publisher's site

Reviews

[Morgan Blackledge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic.

For anyone interested in Mahamudra.

This is a MUST READ.

This text essentially aggregates various texts from the Mahamudra tradition, and synthesizes them into one, clearly translated, well organized manual that lays out the path, beginning with provisional practices, and ending in post awakening practices.

I’m stunned.

I’m grateful to Daniel P. Brown for his exquisitely thoughtful and well executed scholarship.

This is a treasure.

5/5 stars ⭐️

[Mark Derderian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been working on this book for over a year. It is one of the most detailed and complete descriptions and analysis of the stages of meditation available in English. It is written by Daniel P. Brown who is a psychologist teaching at Harvard Medical School and is extremely rigorous. it is a difficult and slow moving text, not for people who want an easy approach to the practice of meditation, but if you are a serious practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism and are interested in the historical intellectual background of your practice I can't imagine a better book for the complete background of Mahamudra meditation. Not only is it difficult but it is a large book, over pages.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is dense and technical; I recommend it to people who are already very, very interested in meditation.

I got a massive transmission from it, and took my time savoring it slowly over four years. But it's like reading a textbook or technical manual, so just keep that in mind if you're planning on diving it.

There's probably a lot more I could or should say about this...

[Eugene Pustoshkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Содержит подробное описание восходящих этапов медитативно-созерцательной практики махамудры. Предназначена для практикующих, имеющих опыт устных наставлений, однако может быть полезна для любых серьёзных исследователей-практиков.

[Benno Blaschke · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book on Tibetan Buddhist Mahamudra that exists (to my knowledge).