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Stages of Meditation  By  cover art

Stages of Meditation

By: His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Narrated by: Ken McLeod
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Publisher's summary

Stages of Meditation is a commentary by the Dalai Lama on a rare text by ninth-century Indian Buddhist scholar Kamalashila. It is a favorite of the Dalai Lama's and he often teaches from this text because "on the basis of this knowledge you will be able to understand other treatises without great difficulty. This text can be like a key that opens the door to all other major Buddhist scriptures."

Throughout the program, the Dalai Lama emphasizes the importance of the logical analysis of scriptures, even those in the Buddha's own words. Some teachings, he stresses, "should not be taken literally, but need interpretation." And interpretation is what the Dalai Lama presents in this clear and enjoyable commentary. Included are such familiar Buddhist themes as training the mind, compassion, the nature of suffering, and the practice of calm abiding. Those who practice meditation, whether Buddhist or not, will find this a thoughtful and practical guide, written with the Dalai Lama's characteristic warmth and gentleness.

©2001 His Holiness the Dalai Lama (P)2002 Audio Renaissance, a Division of Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC

Critic reviews

"Those who practice meditation, whether Buddhist or not, will find this a thoughtful and practical guide." (Amazon.com)

What listeners say about Stages of Meditation

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Good material but poor editing

In the course of my study of Tibetan Buddhism, I have read and listened to many books by the Dalai Lama. Most of them are very good but this one is average. The commentary is helpful and interesting, and the subject is intellectually challenging but the editing is poor. Several times during the recording, the reader repeats words or sentences seemingly by accident. I do not expect that this repetition was in the original text, it simply would not make sense. I also found the reader's delivery to be a bit too monotonous. Granted, many audio books on Buddhism are read this way but this reader was an extreme example. Overall, I thought the book was helpful in my practice but it is not exemplary.

As a side note, I would definitely not recommend this book to a beginner. The subject is somewhat advanced and would not benefit a reader that lacks a decent understanding of Tibetan Buddhism.

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27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent.

Where does Stages of Meditation rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top three.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The narrator, his tone and voice were very easy to understand.

Have you listened to any of Ken McLeod’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, this book made me search.

Any additional comments?

I'd like to share this quote from the book, "...there is no identity separate from the mind that perceives it."

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful. Very insightful, and very well read.

I have listened to this book four times, and will undoubtedly re-visit it again. A truly valuable and wonderful guide.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Stages of Meditation

The best technical descriptions available about how to grasp realitys' clarity and emptiness. Thank You Very Much.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Lectures on Emptiness

I think this is a translation of "The Second Part of the Stages of Meditation by Acharya Kamalashila".
I think this book focuses on wisdom & understanding regarding emptiness, non-inherence, impermanence, lack of independent existence. Specifically this, rather than other aspects, such as karma.
Ken McLeod is a good narrator.
The Dalai Lama always writes good books. If you can commit to examining his books, they will benefit you much more than westernized, simplified, americanized, christianized "buddhism" marketed by people who are not experts.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • JK
  • 08-31-23

LOTS OF INFORMATION

Another excellent book by the Dalai Lama.
This book has a lot of information and guidance to meditation.
I have the physical book, so it was easier to follow and it definitely warrants reading the book by itself.
The narrator has a pleasant, matter of fact voice.
My thanks to all involved, JK.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great book

A wonderful book that I found to be developmental and maturative for a young man coming of age such as myself. I found this book to be worthwhile and generally intelligent and I further highly recommend this book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

precious practical buddhist advice

I loved this audio book as it gives practical guidance to realising enlightenment. It builds upon the Dalai Lama's book 'Becoming Enlightened' and is clearly, if at times monotonously, narrated. To be fair the narration was only at times monotonous by comparison to the previous audibook by the Dalai Lama that I listened to which was excellently narrated by Martin Sheen. I highly recommended this audiobook for deepening one's Buddhist practice; it is not for the beginner.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Learn to Meditate.

If you don't know anything about meditation, then this book will get you started. There are some contradictions in this book depending on your thinking process but it's really easy to follow.

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