Customer Reviews

Breath by Breath: The Liberating Practice of Insight Meditation

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
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This book really inspired my meditation- it simplified all the baggage I had acquired from a lot of other reading about Buddhism. No mysticism, no dogmatism, no exoticism, just a practical breakdown of what happpens as you practice. It made me realize that meditation is not about some later enlightenment experience, but about the experiences you are having now- that understanding made meditation much less of a labour.

Very good book on vipassana practice and how to do it. Rosenberg writing style is very good and his simple and clear explanations of complex or confusing ideas is most helpful. One of the best books I've read on buddhism or meditation. Highly recommended.

Simple and written in plain English. Larry Rosenberg is a wonderful teacher. I read it over and over and get something new out of it every time.

I picked up this book after a professor read excerpts from it out loud in a class. I was taken with the author's wit and writing skill. This is an absolutely essential guide to meditation, great for beginners, advanced students, and folks like me who are just interested. Very clear, entertaining, lots of antecdotes. Not a dry tome by any means, but not a frivelous book either. It does get to be a bit repetitive at times, but otherwise, well done!

Much impressed by the technical (and I mean that as a complement) detail. So many meditation books are wishy-washy. This is not. It is experiential and practical. Much impressed by the discussion of mindfulness in action - that the mindfulness of breathing during daily action is not something seperate from the persons actions, but simultaneous. (Those interested in Gurdjeiff may draw analogies with the similar split attention involved in Selfremembering.)

I can't agree more with the other reviewers, and rather than rehash what they wrote, I'll simply say this: This book opened my eyes to a very simple, very painless way of meditating. I had no idea that insightful breathing could be so easy! Rosenberg has a great writing style and a wonderful sense of humor, making his book a delight to read. HIGHLY recommended.

I am one of those people who wish it was easier to sit for an hour a day. I am one of those who is struggling to motivate myself to pursue what I have come to believe is an essential part of my life. This book is one that constantly makes my efforts and my struggles easier and keeps me motivated. I just wish I could do justice to this author's efforts in sharing what he has had the good furtune to have gained. I have given my copy of this book away on a few occasions just to replace it with yet another copy soon after. If you are a meditation enthusiast, make sure this book is on your bookshelf, if not right next to you, always.

I loved that the book is really written from a Western perspective. Allows the reluctant mediator (like me) to approach the topic from many different angles. This book helped moditvate me to meditate more regularly. Explains the paradox of meditation (i.e. the goal is to give up the goal) better than any book I've ever read.

This book is wonderful. Rosenberg's approach to meditation and Buddhism comes without the baggage of superstition and folklore that attach themselves to some books on these topics. Rosenberg offers not only basic instruction, but a path for advancing one's practice through the various contemplative steps beyond that, using the anapanasati sutra. I also love the fact that his background is from the East Coast of the U.S., and Jewish. I get a little tired of the condescending attitude toward Westerners from some of the more traditional Eastern authors and teachers. Rosenberg doesn't have a built-in cultural bias toward the East, and is clearly an experienced, dedicated and wise teacher with a sense of humor. I'm usually too cheap to buy the hard-back version of any book (sorry, Amazon), but this one's hard-back, and I'm glad for it because it's a keeper.

A must read for anyone who wants to take their meditation practice further. Larry explains indepth how to use the breath to be in the moment. Humor and real life stories help convey this wonderful technique. Whether a bigger, like me, or a meditator of many years, you will benefit by reading this book.