Mindfulness (Dr. Evan Gray)
A Joke of a Book
[My 1-star Amazon review (NDA) of “Mindfulness: Learn from Tibetan Monks How You Can Live a Happy Carefree Life without Disappointment.”]
No one who is knowledgeable about the practice of mindfulness and the traditions Tibetan and Theravada could take this book seriously. The author loses all credibility from the get-go when he writes, “The teachings of bhikkhu (monks) of Tibetian traditions, there are only two distinct forms of meditation – ‘Samantha’ and ‘vipissanā’.” First off, I did not misquote this poorly written sentence. The book, seemingly unedited, is full of badly written sentences and innumerable spacing errors. Secondly, Tibetan (not “Tibetian”) Buddhism doesn’t have bhikkus or teach only “samantha” and “vipissana” meditation. It is Theravada Buddhism that has bhikkus and emphasizes “samatha” and “vipassana,” (which the author can’t even spell correctly). Tibetan Buddhism has lamas, and emphasizes meditation practices other than vipassana and samatha, such as Dzogchen and Mahamudra, which the author never mentions.
The author, Dr. Evan Gray, writes, “I have followed the teachings of a Buddhist bhikkhu (monk) of Tibetan traditions and I try to live by their rules every day of my life.” The author loses more credibility by not identifying the monk, traditions, or rules he follows. And he loses still more credibility by not stating what he is a Doctor of. If he has a PhD, it is time to end doctoral programs, because he writes like a high school drop-out. Elsewhere he identifies himself as a personal trainer and fitness instructor, which is an unlikely match for a guy with a PhD.
The meditation instructions in this book are so generic, anyone could cobble together a crap book like this one from information on the Internet. And the author’s information is filled with holes. For example, he (wrongly) writes, “Apānāsati is method that aims for you to empty your mind by focusing on a single action. This is an activity to develop your ‘samādhi’, or concentration, by focusing all of your mind and attention upon a single, boring and repetitive activity.”
“Apananasati” (not “apanasati” as the author misspells it) is not a method that aims to empty your mind by focusing on a single action. Apananasati is simply mindfulness of breathing. And “samadhi” does not mean “concentration”; it means protracted meditative absorption.
I could go on and on pointing out problems with this book, but I’m sure you get the picture by now.
This skimpy book can be read in about twenty minutes, and is grossly overpriced, at $11.95, as a paperback. And, sad to say, even as a free Kindle unlimited book it is no bargain. If you’re interested in quality mindfulness teachings, I suggest you look elsewhere.
[My 1-star Amazon review (NDA) of “Mindfulness: Learn from Tibetan Monks How You Can Live a Happy Carefree Life without Disappointment.”]
No one who is knowledgeable about the practice of mindfulness and the traditions Tibetan and Theravada could take this book seriously. The author loses all credibility from the get-go when he writes, “The teachings of bhikkhu (monks) of Tibetian traditions, there are only two distinct forms of meditation – ‘Samantha’ and ‘vipissanā’.” First off, I did not misquote this poorly written sentence. The book, seemingly unedited, is full of badly written sentences and innumerable spacing errors. Secondly, Tibetan (not “Tibetian”) Buddhism doesn’t have bhikkus or teach only “samantha” and “vipissana” meditation. It is Theravada Buddhism that has bhikkus and emphasizes “samatha” and “vipassana,” (which the author can’t even spell correctly). Tibetan Buddhism has lamas, and emphasizes meditation practices other than vipassana and samatha, such as Dzogchen and Mahamudra, which the author never mentions.
The author, Dr. Evan Gray, writes, “I have followed the teachings of a Buddhist bhikkhu (monk) of Tibetan traditions and I try to live by their rules every day of my life.” The author loses more credibility by not identifying the monk, traditions, or rules he follows. And he loses still more credibility by not stating what he is a Doctor of. If he has a PhD, it is time to end doctoral programs, because he writes like a high school drop-out. Elsewhere he identifies himself as a personal trainer and fitness instructor, which is an unlikely match for a guy with a PhD.
The meditation instructions in this book are so generic, anyone could cobble together a crap book like this one from information on the Internet. And the author’s information is filled with holes. For example, he (wrongly) writes, “Apānāsati is method that aims for you to empty your mind by focusing on a single action. This is an activity to develop your ‘samādhi’, or concentration, by focusing all of your mind and attention upon a single, boring and repetitive activity.”
“Apananasati” (not “apanasati” as the author misspells it) is not a method that aims to empty your mind by focusing on a single action. Apananasati is simply mindfulness of breathing. And “samadhi” does not mean “concentration”; it means protracted meditative absorption.
I could go on and on pointing out problems with this book, but I’m sure you get the picture by now.
This skimpy book can be read in about twenty minutes, and is grossly overpriced, at $11.95, as a paperback. And, sad to say, even as a free Kindle unlimited book it is no bargain. If you’re interested in quality mindfulness teachings, I suggest you look elsewhere.
