The Meditation Handbook
by Geshe Kelsange Gyatso

The Meditation Handbook is a wonderful book for those uncertain about meditation, and on what subjects to focus their meditations. This step-by-step meditation manual provides an explanation of what meditation is and how to work it into your daily life. The first part of the book gives a background to meditation. It tells why we should meditate, how to prepare for meditation, and how to have a successful meditation session. The second part presents the 21 meditations of the Buddhist path to enlightenment and includes advice on how to maintain the experience of meditation throughout the day, how to combine these meditations into a cycle for regular daily meditation, and how to do a simple meditation retreat. The author gives clear explanations and encouragements that make it easy to incorporate Buddhist beliefs into everyday life.

Meditation is a method for acquainting our mind with virtue. The more familiar our mind is with virtue, the calmer and more peaceful it becomes. When our mind is peaceful we are free from worries and mental discomfort, and we experience true happiness. Each of the meditation practices has five part: preparation, contemplation, meditation, dedication, and subsequent practice. Preparatory practices are performed at the beginning of each meditation session along with the short prayers found in the end of each of the chapters.

By reciting dedication prayers at the end of each meditation session, the person meditating ensures that the merit created by meditating is not wasted but acts as a cause for enlightenment. The practices should be done steadily and gently, without being in a hurry to see results. If we train our mind in these meditations every day, eventually we will gain perfect realizations of all the stages of the path.

This text provides the reader with everything he or she needs to achieve enlightenment. Each meditation builds upon the other, so one can contemplate subjects with great ease and clarity of mind. This book should be in the hands of every person who meditates or is thinking of meditating.