Ajahn Brahm has no problem sharing his recipe for inconceivable bliss. This step-by-step meditation guide on the Jhanas - a core part of the Buddha's original meditation teaching - is full of the joy of meditation practice, with precise instructions for traversing the stages of practice and overcoming obstacles. It is also filled with the author's unique brand of humour and entertaining stories that inspire, instruct, and illuminate, while he waxes lyrical about the bliss at our disposal. The beginning instructions are some of the best anywhere, and the descriptions of the advanced states are unparalleled in their vividness. Never before has this material been approached in such an empowering way, by a teacher of such authority and popularity.
A Buddhist monk for over 30 years, born in the West but trained in the Thai forest tradition under the great master Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Brahm is now himself a revered spiritual guide and abbot of a monastery in Australia.
"Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond is riveting, rollicking, and uncompromisingly real. Ajahn Brahm's voice is utterly fresh and compelling, in the greatest tradition of our beloved roshis and bhikkhus." Glenn Wallis, translator of the Dhammapada.
"Like a broom through cobwebs, Ajahn Brahm sweeps away the mysteries surrounding the Jhanas. Salted with his often witty stories…Brahm uses accessible language to explain subjects that other teachers shy away from. This is a bold and important book." John Roberts, Buddhist Council of the Northwest.