The Buddhist Path to Simplicity: Spiritual Practice in Everyday Life

The Buddhist Path to Simplicity: Spiritual Practice in Everyday Life
Christina Feldman

Moments of peace and stillness give us a glimpse of how extraordinary our lives can be, but it is easy to lose sight of this in the hectic pace of modern living. In this inspirational book, internationally renowned Buddhist teacher Christina Feldman shows you how to find harmony and balance by applying ancient Buddhist Wisdom to the here and now.The path of conscious simplicity she suggests allows us to fully recover ourselves, by rediscovering our sense of meaning and wonder.As a mother, a layperson and an internationally renowned teacher, Feldman knows the stresses and strains of modern life. In this book she shows how to harmonize and achieve balance and how to apply Buddhist wisdom to the here and now. She addresses subjects of compassion, speech, effort, intention, mindfulness and awakening. The path to peace, she suggests, is not necessarily complex or arduous. If we simply turn our attention to this moment, it will speak to us of wonder, mystery, harmony and peace. She demonstrates that there is no better moment in which to awaken and discover everything our heart longs for than this very moment.

THE

Buddhist Path to Simplicity

Spiritual Practice For Everyday Life

CHRISTINA FELDMAN

Copyright (#ulink_75ef1722-79c9-510e-93f8-16308d03a1c5)

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First published 2001

© Christina Feldman 2001

Christina Feldman asserts the moral right to

be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book

is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9780007119073

Ebook Edition © NOVEMBER 2012 ISBN 9780007483334

Version: 2018-06-19

Contents

Cover (#uc7ac651e-e80c-5e1f-8ccc-7a3c1651c030)

Title Page (#u7145479a-4d5b-51f8-9a4e-50ae41fbaa34)

Copyright (#u8602ccb2-ac56-5a0d-b3cc-f21b5d8b1974)

Foreword by Jack Kornfield (#u6bf2a4c5-293f-5543-9538-40a5e23afbcd)

Introduction (#u79dc7387-efb2-5971-a9ab-8d6799aad08b)

1 Simplicity (#ub41f2584-659c-51c1-ba53-ae2ee3b64c1e)

2 Renunciation (#u2d97c6b7-bac6-5bb4-a664-66ebb0eea2d2)

3 Integrity (#u8f61ba3c-f9e6-5a3c-b3f7-f6d692b30554)

4 The Mind (#litres_trial_promo)

5 Compassion (#litres_trial_promo)

6 Emotion (#litres_trial_promo)

7 Effort (#litres_trial_promo)

8 Speech (#litres_trial_promo)

9 Mindfulness (#litres_trial_promo)

10 Awakening (#litres_trial_promo)

11 Beginner’s Mind (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Foreword (#ulink_3ca014dd-766c-53ff-bfde-0058c622bc8f)

IN our modern consumer society, many people long for greater simplicity and freedom. In a world of strife and conflict, many long for forgiveness and compassion.

You hold in your hands a reminder that this is truly possible. Christina Feldman’s gracious invitation to freedom is like the flower held in the hand of the Buddha. She reminds us that the beauty we seek is at hand … if only we can remove the dust from our eyes and step out of the palace of illusion.

To do so asks of us a few simple, sacred tasks. To look at the sorrows of the world with eyes of compassion for ourselves and others. To learn the art of trust and letting go. To discover the beauty of the middle way. To remember that like the Buddha, we can rest in a peaceful heart, halfway between heaven and earth, without judging, grasping, or fearing.

From this sacred middle way, we see that we are not separate from all that lives. From this awakened presence, natural care and integrity are born. In any moment this flower of awakening and simplicity beckons to us. May you listen to these words with care and find their truth in your own heart.

JACK KORNFIELD

Spirit Rock Meditation Center