The Magic of Awareness

Description

A Tibetan Buddhist teacher offers guidance on maintaining a state of awareness-demonstrating how enlightenment can be found at any time, in our everyday lives The paradox of awareness is very profound and yet very simple. It can't be described because it has no objective qualities and no limitation. Sometimes it comes naturally to the surface when we are fully in the present moment and no longer lost in thought or mental projections. Pure consciousness is neither high nor low, neither pleasant nor unpleasant, neither good nor bad. No matter where we are, no matter what we are doing, we always have an immediate access to that inner stillness. It can be experienced in an instant in all circumstances once we know how to pay attention to it. It is utterly peaceful and it is also insightful, so it sees through all illusions. Whenever there is a moment of being deluded, we can use that moment to practice settling in the very perfect sphere of the Buddha mind without trying to change anything. When we reside in that liberated mind, we find the very thing we have been seeking all along.

Anam Thubten grew up in Tibet and undertook Buddhist training in the Nyingma tradition at an early age. He has been teaching in the West since the 1990s and is the spiritual adviser and Dharma teacher for the Dharmata Foundation.

"It happens when we look at a newborn baby. It happens when we break the chains of our worldly beliefs. It happens when we meditate. 'It' is a glimpse into the Buddha's world of enlightenment. Thubten, a uniquely worldly teacher, tells us that enlightenment happens in real life, not inside our minds in the world of concepts. He explains all this to readers in clear down-to-earth language. His tone is lively direct and engaging. The is no aura of higher status to keep people at arm's length. He references the Buddha and respected Buddhist teachers in order to anchor his teachings in traditional Buddhism but the overall tone is consistently conversational. His message is simple. Enlightenment can happen at any moment in any place to any one. One can 'surrender' to the beauty of a flower, the happiness of greeting a friend, or the joy of sitting in a park and watching children play. This is a very serious Buddhist text which is completely understandable and a joy to read."-Anna Jedrziewski, Retailing Insight