Lovingkindness

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Crisp, fresh, uncompromising - Rated
This may be personal to me, but I tend to fear that books on this topic will be a bit drippy, nebulously positive feelgood items. Happily, Sharon Salzberg is a true teacher in the Theravadan tradition and helps me move towards lovingkindness as i think it was meant. As she presents it, lovingkindness is clarity about the flaws in the world, ourselves, other people. Lovingkindness is a compassionate non-denial of what things are like. Oddly, lovingkindness turns out to be the antidote to fear. It opens us up to the world, rather than trying to drape existence in pink positive soft-focus light. Open, loving, fearless, accurate, non-narrow, non-petty; we've got a lot to thank the Buddha for, and this is a truly wonderful exposition by Sharon Salzberg. She provides great stories, deep understanding and, critically, the kind of precise, technical meditation tips that are the blessing of the Theravadan tradition. There are a lot of solid, traditional metta practices straight from the canon summarised in here. A book that I will be mining for years.

A fantastic book, with practical meditations on compassion - Rated
I first came across this book in a monastery in Thailand, it can truly be life changing. It has practical meditations that help you learn forgiveness for yourself and others as well as greater compassion. I would recommend this book to anyone and frequently do :-)

Amazingly eye opening - Rated
This is one of the few books I would actually read over and over. It's incredibly down-to-earth and is full of great quotes you keep in mind all day long. It invites you to think about your perception of yourself and others in a very different light. There is so much common sense in the buddhist way of relating to each other, but we don't often use our common sense.

Reading this book will help heal your heart and soul. - Rated
Practice compassion, and heal the Earth. Kindness is the balm of Gilead, the salve of sadhus, the alchemy of avatars. Practicing loving kindness (and compassion) is so basic that it bypasses most of us. We often just don't "get" it, and then cause pain and suffering for ourselves and others.

Send love and compassion and kindness to all through prayer and meditation. The Earth will change in response. Guaranteed!!

A mind expansive journey that is truly Amazing! - Rated
Reading this book forces the reader to embark upon a journey of opening the mind, and the heart (if there is a real difference). A Journey that questions the conditioned states many of us have become used to as our reality. With a mastery of deep understanding and humility, Sharon Salzberg gives people one of the most important gifts in the world. It is something most of us just seek unconsciously. It is something that we don't usually remain aware of in our every day life, but we all would be willing to do anything to "get" it. It is happiness.