What Is Meditation?: Buddhism for Everyone [Paperback]

Buddhist generally insist on adding "insight" to meditation because the process of Buddhism itself is predicated on insight into the human predicament leading to action toward liberation. What Buddhism says in a nutshell is that there is suffering, that there is a way out of the suffering, and this is what it is. So taught the Buddha nearly twenty-six hundred years ago. This book emphasizes the compassionate nature of Buddhism while giving a quick outline of the general principles of the religion, followed by an outline of the Buddha's teaching. In the section on meditation there are twenty or so pages to guide the reader into how it is done. As someone who has practiced meditation for many years, I can tell you that this method will work, but the important thing to understand about meditation is that it is a practice, an acquired skill that takes a while to learn. Once learned it can be let go of easily in the hustle and bustle of daily living, but once mastered and completely entered into, it becomes an essential part of our lives and transforms us.

While this book does not completely fulfill the promise of the title (meditation varies for every individual and indeed over time varies for each of us), nonetheless it is valuable as a clear, concise introduction to one of the great world religions.

Nairn gives an overview of the essentials and differing schools of Buddhism, but I found little which I could bring into everyday life. Personally, I found that "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Buddhism" was a much, much better book. Don't let the "Idiot's Guide" title throw you off, as I almost did; it's a really comprehensive, well-flowing book.

Nairn's book feels more academic and a bit colder to me - if I wanted to write a term paper about Buddhism, I would get Nairn; however, if I wanted to begin living Buddhism, I would still get the "Idiot's Guide," by Gary Gach.

The Nairn is a quick read (I read it in one bathtub sitting,) so if you're looking for something short to give you the basics, this may work for you - but, if you want to go on to better understand and practice Buddhism, you'll surely want to pick up a more involved and detailed book.