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Eric Harrison
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The Foundations of Mindfulness: How to Cultivate Attention, Good Judgment, and Tranquility Kindle Edition

by Eric Harrison (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 35 ratings
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An Essential Addition to Mindfulness LiteratureWho among us does not want to discern right from wrong and useful from useless in any situation? Thirty years ago—long before the modern mindfulness movement—Eric Harrison began teaching meditation as a secular, science-based therapy. Paradoxically, he rooted his practice in the Buddha’s original teaching: the Satipatthana Sutta. The 13 steps in the Sutta offer readers the full benefits of mindfulness: attention, good judgment, and tranquility. Now—informed by a lifetime spent teaching tens of thousands to meditate—Harrison offers both a new translation of the Sutta (the first in modern English) and lucid guidance on how to apply it today.
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  1. Print length
    338 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    The Experiment
  4. Publication date
    April 18, 2017
  5. File size
    2.8 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
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  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A deeply engaging book which both Buddhist meditators and secular mindfulness practitioners around the globe will find useful. To help clarify mindfulness, Eric Harrison explores the relationships, overlaps, and divergences between western Buddhist meditation and secular mindfulness. Whatever your particular views and preferences on the subject, TheFoundations of Mindfulness will help you locate them. I also enjoyed Eric’s translation of the Satipatthana Sutta for its accessibility."
― Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness

"Brings clear thinking, practical wisdom, and welcome rigor to the widely popular concept of mindfulness."
― Publishers Weekly

"The Satipatthana Sutta is one of the Buddha’s foundational teachings on mindfulness. This commentary by a staunchly non-Buddhist mindfulness teacher makes for a stimulating and, at times, provocative read."
― David Michie, author of The Dalai Lama’s Cat series and Mindfulness is Better Than Chocolate

About the Author

Eric Harrison was born in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1949. He graduated from Victoria University with a BA in English literature and music, and started his working life as a schoolteacher and journalist. Between 1974 and 1985 he spent a total of 18 months doing retreats in the Burmese, Tibetan, Zen, and yoga traditions. While he appreciated the opportunities to do long retreats, he found he had no appetite for Buddhism itself.

When Eric opened the Perth Meditation Centre in 1987, he chose to use secular, rational, and science-based language to explain meditation. He later supplemented his knowledge with five years’ study in biology, cognitive science, and Western philosophy. This approach made his work acceptable to the many doctors and psychologists who referred clients to him, and to corporations that have employed him since. He has now taught 30,000 people how to meditate, and his previous six books, including Teach Yourself to Meditate and The 5-Minute Meditator, have been translated into 14 languages.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01L83TS96
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Experiment; Reprint edition (April 18, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 18, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.8 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 338 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1615192565
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 35 ratings

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Eric Harrison

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4.6 out of 5 stars
35 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • M. Craigie, PhD
    5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent and valuable mindfulness resource
    Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    There has been an explosion of self-help, academic, and therapy books about mindfulness over the last 10 years. However, from my experience not that many books are totally successful in terms of clarity and level of detail about how to be mindful, what one is actually doing when being mindful and when engaging in a formal mindfulness practice. In contrast, Eric Harrison in his new book manages to provide a very stimulating and comprehensive account of the fundamentals of how to cultivate a mindfulness practice, as well as providing the reader with a history of mindfulness and its modern application. In particular, his analysis of the evaluation and thought reappraisal function inherent in mindfulness that is now being formally investigated by mindfulness researchers was most intriguing. I believe this book will be of value to both the general public and more advanced practitioners in terms of how to enhance one's mindfulness practice to improve focus, relaxation, and good judgement. Those people with an academic approach to mindfulness may also find the sections on defining mindfulness, attention, open monitoring, and embodied thought of special interest.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read! Clear
    Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2017
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    Great read! Clear, concise and informative. Not only does Eric provide a user-friendly, secular translation of the Buddha's original text on how to meditate, he also clarifies modern mindfulness in the Western world and gives us the background information of how mindful meditation moved from being solely a monastic practice to the broad field it is today.The book also gives excellent instructions on how to meditate, explains the difference between mindfulness and meditation, and what happens when we practise these skills.
    Highly recommended.
    10 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
    Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    His books are great. Buddhism discussions are clear and understandable. Discussions on meditation are clear, complete and put in language even a novice will understand. One of my favorite writers.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Gonza
    3.0 out of 5 stars Since Kabath-Zinn a lot has been written about mindfulness. ...
    Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2017
    Since Kabath-Zinn a lot has been written about mindfulness. This books help us to find out the sources of some of the things that are now taken for granted. Buddhism and Yoga to help relax and meditating, plus some other information and clear explanation. Interesting enough if it's one of you first book about mindfulness.

    Da quando Kabath-Zinn scrisse il suo libro, molto é stato detto sulla Mindfullness. Questo libro ci aiuta a scoprire o riscoprire le fonti che ora vengono date per scontate, come per esempio il buddismo e lo yoga per aiutarci a rilassarci e meditare; ci sono inoltre altre informazioni e chiare spiegazioni. Interessante se é il primo o uno dei primi libri che leggete sull'argomento.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Griselda Barajas
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2018
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    Just what I needed for school.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of the finest books on meditation I've read
    Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2018
    One of the finest books on meditation I've read. I am a pragmatic secular human trained in hard science, who also happens to be a meditation teacher. I feel like this book was almost written for me. Forensic in its accuracy, it spells out in detail the value of meditation as a mind training discipline, stripping it down to what the Buddha actually taught and thought. A fountain of interesting facts and knowledge. Cannot recommend highly enough.
    5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Jim McLaren
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable and enlightening read.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    I have been a fan of Eric Harrison's books since reading 'Teach Yourself to Meditate' 5 years ago. This book goes beyond what I always understood meditation to be and explains how the techniques can be applied to our thoughts, emotions, and states of mind. It also succeeds in separating meditation goals from Buddhist doctrine. Excellent stuff!
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  • Richard Smith
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is a beautifully written book about Mindfulness and meditation
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 23, 2017
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    This is a beautifully written book about Mindfulness and meditation. Eric Harrison is a wonderful writer who writes with clarity, integrity and complete understanding of what mindful meditation is about. There are many books on this subject now but I would recommend all of Eric's books because they speak with honesty from a person who knows about Mindfulness. This book would make a lovely gift as it is beautifully presented too. I have my own copy which I bought and I am going to buy more to give to friends. A wonderful book :)
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  • Amazon Customer
    1.0 out of 5 stars Honest review
    Reviewed in Australia on January 13, 2019
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    The author poses as an expert on buddhist text and practices, while describing buddhists as "crazy" and buddhist concepts as "distasteful" and (my favourite) "childish". Sorry to be blunt, but this is in the white man's tradition of cultural/spiritual appropriation. If you are interested in this topic, there are other books.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Betty Bananna
    5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on this sutta
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 26, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I have bought this four times now.
    Once for myself.
    Twice as gifts.
    And once again for myself in kindle version.

    It's the best discussion of this text I've found, and I've tried dozens.

    Simple. Direct and to the point and it cuts out all of the religious BS.

    The sutta is a method, nothing spiritual or mystical About it at all. This book explains that and explains the life changing meditation methods in depth.

    Excellent find.
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