Tweet
The Power of Now by this guy is better known but having read the two this is far more powerful 
- more around small 'suttas' to reflect on. I won't review this as such (Zen and the art of not book reviewing) but just post some quotes from it to give you an idea of whether you would/wouldn't like to check it out.
For those who haven't read Tolle he is the only author I know whose output is compatible with all of the following Buddhism, Taoism, Qigong, Sifu Wongs teachings, Cognitive Science, Rationalism, Theism. A tough trick to pull off!
Quotes...
***
"Am I saying "Enjoy this moment. Be happy"? No
Allow the "suchness" of this moment. That's enough."
***
"Spiritual seekers look for self-realization or enlightenment in the future. To be a seeker implies that you need the future. If this is what you believe, it becomes true for you: you will need time until you realize that you don't need time to be who you are."
***
"...You are no longer an entity with a heavy past that becomes a screen of concepts through which every experience is interpreted."
***
"Only when the noisy mind subsides can you connect with nature at a deeper level and go beyond the sense of separation created by excessive thinking."
***
"Every human being has been conditioned to think and behave in certain ways - conditioned genetically as well as by their childhood experiences and their cultural environment.
This is not who they are but this is who they appear to be. When you pronounce judgement on someone you confuse those conditioned patterns with who they are. To do that is in itself a deeply conditioned and unconscious pattern"
***
"As long as the ego runs your life, most of your thoughts, emotions and actions arise from desire and fear."
***
"There is still a widespread denial of death in Western cultures. Even old people try not to speak or think about it, and dead bodies are hidden away. A culture that denies death inevitably becomes shallow and superficial, concerned only with the external form of things."
***
I hope I have helped you add/cross this off your xmas lists
To borrow Kai Sihing's signature
May all beings be happy
metta
Mike
- more around small 'suttas' to reflect on. I won't review this as such (Zen and the art of not book reviewing) but just post some quotes from it to give you an idea of whether you would/wouldn't like to check it out.For those who haven't read Tolle he is the only author I know whose output is compatible with all of the following Buddhism, Taoism, Qigong, Sifu Wongs teachings, Cognitive Science, Rationalism, Theism. A tough trick to pull off!
Quotes...
***
"Am I saying "Enjoy this moment. Be happy"? No
Allow the "suchness" of this moment. That's enough."
***
"Spiritual seekers look for self-realization or enlightenment in the future. To be a seeker implies that you need the future. If this is what you believe, it becomes true for you: you will need time until you realize that you don't need time to be who you are."
***
"...You are no longer an entity with a heavy past that becomes a screen of concepts through which every experience is interpreted."
***
"Only when the noisy mind subsides can you connect with nature at a deeper level and go beyond the sense of separation created by excessive thinking."
***
"Every human being has been conditioned to think and behave in certain ways - conditioned genetically as well as by their childhood experiences and their cultural environment.
This is not who they are but this is who they appear to be. When you pronounce judgement on someone you confuse those conditioned patterns with who they are. To do that is in itself a deeply conditioned and unconscious pattern"
***
"As long as the ego runs your life, most of your thoughts, emotions and actions arise from desire and fear."
***
"There is still a widespread denial of death in Western cultures. Even old people try not to speak or think about it, and dead bodies are hidden away. A culture that denies death inevitably becomes shallow and superficial, concerned only with the external form of things."
***
I hope I have helped you add/cross this off your xmas lists
To borrow Kai Sihing's signature
May all beings be happy
metta
Mike
I think 'The power of now' is a heavy read! I have to stop every few pages to digest what E.Tolle is saying. This one will be a mind-storm! Or maybe it'll overload my mind, and jolt me into an awakening 
Comment