The Wise Heart

I started being interested in Buddhism when Yip, the chinese doctor who basically saved my life, told me to go meditate because I was way too stressed out and did not have the "correct" perspective on things. She gave me the address of this Chinese "Pure Land" temple, which was located on the second floor of what seemed to be an abandoned shopping center on the North side of town. Even though I was usually the only westerner and most of the people there spoke only Chinese, they made me feel welcome and, for the next several months, I spent my Saturdays meditating and chanting "Amituofo" (the name of the Pure Land Buddha) over and over again, for hours on end. Also, at this temple there was a room where small children could play while the grown-ups meditated. I started visiting this room regularly and played with the children. We became friends. The meditation and playing with the children kind of mixed together in my experience and that's how I got the idea of writing books for kids. That it would be something I would be good at and that it would be good for me. That it was something I could do with an open heart.

Eventually, I stopped going to the temple when I started working as a teacher, because it was very far from my house and I had reservations about the whole religious aspect of it, and also because I was lazy. But I continued reading about Buddhism and practicing meditation. The books that I have found the most useful and the appeal to me the most are usually written by westerners who have learned from eastern masters and are able to "translate" the teachings in such a way that they become accessible without having to work too hard to overcome cultural barriers.

My favorite are both students of this Thai monk called ajahn Chah, a proponent of the Theravada Thai forest tradition. The first book that really helped me was by an american buddhist monk called ajahn Sumedo. Yip gave it to me. It's a small pamphlet explaining the Four Noble Truths. I found it really helpful because it gave me this new way of looking at things and some idea of how to apply these teachings to my life. The other books I found really useful are by Jack Kornfield. He also used to be a monk in Thailand, but then became a psychologist and meditation teacher. I read his books A Path With Heart and The Wise Heart, in which he explains very clearly what meditation is all about — what the purpose of it is and what one can expect from the practice. He also gives all these really good exercises. I was able to make my practice much more regular thanks to his books and to relieve a lot of the anxiety I was feeling. Reading a chapter at night usually calms me down and centers me. I'm sure it would be better to learn formally, with a live teacher, but for now I haven't found one, so, like a lot of other things in my life, I'm trying to teach myself with books and assiduous practice. I can say that so far, it has been really rewarding, although I haven't yet found lasting peace. But I do feel, mostly, that I'm on the right path.