Stephan Bodian - Beyond Mindfulness: The Direct Approach to Lasting Peace, Happiness, and Love

Stephan Bodian draws the reader into a direct experience of his subject: the peaceful and liberating ground of awareness in which experiences come and go. His own great depth of insight and heart comes through on every page as he offers clear descriptions of subtle matters, practical suggestions, and experiential practices. Truly, a jewel of a book.

RickHanson, PhD, author of Buddhas Brain and HardwiringHappiness

This provocative and profound book shines a light on how practicing meditation can reify the doerthe self who is being mindful. With great lucidity and care, author Stephan Bodian introduces approaches drawn from non-dual wisdom traditions that allow us to relax back and realize the indivisible radiant awareness that is already and always here.

TaraBrach, PhD, author of RadicalAcceptance and TrueRefuge

Stephan Bodian takes us beyond mere words, ideas, and mental fabrications into the very heart of the matter. I heartily recommend this excellent book.

LamaSuryaDas, best-selling author of AwakeningtheBuddhaWithin and AwakeningtotheSacredPublishers Note

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

Copyright 2017 by Stephan Bodian

Non-Duality Press

An imprint of New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

5674 Shattuck Avenue

Oakland, CA 94609

www.newharbinger.com

Lines from I Have Lived on the Lip from THE ESSENTIAL RUMI by Jalal al-Din Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks. Copyright 1997 by Coleman Barks. Used by permission.

Cover design by Amy Shoup

Acquired by Ryan Buresh

Edited by Ken Knabb

All Rights Reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Dedicated with boundless gratitude to my teachers,

without whose patience and generosity

this book would never have come to be,

and to the peace and happiness

of all beings everywhere.

About the Author 127

It may be hard to imagine what lies beyond mindfulness practices and teachings, especially given how clearly beneficial and pervasive they are. Isnt it enough to bring open, nonjudgmental, and curious attention to our present experience and to cultivate loving-kindness? Certainly for some it is. Yet others, whether long-time practitioners or beginners, may sense that there is a more direct path to freedom, love, and happiness. If you are such a reader, you have found a superb book and a worthy guide.

Stephan Bodian, a dear friend and colleague whom I met on retreat in the late 1980s, thoroughly walked the path of mindfulness as a Zen practitioner and priest. He went on to study with non-dual spiritual masters from the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta, including our mutual teacher Jean Klein, as well as to become a licensed psychotherapist. As a result of this rich and varied background, he offers what may be the first of its kindan insiders critique of mindfulness meditation and teachings that is both appreciative and challenging. More importantly, he eloquently points to an inherent wakeful awareness that underlies the practice of mindfulnessthe jewel teaching of this book.

There is much to appreciate about mindfulness teachings and practices. For many, these have been their first introduction to meditation and the dharmaa portal to their inner depths and to a deeper truth. Mindfulness develops a more spacious relationship to thoughts and feelings, reduces anxiety and depression, and improves concentration and open-heartedness. In some cases, it has led people to realize their true nature. However, it can easily leave us in a mode of striving to improve ourselves. After all, we can always be more mindful, cant we? This tendency to want to better ourselves presents a huge potential pitfall. We can easily remain in a subtle state of lack rather than recognizing our inherent wholeness.

It turns out that the essential qualities that mindfulness practitioners try to purposely cultivate, such as wisdom and compassion, are spontaneous byproducts of awakening to our true nature. Deep self-inquiry is like the process of uncovering a pure spring. Upon careful investigation, the distinction between self and other softens and dissolves. As a result, clarity, love, and a profoundly wakeful and luminous awareness naturally emerge. At first we may feel like we are no oneundefined and unconfinedan infinitely open and free space. In time we also discover that we are not separate from anything or anyone. This realization is far beyond seeing that we are interconnected on a phenomenal levelthat is, that we are part of a greater whole. Rather, it is the intuition that the seer and the seen, the knower and the known, are not two. We experience ourselves as the pure light of awareness, the source and substance of all phenomena. This is the fruition of heart wisdom. Of course it takes time for this understanding to transpose to the conditioned body-mind.

As we awaken from the trance of the separate self, we naturally welcome what islife as it appearsand find ways to creatively respond that break the cycle of reactivity. This shift affects both our residual psychological conditioning and our responses to events and people in our daily life. Where before we may have approached our troublesome thoughts and feelings as something to change or get rid of (another form of reaction), they are instead honestly faced and innocently welcomed, just as they are, into the light of awareness. What happens when you feel deeply seen and accepted? Our rejected parts and patterns respond in the same way.

As we discover our inner freedom, we naturally offer it to others. So, too, with our self-acceptance and love. Happiness and peace effortlessly radiate out as a spontaneous, unselfconscious blessing.

Enjoy the illuminating words in BeyondMindfulness, and the Silence from which they come. With Stephans skillful guidance, may you recognize and more fully embody your true nature.

John J. Prendergast, Ph.D., author of InTouch: How to Tune In to the Inner Guidance of Your Body and Trust Yourself

For many years I practiced mindfulness meditation as a Buddhist monk. For hours each day I paid careful attention to the coming and going of my breath and to the sensations of my body as I meditated. I became adept at noticing thoughts and feelings as they occurred and found myself feeling calmer, more spacious, and more disengaged from the drama that had seemed to be my life. In time my customary anxiety diminished, and a sense of ease and contentment enveloped me. My relationships improved, my mind settled down, and my concentration deepened. Instead of worrying about the future or obsessing about the past, I lived increasingly in the moment, focused on doing the next task as carefully and mindfully as possible. From a nervous intellectual, I transformed into a paragon of patience, groundedness, and equanimity. I was a completely different person.