EXPLORER NEW YORK - AA MAP & GUIDE PACK

RATING - D

Despite not yet being able to visit the city, I retain a mild interest. Two or three times I have almost visited, including an attempt for the 99-00 millennium. I have a curiosity about the city as I expect to be reborn there in my next life, and therefore wish to read up on the place to key myself in.

I find the book much the same as any holiday guide in book format, with the usual chunks on history, maps, guides to stuff that most other people except me are interested in, etc. Page 179 mentioned a Tibetan art center that sounds interesting, though. I read everything except for the hotel & restaurant listings.

This book took over a year to read as I only read a couple of pages at a time. I recently finished it as I had to read something I could pick up and put down without too much concentration due to my father calling out every few minutes.

DREAMING YOURSELF AWAKE - B ALAN WALLACE

RATING: B

I relate better to non-Western ideas and techniques, myself. I have already had a little experience with the two 'WILD' options listed in chapter two and find what they term 'hypnagogic imagery' very easy to work with - probably due to my experiences using it as a starting point for multi-sensual telepathy - which becomes near-essential if you plan on maintaining a long-term long-distance relationship. Therefore, the second two chunks were of more assistance than the first section personally.

Chapter 7 especially appealed due to my own interests. I feel the sectors in chapter 8 would be easier to attain progress with work in visualizations within the spiritual zone than working on dreams, though. It is the same level of mentality, yet easier to retain control. The last few pages were of great interest to me, particularly the piece that talked of the importance of recognizing future lives, rather than just this current one.

I would recommend the book to those interested in beginning or improving lucid dreaming with a Buddhist emphasis.

NOBLE FREINDSHIP - TRAVELS OF A BUDDHIST MONK - KHANTIPALO

RATING:B-

Interesting tale of the travels of a monk at the early stages of the Western world's discovery of Buddhism. I particularly tuned in to the Bodh Gaya information. On page 95, it gave a quote from an author I admire concerning the 'TV, radio, newspaper, speakers' now appearing in city monasteries. Well, I do not live in a monastery, but I do not use three of those four!

I was smiling to hear of familiar places to me near the end of the book - Stanmore being a railway station I have often been thru and the Blue Mountains being where my son and I took our last shared vacation together.

THE BODHISATTVA VOWS – (LAMA ZOPA RINPOCHE) FPMT

RATING – B

A short book listing prayers, the vows, and notes on each vow. I purchased this as a reminder, having studied the Bodhisattva vows in full through ACI in one of the 7.5 courses I have so far studied with them via download.

Useful for those contemplating taking the vows as well as those who have made the 'start' and want a handy guide to use as reference/reminder.

BUDDHA STANDARD TIME - LAMA SURYA DAS

RATING - B-

The left-right comparison in chapter 3 was of especial interest to me. I visualize the left side of my mind as being plugged into karma and the right to dharma. I agree - no alarm clock needed by me! I didn't find it all to be the case for me, though. When I worked from 1am thru 10am, I was fitter, slimmer, alerter than I am now that I work 5am thru 8/9pm. (I believe this to be because I 'use' another person's natural hours vibe rather than my own.)

Page 96 reminds me of my friend's website - HERE The reference to women having a thicker corpus callosum on page 99 made me wonder if this has changed throughout the centuries - or might do in future ones - as the female role changes? The brain vibration frequencies on page 119 are interesting - I have noticed change of energy when living under a headache rather than in it, and how resting energy itself can assist in calming thoughts. I also appreciated reading of many references to nature and birdlife.

Perhaps more oriented to the average everyday human than the serious Buddhist student, it nevertheless provided adequate opportunity to contemplate.

MEDICINE BUDDHA TEACHINGS - KHENCHEN THRANGU RINPOCHE

RATING - A-

This book was purchased as 'suggested reading material' due to my recently commencing practice of the Medicine Buddha Sadhana.

Page 100 has an extra-short version that looks possible to practice on days when Dad is likely to interrupt a long session before I finish, which will be helpful. I was interested to find that there was a Manjushri connection mentioned in the base text. I have not yet used mudras in my own practice - but I think I would need to see rather than read about them before doing so. I seem to be the reverse of note 55! I am also glad to read that it does not harm another if you introduce them to MB and they take opposition - this could be quite useful when dealing with animals and birds and might therefore be a preferable practice to my current one.

Good reading if you are new/intermediate at the practice.

THE MEANING OF LIFE - HHDL

RATING - B

HH gives a detailed analysis of the Wheel of Cyclic Life. It is a picture/topic I have come across on many occasions, due to my incessant reading habit. Despite having put a little effort into study myself, it is good to have a thorough investigation by an expert to read through.

Specific points I found of personal interest include the top chunk of page 114 - which explains why I can read a complex book that is a level ahead of my comprehension, and then drift beyond a muddle of multiple questions - into sudden understanding and awareness of what it was on about. I find this specific way of learning productive and enjoyable. Now, I know how it is done!

I additionally enjoyed the 'GB-Sanskrit-Tibetan' mini vocab section at the end. I was surprised to find how many Sanskrit words I knew. I must have picked them all up during the past 6 years of reading, as i knew no Sanskrit at all until I began to read Buddhist books!