Jack Kornfield, who spent many years traveling and studying in monasteries in Burma, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia, offers us in his book a compilation of Theravada Buddhism philosophy and practical methods; it includes meaningful narratives and interviews drawn from situations in which he himself received his training. In his work he conveys deep simplicity and the unceasing efforts surrounding the practice of Theravada in the realm of Buddhist meditation. Through his stories, he shows how practice connects to a certain lineage. Conversations with ascetic monks, bhikkhus, convey the feeling of “intense serenity” and the confidence that permeates these vessels of teaching from an ancient tradition. Each teacher emphasizes some specific aspect of transmitting the Buddha’s teaching, yet at the same time each teacher remains an embodiment of the very essence of the lineage. The book is an attempt to make modern Theravada teachings accessible to Western readers who understand.
In the past, a significant portion of Buddhist doctrine was presented through formal translations of ancient texts. And the teachings presented in this book are still alive; they appear here in the spoken expression of some of the tradition’s most significant masters.