Meditative Path, The: A Gentle Way to Awareness, Concentration, and Serenity

Once, the Mula Nasruden was searching the ground under a street lamp. "Can I help?" asked a friend. "I lost my key in the house," said Nasruden. "But then why look out here?" "Because the light is better in the street," came the reply. Nasruden is a great fool in Middle Eastern folklore. Only by turning on the light inside his house -- his inner psyche --will he find the key. John Cianciosi shows us how to do just that. Directly from the heart, this practical, nonreligious book guides the reader of any faith to reduce stress, increase health, and achieve inner peace. It clearly explains the meditative process and offers very simple exercises to balance theory and practice. Each chapter includes Q&, A sections based on the average reader's experience and crafted from the author's twenty-four years of teaching, first as a Buddhist monk and now in lay life. Of all primers on meditation, this one excels in showing how to slow down life in the fast lane. In the November 2002 issue of Yoga Journal, John Cianciosi contributes to the monthly Guided Meditation column with an article he has written on walking meditation called, "One Step at a Time: Learning to establish awareness during walking meditation helps to develop mindfulness during the activities of your daily life." The author was featured in Yoga Journal, Nov. 2002, with an article on walking meditation.

268 pages

About the author: John Cianciosi was born in Italy and educated in Australia. In 1972, he was ordained a Buddhist monk in Thailand and trained under one of that country’s most gifted and influential meditation masters, the late Venerable Ajahn Chah. At his ordination, his preceptor gave him the name Jagaro, which means "one who is awakened." In keeping with Thai tradition, he was later called Ajahn Jagaro. While living in remote jungle monasteries, he led a disciplined, celibate life devoted to the practice of mental cultivation. This unique experience fostered his profound appreciation for the meditative path. Later, he was appointed abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat, the International Forest Monastery established to provide training for the growing number of Ajahn Chah’s Western disciples. In 1982, he was asked to establish a Buddhist monastery in Perth, Western Australia. For the next 14 years, he was instrumental in successfully establishing Bodhinyana Monastery and Dhammaloka Buddhist Centre. As abbot and spiritual director of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia, Cianciosi was responsible for the training of monks and teaching in the lay community. Under his Buddhist name, Ajahn Jagaro, Cianciosi published a book entitled True Freedom(Bangkok, Buddhadharma Foundation, 1994). In 1995 he left the monastic life and moved to the Chicago, Illinois area, where he continues to share his insights and wisdom as a lecturer at the College of DuPage. His gift for presenting profound teachings in a clear, pragmatic style has inspired a great number of people, not only in Australia, but internationally. His teachings come directly from the heart, having been nurtured by a life devoted to the study and practice of meditation.