Acknowledgments
| This book has been
several years in the making. In the course of assembling it, I have used some of the
material it contains to lead study courses at the Barre Center of Buddhist Studies, Barre,
Massachusetts; at Awareness Grove, Laguna Beach, California; with the Insight Meditation
Society of Orange County; with the San Diego Vipassana Community; and with the Open Door
Sangha of Santa Barbara. The feedback coming from the participants in these courses has
been very helpful in forcing me to clarify the presentation and to make explicit the
connections between the words and their application in practice. It has been encouraging
to see that people in America - contrary to their reputation in other parts of the world -
are interested in learning authentic Buddhist teachings and integrating them into their
lives. This encouragement is what has given me the impetus to turn this material into a
book. In addition to the participants at the above courses, Dorothea Bowen, John Bullitt, Jim Colfax, Charles Hallisey, Karen King, Mu Soeng, Andrew Olendzki, Gregory M. Smith, and Jane Yudelman have read and offered valuable comments on earlier incarnations of the manuscript. John Bullitt also helped with the Index. The finished book owes a great deal to all of these people. Any mistakes that remain, of course, are my own responsibility. I dedicate this book to all of my teachers, and in particular to Phra Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo, the teacher of my primary teacher, Phra Ajaan Fuang Jotiko. The example of Ajaan Lee's life has had a large influence on my own, in more ways than I can ever really repay. His teaching of the Buddhist path as a skill - as expressed in the Wings to Awakening and embodied in the practice of breath meditation - provided the original and on-going inspiration for writing this book. I offer it to his memory with the highest respect. Thanissaro
Bhikkhu |
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