Editorial Review:
Shamatha meditation is a method for achieving previously inconceivable levels of concentration. Author B. Alan Wallace, an active participant in the much-publicized dialogues between Buddhists and scholars, has more than 20 years’ practice in the discipline, some of it under the guidance of the Dalai Lama. This book is a definitive presentation of his knowledge of shamatha. It is aimed at the contemporary seeker who is distracted and defocused by the dizzying pace of modern life, as well as those suffering from depression and other mental maladies. Beginning by addressing the inherent problems that follow from an inability to focus, Wallace moves on to explore varying levels of meditation. The result is an interior travelogue that recounts an exciting, rewarding "expedition of the mind," tracing everything from the confusions at the bottom of the trail to the extraordinary clarity and power that come with making it to the top.
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 
Great manual on Samatha practice 2007-11-14
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I have been inclined to believe that samatha was a foundation of any kind of vipassana training and this book reinforced this notion in me. The ten stages of samatha training are well laid-out and I liked the interludes and reflections on the practice at each stage. The description of each stage is very vivid and sprinkled with some detailed personal experiences of the author. It's interesting as well as somewhat reassuring to read about these experiences when one finds that his or her own practice brought up similar experiences. While we're not to look for progress in this practice, it's hard to avoid making comparisons.
This book is an good manual for someone practicing samatha meditation. I personally took some good hints from it. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars was one flaw that sort of bothered me. The author makes several references to his belief that an everyday person living in the Western world cannot possibly proceed beyond stage 2 on the path to samatha. I know for a fact that this is not correct. The more problematic issue however with the reinforcement of this notion is that it can potentially discourage fledging meditators or foster doubt and lack of enthusiasm in their practice. That would be a pitty, since in my experience, one's doubt is stronger when starting out on the path and gradually recedes as one makes progress - however small that progress may be :)
It would be for the benefit of humanity as a whole if more individuals took up meditation practice. Therefore, discouraging people from the practice by saying that progress can hardly be made while living an engaged life does not serve much benefit. Very few of us can take to the mountains a'la Thoreau for a couple of years and practice samatha in complete seclusion. But many of us can take an hour or even a couple of hours a day for practice. While I have no doubt that progress would be faster on the shores of Walden, that doesn't mean that progress is out of the question in the city.
This is still a good book though. Do yourself a favor and read it. Then, do yourself an even greater favor and practice it.
A Fine Introduction to a Useful and Little Known Technique  2007-04-26
It often seems as if half the population has a problem with paying attention. Apart from the different types of attention deficit disorder, a former Apple and Microsoft executive called Linda Stone has identified another problem: continuous partial attention.
We have all been multitasking since before our ancestors came down from the trees, but now people's attention is constantly being distracted by an array of new inputs: email, text messaging, instant messaging and a hundred other things. Just think of the way in which many television programs now have multiple items on the screen at once. Many of us are suffering from information overload, and it would be very valuable to be able to improve our ability to focus our attention without putting ADHD medicines in the water supply.
This is a very interesting book by an interesting individual. B. Alan Wallace spent fourteen years as a Buddhist monk and was ordained by the Dalai Lama. He is also the founder and president of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies. He is the author of several other books, including the superb book Contemplative Science.
In this book he describes the ten stages of Shamatha meditation, a technique for developing extraordinary levels of attention and focus. As Alan Wallace describes it in the preface to the book, "Shamatha is a path of attentional development that culminates in an attention that can be sustained for hours on end."
Alan is a committed meditator who has spent the eight hours a day necessary to perfect the method. There are obviously not that many people who could - or would want to - dedicate that amount of time to the practice. But there is still plenty of value to the individual who can only dedicate a few minutes a day to the practice. As with most forms of mental or physical development, the returns that you get from this kind of meditation are strongly related to how much effort you can put in.
The ten stages are:
Directed attention
Continuous attention
Resurgent attention
Close attention
Tamed attention
Pacified attention
Fully pacified attention
Single-pointed attention
Attentional balance
Shamatha
Some books about meditation are a little dry and focused almost exclusively on the mind. Alan has done something very nice with this book: in between his explanation of the ten stages, he has inserted what he calls "interludes;" short ancillary practices that complement the training in attention. The first four of these interludes are designed to cultivate one of the four qualities of the heart: compassion, loving-kindness, empathetic joy and equanimity.
This is a book that you can easily read in a few hours, but you could spend years putting it into practice. As many of us have discovered, applying the basic techniques for just a few minutes a day can be very helpful. If you want to get all the way to the final stage it would require a great deal of time and effort, and ideally also a personal teacher.
The type of focus and attention that is developed by these methods was originally intended to focus inwards and to control and still the mind, but the techniques can be equally useful for focusing on things outside of you.
Alan Wallace has done us a great service by recording and explaining this method, and the book is well worth reading if you have any interest in trying to improve your own ability to focus and to pay attention.
Richard G. Petty, MD, author of Healing, Meaning and Purpose: The Magical Power of the Emerging Laws of Life
Abundantly Worth the Effort! 2007-04-20
Not an "easy read", but for the reader sincerely interested in expanding his/her understanding of Tibetan Buddhist Meditation, this book is both clear and engaging. Wallace is such a prolific writer, my chief difficulty has been deciding which of his books to center on! This one is enormously rewarding. Each chapter builds upon the ones that have gone before--ya gotta do it to reap the skill.
Meditation doe result in positive changes  2007-04-05
I am not yet finished reading this book. I have found it interesting. I have endeavored to read it with an open mind.
I was a little disappointed early on when I realized that with my life as it is now I would not be able to attain the seventh step of meditation. To do so would require months of meditation. My life and commitments as they are now just does not permit that.
Despite that I feel that I have benefited from the techniques that are taught. I do know that I will need to re-read this book in order to get all the benefits from this that I want.
Since beginning this book I do feel that I have been sleeping better. I am more aware of my dreams. I am more relaxed. I do believe that meditation in conjunction with other lifestyle changes have resulted in lower blood pressure readings. My blood pressure was good. It is now excellent.
If you are a person of faith do not fear that this will harm your relationship with God. I am Catholic and have been also reading a book on contemplative prayer. I have found the two to be quite compatible and while reading these books my faith has deepened.
If you are interested in strengthening you mental capabilities or deepen your faith I would recommend this book. Be sure to read it with an open mind.
mind training techniques 2007-01-22
I own several of Alan Wallace's books. I like them all. He presents information from a Western perspective, which I find easier to understand.
Shamatha is the theme of this book. Here there are specific meditation techniques for developing meditative quiescence presented in detail. You are encouraged to practice for a while at each stage using the suggested exercises before continuing on in the book. This book serves as a lifetime checklist with a variety of specific mind training exercises.
Alan has attempted to share the benefits of Tibetan Buddhist mind training, separate from Buddhism so that all may benefit.
If you want to see the version that includes Buddhist beliefs, see his similar book, Genuine Happiness: Meditation as the Path to Fulfillment.
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