They hear the tinkling of bells and the piping voice of a child. It is late in the afternoon of January 24 the soldiers are hiding in a gully, waiting for the cover of darkness before beginning their work. Their mission is to destroy a communications link so that Saddam Hussein's forces could no longer launch Scud missiles. They are members of the British special forces, the SAS, under the leadership of Sergeant Andy McNab. Eight British soldiers covertly enter Iraq. Bush, the elder, is in the white house, and the first Gulf War is underway. To be honest, though, I’m up for a little light reading.The year is 1991. That said, I prefer practical Buddhism and don’t like to waste time on such ideas as rebirth-linking, supernormal abilities, etc. I’d already read sections of this book over the years, but it was nice to read and view the work as a whole for the first time. With strength now drained by undermining, Written in the fifth century, this 900-page book can make reading Proust seem like a walk in the part, but the little gems tucked away in the text make it worthwhile, like the verse in the section dealing with anapanasati: The Visuddhimaga (“Path of Purification”) is a comprehensive summary/analysis of the Theravada understanding of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path. I finally finished reading the Visuddhimaga by Buddhaghosa (translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Nyanamoli). I’m now halfway through a really good book on the music of the Beatles, but as I will not finish it by the end of the year, that book will appear on next year’s list. Buddhist Suttas for Recitation: A Companion for Walking the Buddha’s Path (Henepola Gunaratana).Loving-Kindness in Plain English: The Practice of Metta (Henepola Gunaratana).Journey to Mindfulness: The Autobiography of Bhante G.The Individualist: Digressions, Dreams & Dissertations (Todd Rundgren).Meditation on Perception: Ten Healing Practices to Cultivate Mindfulness (Henepola Gunaratana).Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness: Walking the Buddha’s Path (Henepola Gunaratana). The Meditator’s Atlas: A Roadmap to the Inner World (Matthew Flickstein).The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English (Henepola Gunaratana).Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English: An Introductory guide to Deeper States of Meditation (Henepola Gunaratana).Mindfulness in Plain English (Henepola Gunaratana).Here’s the list of books I read or reread in 2019: With the exception of Todd Rundgren‘s long-awaited “autobiography” and a meditation guide, I devoted the past year to reading and rereading the works of Bhante G. Like most people, my pursuits leave little time to explore every shiny object that comes along, but those looking to take a break from time to time will find these books packed with fun facts about the world in which they live and the universe in which that world exists. Peterson Field Guides are “Golden Guides for Adults” published to assist curious lay people in identifying natural phenomena, and I’m amazed at the number of guides available. I’ve started reading the latter from cover to cover, and it’s fascinating! I bought it, and as in my youth, I discovered the book was only one in a series of great books, so I ordered the latest edition of the Peterson Field Guide to Stars and Planets. I’m at Lowe’s browsing through books on projects I hope I never have to do when I spot the sixth edition of Roger Tory Peterson’s Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America. A few months later, however, my fleeting interest in natural science had all but disappeared.įast-forward a few decades. Better yet, the library had other Golden Guides in the series, including Mammals and Rocks and Minerals, and those books interested me even more. Reptiles and Amphibians (Golden Press), a “guide to familiar American species,” presented more than 200 species with color illustrations, and I loved flipping through its pages. I’ll spare you the details, but witnessing nature firsthand inspired me to check out a handbook on the subject. When a kid down the street invited me and a few others to watch him feed a live toad to his pet snake, we accepted. During my formative years, I cared more about sports, music, and reading than nature, but I enjoyed learning about things that interested me.
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