Know Where You're Going: A Complete Buddhist Guide to Meditation, Faith, and Everyday Transcendence by Ayya KhemaMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a good recording of talks and Q&A given over a week long (or multiple day) retreat in the 90s. Some of the topics included are an overall view of the Theravada / classical Buddhism framework, the Fourth Noble Truths and Dependent Origination. Each day contained some practical meditation exercises and some questions and answers from the audience. Some things I liked were giving a high level overview of how the mediations related to the Buddha's teachings, and being specific in the meditation instructions and Q&A. Some things to note however- the approaches taken tend to be more commentarial (ie Visudhimagga, Burmese approach), than suttas based. As such, some emphasis is given to concentration and absorption throughout the exercises, and there seems to be more of an emphasis on sitting, rather than carrying around contemplations or integration throughout the day. I was also not so clear on the difference that AK explained between worldly dependent origination and how that differs from transcendental dependent origination. Another difference is AK's use of the term 'corelessness' and using terms like emptiness, which aren't very standard when looking at the early Buddhist vocab or the suttas. I found it interested that it was advised during meditation to take one's attention away from painful sensations or arisings and substitute metta or pleasant feeling instead. This may be helpful with beginners, but could become an issue later on if one is attempting to go beyond pleasant feelings as well. AK does seem to indicate this in some sort of progression, but that's not covered in this book. There is also a fair amount covered in this book about absorption states of mind, and what may be termed by some as 'heavenly jhanas'. There is some debate about whether the Buddha actually taught absorption states, and jhanas which appear to be pleasant abidings and 'heavenly' type jhanas, similar to the Brahmaviharas. I won't go into detail about this debate, however, AK's view is largely on the side of aiming to develop these absoption states and types of jhana, and which require long periods of intense sitting and concentration.
Overall, a helpful book, but keep in mind some context when considering the approach here.
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