Who is My Self?: a guide to Buddhist meditation

Self-transformation is an essential element in all forms of Buddhist meditation—from Tantra to Zen. Ayya Khema, author of the best-selling Being Nobody, Going Nowhere, uses one of the earliest Buddhist suttas to guide us along the path of the oldest Buddhist meditative practice for understanding the nature of "self." By following the Buddha's explanation with clear, insightful examples from her years of teaching meditation, she guides us back and forth between the relative understanding and higher realizations of the Buddhist concept of "self." Her thoughtful contemplation of the Buddha's radical understanding of "self" and her practical advice for achieving insight offer the reader a profound understanding of the "self." Both beginning and advanced practitioners will greatly benefit from Ayya Khema's warm and down-to-earth exposition of the Buddha's meditation on "self."



"Who Is My Self? gives us the recipe and the motivation to practice what is accessible to all, yet accomplished by few."—Inquiring Mind

"Ayya Khema is a meditators' meditator, a real expert, as clear about the nuts and bolts of technique as she is about the basic sanity and profound peacefulness that is the goal of all technique. Who is my Self? is a truly astonishing book. A commentary on the Poṭṭhapāda Sutta, it discusses the well-known eight stages of meditative absorption. If you are interested in Buddhist meditation in all its color, depth, and refinement, you will want to pay close attention to this book."—Norman Fischer, Co-Abbot, San Francisco Zen Center

"Ayya Khema's teachings are strongly grounded in a practical, daily-life perspective, yet she knows how to experience sublime states in meditation. In this excellent book, she lays out the path specified by the Buddha himself—a path that leads to transcendent joy and liberation from suffering." —Sandy Boucher, author of Turning the Wheel and Opening the Lotus

"Abounds with down-to-earth wisdom and contemporary relevance...a wonderful, practical introduction to the practice of Buddhist meditation."—Booknews (Australia)

"Khema expertly translates the Buddha's powerful words...into terms which the lay Buddhist, and even the non-Buddhist, can understand...she is well equipped to teach the ways of the Buddhist faith and its search for the real self."—NAPRA ReVIEW

"A much-appreciated and valued contribution."—Wisconsin Bookwatch