Practical Buddhism: mindfulness and skillful living in the modern era

With clarity and simplicity, wisdom and humour, Paramabandhu takes us on a journey towards some answers to these questions. The Buddha's remarkable passage through his own life showed him that ascetic practice in itself did not bring enlightenment, but a careful attention to internal processes combined with a compassionate attitude to self and others could bring an extraordinary freedom from suffering. The mainstay of Buddhist practice is mindfulness of breath, body and emotions leading to a more profound awareness. The Buddha indicated a bigger picture, beyond words, based on the interconnectedness and impermanence of all things. Practical Buddhism shows us how we can use these practices to lead a moral and ethical life, receiving and giving friendship, not causing harm and achieving happiness while our consciousness becomes, brighter, clearer and more subtle. Paramabandhu weaves examples both from his own experience and other people's to demonstrate the value of Buddhist practice and techniques in managing the multiple demands and challenges of everyday life.

Practical Buddhism explores:

• Mindfulness practice and misconceptions about meditation
• Working with troublesome thoughts and difficult emotions
• The practice of compassion and kindness
• Guidelines for skilful living
• Working through stress, relationship problems and addictive behaviour
• The meaning of karma and dharma
• Understanding freedom, impermanence and non-selfhood
• Buddhism and psychotherapy
• How Buddhist practice informs our relationship with sexuality, illness and pain, greed and sustainability.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Paramabandhu Groves is a consultant psychiatrist working in the National Health Service in Islington, London. He specializes in addiction psychiatry. He trained in medicine at Cambridge University and University College London and is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He has also trained and worked as a Core Process Psychotherapist.

Dr. Groves has lived and taught at the London Buddhist Centre for over 20 years. He is the clinical director of Breathing Space, the health and well-being wing of the London Buddhist Centre, which teaches mindfulness meditation for depression, addiction and for carers. He has recently developed Kindness Behaviour Training (KBT) to complement the mindfulness courses at Breathing Space.

Introduction
Chapter 1 The Buddha in Context
Chapter 2 Starting with Mindfulness
Chapter 3 Working with Difficult Emotions and Troublesome Thoughts
Chapter 4 Introducing Kindness
Chapter 5 Living Skilfully
Chapter 6 Taking the Teachings to Work
Chapter 7 Friendship
Chapter 8 Ritual and Devotion
Chapter 9 Buddhism and Psychotherapy
Chapter 10 Wisdom and the Big Picture
Additional Resources