Relax and Be Aware

A lucid, practical guide to develop relaxation, awareness, mental clarity, and spiritual insight in your daily life. Since mindfulness is known to be so physically, mentally, and spiritually beneficial, why not practice it right now? Why not in every moment? Burmese Buddhist master Sayadaw U Tejaniya writes that we can indeed practice in this way, and the key is not forceful effort but rather a continuous gentle remembering of our intention to renew our awareness. Thirty-one short chapters--"A Month of Daily Life Meditations"--show precisely how to build a daily life meditation practice that steadily develops relaxation, refreshment, and enlightenment. "The right time to meditate is all day long, from the moment we wake up and open our eyes, until the moment we fall asleep at night," writes U Tejaniya. "If you are practicing correctly with right effort, it will definitely bring peace and joy."

“This is an enormously helpful approach to mindfulness training. With a focus on the states of mind wherever we are, Relax and Be Aware is an invitation to well-being and freedom.”—Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart 
 
“Relax and Be Aware reminds us what is essential to mature mindfulness practice. To be wholly present beyond a meditation cushion or retreat requires intention in each thing we do. It is this persistent effort to cultivate an observing mind that enables us to see things as they are and not as we wish them to be. This powerful way of being nourishes wisdom that liberates us from suffering.”—Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness
 
“Sayadaw offers simple, clear instructions for being aware. While simple, clear instructions do not mean the practice is easy, if we are willing to engage, they are very effective. His instructions and daily reflections encourage us to cultivate awareness and wisdom all the time—not simply in formal sitting and walking practice, but in the fullness of our lives.”—Andrea Fella, Co-Guiding Teacher of Insight Meditation Center, Redwood City, California

“When I first met the Sayadaw in Myanmar, it was like I had stumbled across a hidden treasure of wisdom that I knew would change my life. This book may very well do the same for you.”—Alexis Santos, Insight meditation teacher and senior student of Sayadaw U Tejaniya

Auteur

SAYADAW U TEJANIYA teaches insight or "vipassana" meditation at Shwe Oo Min Dhamma Sukha Forest Meditation Center in Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar. He's unique among the more high-profile monastic teachers of his tradition in that, though he began practice under his teacher at age thirteen, he didn't enter monastic life till he was thirty-four--after an active career in his family's textile business. His teaching emphasizes the application of awareness to every aspect of ordinary daily life, while de-emphasizing the centrality of formal sitting practice. His style is relaxed, funny, and informed by his intimate knowledge of the workaday world. He has taught in Australia, China, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Israel, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United States. For more information visit www.ashintejaniya.org.