The Buddha's Gift to the World: A Practitioner's Guide to the Roots of Mindfulness

An original presentation of the history and practice of mindfulness drawn from the teachings of eminent Mahayana Buddhist masters.

Until now, mindfulness in the West has mainly been taught and practiced based on the Theravada Buddhist tradition. This book offers the first comprehensive exploration of the subject based on Mahayana Buddhist sources, including a number of the Buddha’s discourses and treatises and texts by eminent Indian and Tibetan Buddhist masters. With its emphasis on theory and practice, this book will be rewarding for anyone interested in mindfulness, meditation, and the history and practice of Indian and Tibetan Buddhism.

Martina Draszczyk balances rigorous scholarship with her decades of experience as a Dharma and mindfulness teacher to guide readers through this vast subject. She conveys how mindfulness intersects and diverges in Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism and offers insight into how Buddhist-inspired mindfulness is applied in contemporary non-Buddhist contexts, such as the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program (MBSR). This book’s exploration of mindfulness from a previously overlooked perspective complements other publications on the subject and provides readers with a more complete understanding of the role mindfulness plays in Buddhist practice beyond the current trend of enhancing relaxation and calm. Draszczyk shows readers how to integrate the wisdom of classical teachings into their own mindfulness practice. Readers can find further inspiration in the elucidation on the fourfold application of mindfulness given by the Fourteenth Shamar Rinpoche, a great Kagyu teacher. This teaching, which he shared in 2014 only weeks before his passing, can lead to a truly profound Buddhist practice.