Steeped in Books' "Always Honest Review" of Inner Pilgrimage
Though it appears at first to be a casual read, be prepared
to learn some in-depth details about Vipassana, otherwise known as “insight
meditation” according to the author.
Written in a casual style, these journal-like thirteen chapters take the
reader along on a ten-day meditation retreat where silence is the rule and
intense meditation is the day-long challenge.
Don’t let the chatty descriptions of the
retreat facilities, the surrounding countryside, and breath-taking starry night
sky fool you – this is a serious work.
By the end of chapter one the reader has already been introduced to many
new terms used in the practice of Vipassana, terms that are used again
throughout the book in ever more meaningful ways as the author details what
happens to her physically, mentally and spiritually during this ten days of
withdrawal from her every-day world.
I was impressed with the author’s honesty. She never avoided describing pains, discouragements and failures even as she shared the triumphs and the over-all
beauty of the experience. When she
experienced disagreeable “sensations” generated by the meditation (which she
bravely soldiered through), I had to admit to myself that the practice of
Vipassana might not be for me. I’m still
hooked on the idea of that nice pleasant floating-type meditation experience
that feels good all the time - not dealing
with karma and left-over baggage from old births and rebirths. But maybe that’s why I remain mostly quite
unenlightened.
All joking aside, I enjoyed this book and recognize that the
serious student of Vipassana would find much in here to help her along her path.
See more about Raji Lukkoor and "Inner Pilgrimage" here on her website
https://www.facebook.com/InnerPilgrimageTenDays
http://www.rajilukkoor.com
