A really good book, which clearly and closely describes the differing stages and advancement if Shamatha meditation. The author quite carefully distinguishes some subtle differences to Vipanassa (mindfulness) meditation referencing the methods of Henepola Gurantana. Some of these I have read and much appreciated. Def a book to come back to, especially the first few chapters. A lay practitioner will almost certainly not progress beyond the first few stages. (Much as an amateur sports person is unlikely to progress to levels of elite sport.) However, there is a lot of clarity and detail to help withose first stages. ( )

The is an excellent, practical introduction to meditation from a secular point of view - great for both beginner and advanced practitioner. ( )

This book grew on me as I read it. At first, I felt quite discouraged by Wallace's frequent references about the true amount of time that one would likely need to spend to even begin to possibly achieve shamatha, particularly during modern times for those of us that have "worldly duties" [my words, not his].
Furthermore, he indicates that Buddhist experts believe that it is rare, at least during our modern times, to achieve shamatha.

Wallace has over 30 years practice, and it is not clear from this book whether he reached shamatha.

Nevertheless, as I finished the book, I was encouraged to recall that Wallace asserts early on in the book (and other references confirm) that even earlier stages and practices of attention are definitely beneficial.

It was also fascinating to read small snippets of Wallace's interweaving the concepts of physics and Buddhist philosophy. Though this book only touches on these interrelationships, it was enough to entice me to read more of Wallace's books.

Finally, the techniques and practices of meditation and attention and frequent exhortations of Wallace regarding letting go of one's preexisting conceptualizations, helped to open my mind regarding the nature of consciousness and even reality. ( )

not bad note book #823