Being Nobody, Going Nowhere: Meditations on the Buddhist Path

Beautifully presented! Using everyday language, Ayya Khema frames the Buddha's Noble 8-fold Path in a way that is essential for a beginner and deeply meaningful to someone like myself who has been diligently practicing for several years. Ms. Khema takes you to the nuts and bolts of the process and to the Heart of it in a way that increases confidence and inspires. Some of the things she mentions, I had experienced and wondered about. Some of my lingering questions were also answered. I shared this with several friends and all felt similarly. After this simmers for a bit, I would also recommend another title, "Who Is My Self?" Both of these are gems of the Dhamma.

This is a practical and thoughtful reflection on Buddhist Meditation. I read a lot of texts on meditation and contemplation. This is one of the most inviting, well written, practical, and clearly laid out offerings on understanding and entering the discipline of Buddhist Meditation. Ayya Khema has offered a lasting gift on this important topic.

The subtitle of this wonder of a book is Meditations on the Buddhist Path, an amazingly apt description.Ayya Khema (Ilse Kussel) was German born Theravada Buddhist nun, who, I’m pretty sure, never gladly suffered fools. Accounts from former students of her corroborate that impression. She is like a stern mother telling you the often-unpalatable truth without sugarcoating; she has your best interest in mind, that is clear.Her style is clear and always directly to the point, and what she covers in this great book could well serve as a Buddhist Primer.I have a fairly comprehensive Buddhist library which I read from daily, but the author I return to the most often is Ayya Khema. If ever I feel cloudy, her words cut through the fog and ushers me back to me feet and into action; this without beating you over the head with it, just by clearly and directly making her many well-wrought points.She is a person who walked the walk and her experience and certainty shines through every sentence. You are richer for having met her, if only through her wonderful books.You owe it to yourself to read this.

I think this is about the best book I have ever read, along with the Power of Now by Echart Tolle. The writer was an American, living the usual American life before she found deep joy on the Buddhist path. I think this book cuts to the chase and gets to the heart of Buddhism. Just amazing!

This book started out extremely strong for me. I think it’s very well written and I recommend it to anyone interested in Buddhism and/or meditation. It bogged down towards the end and thus 4 stars vs 5 - a five star rating has to be just fantastic all the way through for me. This was close, and it’s certainly a worthwhile read, but not quite what I’d call five stars. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is the first book I read by the author and still my favorite. It is a record of her discourses during a Vipassana 10 day silent retreat. Informative and enlightening!

Everything, I almost highlighted the entire book after completing it I placed this book in the pile of my new books that I haven't read, because I'm going to read it again 😎😎😎

I have read "Being Nobody Going Nowhere" at least six times over the past ten years and often pick it up at random to read a page or two. I recently purchased four copies for gifts. If I were allowed only three spiritual books, this would be one of them, along with "The Power of Now" and AA's "Twelve and Twelve."

El Libro en general es muy bueno. Ofrece una guía sencilla y entendible sobre las enseñanzas de El Buda y cómo aplicarlas a la Vida diaria. De igual forma, la autora ofrece enseñanzas útiles sobre meditación y mindfulness y cómo adoptar dichos habitos. He leido varios libros de Budismo, y considero que este en partícular puede ser de Gran utilidad para alguien que quiere empezar a aprender más sobre el mensaje de El Buda.

This book is a very clear, beautiful and wise description of the path we need to undertake if we are to follow the teachings of the Buddha and find our own truth, beauty and happiness.The path is a lifelong process yet the book encourages that this is a worthwhile endeavour. Thank you , Ayya Khema for all your teachings. May all beings be happy in the midst of life.

Un classico da leggere!

This is a excellent introduction to buddhist teachings, transcribed from a 10 days retreat Ayya Khema gave in Sri Lanka. It does not go into as much detail and depth as her other books, for exemple ¨Know where you're going¨ (which is the transcription of a complete meditation course given at Gampo Abbey) or ¨Who is my self?¨ (which is a commentary on the Potthapada sutta explaining the meditative path to the realization of anatta) but takes a more general approach and will serve as a great primer to anyone interested in learning what buddhism is all about. One delightful aspect of Ven. Khema's teaching style is the emphasis on loving-kindness (metta) and the other divine abodes - compassion, altruistic joy and equanimity. As she says in the book, ¨Joy with others is an antidote for depression - while one cannot always have joyful thoughts in one's life, joy with others makes it possible to always find something to be happy about.¨ While her style of teachings has a gentle touch, it doesn't mean she beats around the bush when it comes to expounding on the higher truth. Unlike many western-born buddhist teachers of today, she's not willing to compromise the original teachings of the Buddha to accomodate western psychology or consumerist society - she tells it like it is in the scriptures and stresses out that the buddhist path is complete in and of itself. People new to Buddhism who are serious about practice will be well served by this book.

So insightful, wonderful, I have learned a lot from it. I trully recommend it to everybody. It has helped me to move forward on my spirital path