Three Steps to Awakening

Book excerpt: A unique, adaptable model for meditation practice that ties together elements of the various Buddhist traditions The deceptively simple three-phase method presented in Three Steps to Awakening is a meditation practice that can be worked with for a lifetime. Larry Rosenberg looks to Zen, Insight Meditation, and the teachings of J. Krishnamurti to find three kinds of meditation that anyone can do and that complement each other in a wonderful way: (1) breath awareness, (2) breath as anchor, and (3) choiceless awareness. Having the three methods in one’s repertoire gives one meditation resources for any life situation. In a time of stress, for example, one might use breath awareness exclusively. Or on an extended retreat, one might find choiceless awareness more appropriate. The three-step method has been taught to Larry’s students at the Cambridge Meditation Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for many years. After teaching the three-step method, Larry goes on to show how to bring the awareness gained in meditation to the world off the cushion, into relationships and into all areas of daily life.