This 74 page booklet gives a clear and concise overview of how to begin doing sitting meditation. The author Thrangu Rinpoche has spent the last 40 years teaching meditation and other Buddhist topics to both Western and asian students. The process of developing good meditation is to begin with Shamatha meditation which is to settle the mind and to gradually train it it so that we can rest without becoming overly distracted by thoughts and emotions.
The second step in developing good meditation is developing Vipashyana in which we learn how to look directly at our mind and see its true nature. When we are able to do this, we can begin to diminish our disturbing emotions and thoughts and anxieties Both of these two meditation can be done anywhere and with out a special setting, implements, or empowerments.
Rinpoche explains meditation in a simple, non-technical language based on a meditation tradition that is over 1,000 year old and has produced many enlightened individuals

A Guide to Shamatha and Vipashyana Meditation, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, Namo Buddha Publications, Paperback, 73 pages, $7.00

Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche is a renowned Tibetan Buddhist master known for his deep compassion and the clarity of his teachings. He was selected by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to serve as the principal tutor to His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje.

Thrangu Rinpoche is a full holder and teacher of the Kagyu Vajrayana lineages. He founded the Namo Buddha retreat center in Nepal, has established two shedras (monastic universities) in Nepal and India, and serves as Abbot of Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia. He also built Tara Abbey, where nuns receive a full dharma education qualifying them to become khenpos or teachers. Thrangu Rinpoche teaches extensively throughout Asia, Europe and the United States. He has centers in Maine and California, and is building the Vajra Vidya Retreat Center in Crestone, Colorado.

CONTENTS: A Guide to Shamatha and Vipashyana Meditation
1.	Why We Practice Meditation	1
	Anyone Can Meditate Anywhere	4
	The Mind Is Most Important	5
	Why We Meditate on Shamatha and Vipashyana	7
	A Brief Overview of Shamatha Meditation	9
	Cultivating Love and Compassion	11
	Sending and Receiving Practice	12
2.	Shamatha Meditation	15
	The Four Common Preliminaries	15
	The Posture in Meditation	17
	The Seven Points of Vairocana	17
	Machig Labron's Posture	20
	Mental Methods	21
	Two Obstacles to Meditation	24
	Meditating on an Outer Object	27
	Meditating on the Breath	28
	Developing Clarity in Meditation	30
	Meditating Without an Object	31
	The Relaxing of the Mind	34
	Three Stages in Developing Stillness	35
	Questions	35
3.	Vipashyana Meditation	37
	Understanding Selflessness	37
	Emptiness	40
	The Logical Analysis of Emptiness	41
	Looking at Mind	43
	Looking at Thoughts	45
	The Creation Stage of Deity Meditation	46
	Questions	48
4.	Bringing Obstacles to the Path	51
	1. Bringing Adversity to the Path	51
	2. Bringing Disturbing Emotions to the Path	52
	3. Bringing Gods and Demons to the Path	54
	4. Bringing Suffering to the Path	55
	5. Bringing Illness to the Path	56
	6. Bringing Death to the Path	57
	Summary	60
The Nine Levels of Stability of Meditation		61
	A Graphical Representation of the Nine Stages of Shamatha Meditation	62
	A Description of the Drawing of the Nine Stages of Shamatha	63
The Glossary		65
Glossary of Tibetan Words		71
Nama Buddha Publications		72