A Monastery Within: Tales from the Buddhist Path

by Gil Fronsdal

Inspired by his years of Buddhist monastic life, Gil Fronsdal has written these warm-hearted stories as part of the tradition of teaching through storytelling.These are tales of transformation and spiritual growth. They delight and challenge as they express different facets of the Buddhist path to liberation in familiar, yet fresh and engaging, ways. These stories can be reread often, each time supporting new reflections on the spiritual life and the possibility of each person awakening to the kindness, clarity and insight available to all of us. A Monastery Within points to how each person can build an inner home for the awakened life.About the Gil Fronsdal is the primary teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California. He has been teaching since 1990 and has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma and trained with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. He was also ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center and received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman. Gil has a PhD in Relgious Studies from Stanford University. His translation of the "Dhammapada", an important collection of Buddhist verses, is published by Shambhala Publications. He is the author of "The Issue at Essays on Buddhist Mindfulness Practice." He is a husband and a father of two sons.

Genres: Buddhism, Nonfiction, Philosophy

110 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 7, 2010

About the author

Gil Fronsdal is the guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Center (IMC) of Redwood City. He has a PhD in Buddhist Studies from Stanford University. His many dharma talks available online contain basic information on meditation and Buddhism, as well as subtle concepts of Buddhism explained at the level of the lay person.

Reviews

[Mark Robison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this type of book — simple, thoughtful entries ranging from one sentence to a full page that teach a Buddhist lesson. I liked reading one before bed each night. The tales are simple enough that you could easily read them to children, and they are smart and never trite or verging into platitudes. One of the things I’m going to try in it is the experiment where you try to go a day without using the words "I," "me," "mine" or "myself" unless required for answering a direct question. Excerpt: “Breathe in an easy and relaxed way and then study what causes you to lose that ease. Everything you really need to know about Buddhism will be found in that investigation.” Grade: A-

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written set of (very) short stories that illustrate certain Buddhist principles and wisdom. There is a real sense of whimsy and gentle humour in the stories that is wonderful. Some really thought provoking ideas explored as well. I would recommend this to anyone, as I'm sure you will find something to make you smile.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gil is one of my favorite teachers. This book has short "teaching" stories he wrote in the style of older teaching stories, but his are well-suited to the modern audience. A great book to pick up and read a few pages or to read straight through.

[Yolanda Blanch Ruiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book for reading slowly, one story each day.

[A Reasonable · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple stories with deep meaning. I used the chapters in this book as a prelude to my meditation sessions. It made for a nice transition.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have actually read this book a couple of times and it is very good to dip in to. It is a set of parables which help to reinforce the tools of mindfulness. Quite an easy style too. Gil Fronsdal is a wonderful teacher.

[Alice Pederkoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful stories!

[Dan Mantena · Rating 4 out of 5]

my rating - overall Score: 4.2/5.0
- quality of writing (5/5)
- quality of the content (5/5)
- impact on my perspective (3/5)
- personal resonance (4/5)
- rereading potential (4/5)

[Aleksandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.65

[Shri Medepalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must read for all Buddhists and wannabees!

Easy read.

Full of insight and profound observations.

Engaging thru and thru!

Too short …me thinks! But a treat never the less…

[Arminion · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short (you can read it in a hour) collection of stories, mostly of the teaching of an abbess in a monastery. I'm a little disappointed as I expected a more autobiographical book about the author being a monk, instead of what we got. Also, I didn't really like the portrayal of the abbess. I guess the author wanted to depict her as this wise and benevolent teacher but mostly she came across as cruel and cold. For the most part it felt as she was just trolling people. I was also confused by the fact that both monks and nuns were living in the same monastery. Isn't that forbidden?
At the end of the day, the book wasn't very memorable. Despite reading it a couple of days ago I can barely remember any of the stories. Still, it's a nice book though and there is some wisdom here.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contains 1-4 page stories that are little snippets of insight. A light read that's good for thumbing through.

[J. Robin Whitley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is full of thought provoking stories. I would recommend it to anyone who loves to contemplate.

[Craig Bergland · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful collection of stories about the spiritual life and Buddhist path. I highly recommend it! It is a short book, but packed with insights and lessons I will carry with me for a long time.