Close to the Ground (eBook)

The truth is that after all the bliss, emptiness, and generalized euphoria we might be lucky enough to experience at some point along our spiritual path, what’s left are the karmic knots of conditioning that still need unraveling if we are going to be of any genuine help to anybody. Untying them is the work of spiritual warriors, that is, all of us. The seven factors of enlightenment are a grease to loosen them, all the while keeping us upright in our efforts. These factors are:

mindfulness
the investigation of phenomena
energetic effort
ease
joy
concentration
equanimity

In Close to the Ground, longtime Buddhist teacher Geri Larkin uses stories from her own life to share some of the gifts that these factors bring. Because she refuses to be anything special, her stories are all of our stories, her humor, all of our humor, her heartbreaks, all of our heartbreaks. In reading the book, you may discover (or rediscover) that you have many more tools available to help with this work of “life and death” than you may have thought.

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After the bliss and emptiness we might be lucky enough to experience along our spiritual path, whats left are the karmic knots of conditioning that still need to be undone if we are going to be of any genuine help to anybody. Untying them is the work of spiritual warriors: that is, all of us. The seven factors of enlightenment are a means to loosen these knots, all the while keeping us upright in our efforts. The seven factors include mindfulness, investigation of phenomena, energetic effort, ease, joy, concentration, and equanimity. In Close to the Ground, longtime Buddhist teacher Geri Larkin tells stories from her own life to illuminate some of the gifts that these factors bring. Because she refuses to be anything special, Larkin's stories are all of our storiesher humor, all of our humor, her heartbreaks, all of our heartbreaks. In reading this book, you may discover that you have many more tools that can help with this work of life and death than you thought.