The Science of Enlightenment: Teachings and Meditations for Awakening Through Self-Investigation

I just finished listening to Shinzen Young's The Science of Enlightenment audio CDs. I ripped all 14 CDs into MP3s, synced them to my iPhone and listened at home, on the road, at the gym, and even at work. I have high expectations, and I was not disappointed.

Aside from being a Buddhist monk, scholar, meditation teacher, mathematician, and science geek, Shinzen is also a linguist, so he's very particular and precise with his use of words, pronunciation, and diction (especially with foreign languages). He likes to define and clarify any ambiguity in the terms he uses in his discourses. He doesn't go into too much philosophical conjecture and speaks in a friendly matter-of-factness tone.

The bottom line: Shinzen Young demystified the concept classical enlightenment, making "happiness independent of conditions" a realistic and tangible goal for people who choose to tread the path of liberation.

Thanks to Shinzen Young I now realize that my kind of practice is Vipassana, my proclivity is towards Theravada, and that, when I grow up, I want to become a hard-nosed rationalist Buddha :)

~C

As you can see from the other reviewers this audio book is just astounding in its breadth and scope. I'm on my third listening to this one and realized it's one that I've not left a review on. It's expensive I know, but you do get what you pay for. He is speaking to some students who you can hear chuckle in the background every once in a while. So he has a sense of humor and it's not rehearsed. The subject matter of which he speaks and the information conveyed is very practical and relevant.

First meditation recording (or book for that matter) that actually explains what it is and why and how. 10 thumbs up!

First meditation recording (or book for that matter) that actually explains what it is and why and how. 10 thumbs up!