Gaylon Ferguson

Gaylon Ferguson is a faculty member in both Religious Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies at Naropa University, in Boulder, Colorado. He is an acharya, or senior teacher, in the Shambhala International Buddhist community. After studying meditation and Buddhist philosophy with Tibetan master Chögyam Trungpa in the 1970s and 1980s, Ferguson became a Fulbright Fellow to Nigeria and completed a doctoral degree in cultural anthropology at Stanford University. After several years of teaching cultural anthropology at the University of Washington, he became teacher-in-residence at Karmê Chöling Buddhist Retreat Center, through 2005, when he joined the faculty of Naropa University.

"This welcoming book offers a wise, warm-hearted, and practical understanding of the awakened heart." —Jack Kornfield

"The advice in this book will be of tremendous benefit to those who have the courage to engage their mind and heart and develop their potential. As a result, it will benefit the greater world." —Sakyong Mipham, author of Turning the Mind into an Ally

"Many essential questions on the view and meditation practice of Buddhadharma—and everyday life—are answered here with great clarity and with a genuine heart of caring and loving-kindness." —Tulku Thondup Rinpoche, author of The Healing Power of Mind

"Acharya Gaylon Ferguson is an exceptional meditation teacher." —Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche, author of Mind at Ease and The Essence of Buddhism

"A wonderfully wise and practical introduction to mindfulness meditation that explores and addresses all the ins and outs of the practice, the obstacles and confusions, as well as the rewards of this path. Highly recommended." —John Welwood, author of Toward a Psychology of Awakening