Experience a complete meditation course with one of the West's most renowned Buddhist teachers.
"Know Where You're Going" provides a full course of instruction in Buddhist meditation and reflection, and contains a wealth of exercises and advice to help the reader grow. As we put these teachings into practice over time, we learn to see things as they really are and discover transcendence right here in our everyday lives.
Ayya Khema shows us how to live a wholehearted spiritual life, even amid our day to day concerns and responsibilities. Her teachings unfold simply, free of jargon, and are ideal for the contemporary world. Grounding the practice of more advanced meditations in a deeply cultivated sense of mindfulness, love, and altruism, Khema shows us, step by step, how to access to liberation and freedom.

This practical commentary on one of the most important scriptures of the Pali canon will provide essential sustenance for Buddhist practitioners. Ayya Khema is a mountain of strength, encouragement, and tough love as she pours out down-to-earth practical instruction on the journey to enlightenment, following the framework set forth in the "Samannaphala-sutta," the Buddha's discourse on the rewards of spiritual life.

The sutta--included here in the translation by Bhikkhu Bodhi--contains the Buddha's teachings in response to questions posed by King Ajatasattu. Why, the king asked, should we give up the satisfactions of worldly life and devote ourselves to meditation? What are the tangible benefits to be gained from following the Buddha's way? In answering this question, the Buddha provides a compact synopsis of the entirety of the spiritual path, and Ayya Khema expands on this with her characteristic approach--simple, direct, experiential, and loving.

An important aspect of the sutta is an account of the eight meditative absorptions, or jhanas--states of mind that bring joy, serenity, and peace and that open the way to clarity and liberation. Ayya Khema, who was herself adept at the eight absorptions, confidently leads the reader to, through, and beyond the jhanas, following the Buddha's plan. Her words have the effect of inspiring us to roll up our sleeves and get to work so that we may grasp the insights, accomplish the meditative goals, and become enlightened to the highest extent of our talents and efforts.

Ayya Khema (1923-1997) was the first Western woman to become a Theravadan Buddhist nun. As such, she has served as a model and inspiration for women from all the Buddhist traditions who have sought to revive the practice of women's monasticism in modern times. Though her renown as a teacher is widespread, few know the truly amazing details of her life before her monastic ordination at the age of fifty-eight. And what a life it was. Born Ilse Kussel in Berlin, Germany, she grew up in a prosperous Jewish family that was broken up by Nazi terror in 1938. The story of her escape alone to Scotland, and her journey to rejoin her family in China, would be enough for a thrilling adventure novel in itself--but it is only the beginning of the story. Her later adventures included--but were not limited to--surviving the Japanese invasion of China; living the life of a suburban housewife in Los Angeles, California; journeying up the Amazon; studying in a Bolivian university; building a power plant in Pakistan; and establishing the first organic farm in Australia. Her Buddhist practice was a result of a pursuit of the spiritual life that began in her forties when she encountered spiritual teachers in India. She eventually founded a monastery in Sri Lanka, from where, through her books and her teaching travels, she became one of the most widely respected of contemporary teachers, particularly skilled in interpreting the Buddhist teachings for her fellow Westerners.

In this eminently accessible study of one of the Buddha's most important teachings, Ayya Khema, a Buddhist nun and expert, guides the reader toward a higher understanding and realization of the true nature of the self. Interpreting the Potthapada Sutta, one of the fundamental texts on meditation, with insightful examples from her vast experience, Khema explains perhaps the most effective Buddhist meditative practice for personal transformation. Throughout the book, readers learn about the language, the customs, and the culture of the time period in which the Buddha gave his famous discourse, and will be surprised at the applicability of the message, both on a personal and social level.
"En este estudio altamente asequible a una de las ensenanzas mas importantes del Buda, Ayya Khema, una monja y experta budista, guia al lector hacia un mayor entendimiento y comprension de la verdadera naturaleza del yo. Interpretando el Potthapada-sutta, uno de los textos fundamentales sobre la meditacion, con reveladores ejemplos extraidos de su larga trayectoria, Khema explica la practica de meditacion budista tal vez mas eficaz para la transformacion personal. A lo largo del libro, el lector aprende sobre el lenguaje, las costumbres y la cultura de la epoca en la que el Buda dio su famoso discurso, y se sorprendera de la vigencia del mensaje, tanto a nivel personal como social."