‘Mindfulness in Plain English’: A No-Nonsense Guide to Insight Meditation

A review of ‘Mindfulness in Plain English’, by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana; Wisdom Publications, 1994.

We can see what Bhante was driving at when he called his book Mindfulness in Plain English. But he did himself a disservice by making it seem as if he wrote this neat and tidy guide to insight meditation in baby language. Would that more books were written like this—written, that is, with a simplicity that, as in Orwell’s case, is stylish because it doesn’t strain to be. The prose in Mindfulness is vivid and as clear as a window-pane, hiding nothing of its content. But it is also warm, encouraging and full of personality.

The book is, as the name suggests, about mindfulness, but this is such an overused and misconstrued word that it may well be in need of a rebrand. In brief, it describes a state where we were fully aware of what is going on around us. It is one that sometimes arises by itself, when we are faced with a beautiful painting, for example, or when we lose ourselves in a task. Mindful can seem like a misnomer to English speakers, for when we are mindful, we are not thinking.

The book is, as the name suggests, about mindfulness, an overused and misunderstood word.

We can train ourselves to reach this state more easily, and the means by which we can is meditation. Unfortunately, meditation term is also a misused term. So Gunaratana starts his book by saying what it is, and isn’t. It isn’t stopping your thoughts by force of will or running away from life’s troubles. Rather, it is striving, though not straining, to see reality clearly. We do not ‘turn off’ the mind during meditation; we ‘simply learn to observe it’. And if we are patient, we will soon find that the mud settles and the water clears.

The heart of the book is a step-by-step guide to insight, or Vipassana, meditation. Gunaratana deals with sitting postures, breathing techniques, and what to do about wandering thoughts. His tone is encouraging. We should not fight our thoughts, he says, but notice them. They will disappear by themselves, like clouds drifting by. But that alone is not the point, not the goal of Vipassana. Vipassana aims at understanding the nature of reality: seeing past the version of the world so deeply coloured by our pride.

Mindfulness is not just something we do when we meditate. Gunaratana asks us to bring awareness to daily tasks. Washing the dishes, walking, even having tough conversations—all present us with the chance to be mindful. ‘When I eat, I eat. When I sleep, I sleep,’ one master is said to have replied when asked to describe Zen. The aim is to live with a full consciousness of whatever we are doing at any given moment, and not to impose ourselves on the world, transforming it into something it is not.

Mindfulness is not just something we do when we meditate.

The book unfolds in a logical fashion, moving from the basics to more advanced concepts, so giving the reader a solid learning plan. In later sections the author does touch on Buddhist philosophy, but always his explanations are rooted in experience, not theory. Problems—common challenges and distractions—are addressed. Gunaratana writes that meditation, though simple, can be difficult. It can be boring. It can even be quite painful. We must prepare ourselves for discomfort, physical and mental; but if we persist with our meditation practice, we will come to see this discomfort as just another object of meditation.

Gunaratana thinks anyone can meditate, and it is precisely those who dismiss such a notion who need to. Mindfulness in Plain English is so readable because it respects our intelligence while keeping things simple. If you are curious about meditation or would like to deepen your practice, this book is a very good place to start.