True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart

Tara Brach

Bantam Books, 2012 - Buddhism - 290 pages

How do you cope when facing life-threatening illness, family conflict, faltering relationships, old trauma, obsessive thinking, overwhelming emotion, or inevitable loss? If you're like most people, chances are you react with fear and confusion, falling back on timeworn strategies: anger, self-judgment, and addictive behaviors. Though these old, conditioned attempts to control our life may offer fleeting relief, ultimately they leave us feeling isolated and mired in pain.

There is another way. Beneath the turbulence of our thoughts and emotions exists a profound stillness, a silent awareness capable of limitless love. Tara Brach, author of the award-winning Radical Acceptance, calls this awareness our true refuge, because it is available to every one of us, at any moment, no exceptions. In this book, Brach offers a practical guide to finding our inner sanctuary of peace and wisdom in the midst of difficulty.

Based on a fresh interpretation of the three classic Buddhist gateways to freedom--truth, love, and awareness--True Refuge shows us the way not just to heal our suffering, but also to cultivate our capacity for genuine happiness. Through spiritual teachings, guided meditations, and inspirational stories of people who discovered loving presence during times of great struggle, Brach invites us to connect more deeply with our own inner life, one another, and the world around us.

True Refuge is essential reading for anyone encountering hardship or crisis, anyone dedicated to a path of spiritual awakening. The book reminds us of our own innate intelligence and goodness, making possible an enduring trust in ourselves and our lives. We realize that what we seek is within us, and regardless of circumstances, "there is always a way to take refuge in a healing and liberating presence."

Praise for True Refuge

"Drawing on the latest findings in neuroscience as well as ten more years of personal experience on the path of awakening, Tara Brach's superb second book brings readers ever more deeply in touch with our true nature. This book is a precious gift, filled with insight, shared from heart to heart."--Thich Nhat Hanh

"True Refuge is a magnificent work of heart. For anyone interested in developing a deeper understanding of the mind and how to improve the quality of their life, this book offers unique insights and easily learned practices that literally can transform your life's path. Read, explore, and enjoy!"--Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., author of No-Drama Discipline

"This is a special book, lovely, loving, wise, and helpful. It is like having a sage and caring friend sit with you, offering comfort, insight, and guidance for your own true journey home."--Jack Kornfield, author of The Wise Heart

"A healing and helpful meditation . . . a gracefully written spiritual gem on awareness, refuge, and presence."--Spirituality & Practice

"[A] richly detailed, hopeful book . . . This accomplished example of spiritual self-help offers a gentle path for change in the face of suffering."--Publishers Weekly

"This book is an undertaking and one that can change your life if you embrace it. It is heartfelt and practical . . . full of grit, honesty, and clarity."--Beliefnet

Contents

• one Winds of Homecoming: 5
• The Trance of Small Self: 16
• The Path to Presence: 28
• FOUR Three Gateways to Refuge: 45
• Cultivating Mindfulness: 61
• six Awakening to the Life of the Body: 77
• The Prison: 96
• EIGHT Investigating Core Beliefs: 114
• Guided Reflections and Meditations: 133
• NiNe: 137
• Receiving Love: 157
• Twelve: 170
• teN SelfForgiveness Scan: 178
• Releasing the Second Arrow: 181
• Eleven A Forgiving Heart toward Others: 200
• Awakening the Heart of Compassion: 220
• thirteen Prayer in the Face of Difficulty: 245
• The Gateway of Awareness: 249
• FourTEEN Exploring Inner Space: 266
• A Heart That Is Ready for Anything: 272
• Firteen Prayer of Aspiration: 282
• Acknowledgments: 288

About the author

Tara Brach, Ph.D., is the author of Radical Acceptance, winner of a Books for a Better Life Award. She is the founder of the Insight Meditation Community in Washington, D.C., and has conducted workshops across the country. She lives in Great Falls, Virginia, with her husband, her mother, and three dogs.

Bibliographic information

• Title: True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart
• Author: Tara Brach
• Publisher: Bantam Books, 2012
• ISBN: 0553807625, 9780553807622
• Length: 290 pages