Rodney Smith Books

Touching The Infinite - A New Perspective on the Buddha’s Four Foundations of Mindfulness

Applying mindfulness as a means to liberation.

Awakening manifests through the application of mindfulness to four areas: body, feelings, mind, and dharmas. Buddhists of all the traditions share this principle found in the Satipatthana Sutta, which has been expounded upon since the time of the Buddha himself. Rodney Smith challenges us to hold this teaching up against our own experience, and in doing so to discover the inherent interconnection of all Four Foundations. They are revealed to be a sequential path leading the practitioner from the world of form to the joyous perception of the formless. The Four Foundations of Mindfulness thus serve as a road map for any genuine spiritual path.

This book is available from Shambhala Publications and Amazon.

Lessons from the Dying

Rediscover the mystery and wonder of life through gentle reflections on death and dying.

What can death teach the living? Former monk and hospice worker Rodney Smith teaches us that through intimately considering our own inevitable end we can reawaken to the sublime miracle of life we so often take for granted. A well of stories, personal anecdotes, and direct advice gleaned from years of working with the dying in their final moments, Lessons from the Dying helps us redefine our conception of what it means to truly live. Each chapter contains guided reflections and exercises that allow the reader to integrate the wisdom in its pages more fully into their lives. With a sense of compassion, Lessons from the Dying provides all the tools of mind one needs to rediscover, in this very moment, the mystery and wonder of a lifetime.

This book is available from Amazon.

Awakening: A Paradigm Shift of the Heart

What is enlightenment?

Rodney Smith’s answer to that elusive question offers an explanation not only of the radical shift in perception that the word enlightenment connotes, but of the entire topography of the journey from beginning to end, of the multiple ways we undermine the very growth we seek, and of the awakened life that ultimately arises out of the new consciousness.

This book is available from Shambhala Publications and Amazon.
Rodney Smith interviewed on the Shambhala blog.

Stepping out of Self Deception: The Buddha's Liberatying Teaching of No Self

Anatta is the Buddhist teaching on the nonexistence of a permanent, independent self. It’s a notoriously puzzling and elusive concept, usually leading to such questions as, “If I don’t have a self, who’s reading this sentence?” It’s not that there’s no self there, says Rodney Smith. It’s just that the self that is reading this sentence is a configuration of elements that at one time did not exist and which at some point in the future will disperse. Even in its present existence, it’s more a temporary arrangement of components rather than something solid. Anatta is a truth the Buddha considered to be absolutely essential to his teaching. Smith shows that understanding this truth can change the way you relate to the world, and that the perspective of selflessness is critically important for anyone involved in spiritual practice. Seeing it can be the key to getting past the idea that spirituality has something to do with self-improvement, and to accessing the joy of deep insight into reality.

This book is available from Shambhala Publications and Amazon.

Rodney Smith Books

Touching The Infinite - A New Perspective on the Buddha’s Four Foundations of Mindfulness

Lessons from the Dying

Awakening: A Paradigm Shift of the Heart

Stepping out of Self Deception: The Buddha's Liberatying Teaching of No Self

Get in touch

Stay in touch

About us

Donate

© 2024 Seattle Insight Meditation Society