A course in the Buddhist practice of the brahma viharas, or ''heavenly abodes.'' Detailed instructions from the Buddhist tradition in cultivating mindfulness presented by a prominent Insight Meditation teacher.


Compassion, kindness, equanimity, and joy are not only the fruits of the awakened life but also the path to it: attitudes of mind that can be cultivated by anyone willing to set the intention for doing so. Christina Feldman shows how these ennobling qualities—known in Buddhism as the brahma viharas (sublime abodes) or the Four Immeasurables—are far more than simply the "feel-good" states they are sometimes mistaken for. If we pursue them sincerely as spiritual practice, they work together, complementing and enhancing each other, to lead us to the kind of awakening that we are compelled to share with others. Thus through the practice of the brahma viharas we can become participants in the healing and liberation of our world.