Journey to Mindfulness

Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, a native of Sri Lanka, is the author of several Wisdom titles: Mindfulness in Plain English; Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness; Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English; The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English; Meditation on Perception; and Loving-Kindness in Plain English. A Buddhist monk for more than 75 years, he is North America’s highest-ranking monk of the Siyam Nikaya sect of Theravada Buddhism. After coming to the U.S. in 1968, he earned a Ph.D. in philosophy from The American University in Washington, D.C.  He has led meditation retreats all over Asia, Europe, Australia, and North and South America. In 1988 he founded Bhavana Society (www.bhavanasociety.org), the forest monastery/retreat center in West Virginia where he now lives. Jeanne Malmgren has been a student of Bhante Gunaratana since 1985. After a long career in journalism, she earned a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and now has a private practice of psychotherapy. She also writes about healing arts, teaches classes and workshops in mindfulness, and leads meditative hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina, where she lives. She can be reached at www.upstatecounselor.com.