Book Review: 8 Mindful Steps to Happiness, Walking the Buddha’s Path by Bhante Gunaratana

I decided to read this book based on the writing style of the author’s previous book - Mindfulness in Plain English. I read the latter book last month and really appreciated his clear and concise writing style.

I’d been wanting to learn more about the Buddha’s 8 step path to happiness and this book provided a useful narrative beyond just listing the steps as some other books do. It provides practical explanations of each step yet is generally easy to understand. I stopped after each section to absorb content so it took me awhile to finish; will probably reread as my practice progresses. At the end of each chapter (i.e., step) the author lists the main points in bullet fashion; I found this very helpful. Despite the easy read and useful nature of this book, I feel the need for a teacher and/or retreat to put into practice what I’ve learned. Like other things, it is difficult to learn something new at the highest level through books alone:)