(Written by Stephen Snyder) Practicing the Jhanas: Traditional Concentration Meditation as Presented by the Venerable Pa Auk Sayada I may never end this book: why? there is no value in reading ahead of where you currently are in the meditation practice path. Having said that, I read a bit beyond the point where I am in my practice and then decided to stop.

For the past 4 years or so I've been practicing Vipassana, so the decision to switch to Samatha is not a trivial once. For once, you need to undo a lot of what you've been doing, which brings back a lot of self-doubts that are a big hindrance to the practice. At the same time, I'm proud that I made the decision since this is something that always felt right to me, and I actually got engaged in the meditation path by practicing other concentration practices.

As of 1/6/2021 I can say I really liked what I read so far -- maybe one third into the book -- but will not be reading any more until my personal practice gets closer to that point.