Can the Mind be Quiet?

This book is an exciting publication for aficionados of Krishnamurti, consisting as it does 60 unpublished encounters with people during the 1960s and 70s and arranged under the three headings of exploration into living, learning and meditation. Needless to say, it contains incisive observations, some of which are expressed in dialogue form after an initial descriptive background. I'm reminded that recently I read of the incident where Krishnamurti asked in a lecture if people knew his secret – it was that he didn't mind what happens. The chapter titles give a good indication of the content – why do we divide the outer and inner, pleasure soon becomes pain, what brings about perception, solitude and freedom, the limitations of the intellect and ideas, the undistorted mind and truth, difference between opinion and truth, meditation as intelligence and the movement of greater sensitivity. All this requires intelligence, presence and attention in the moment rather than being stuck in the past - the book is a direct source of insight wisdom, but this must be practised not simply read about.