Kornfield, one of the pioneers of Western Buddhist psychology, offers a comprehensive and unflinching guide to the full arc of spiritual practice — from the initial stages of meditation through the difficulties, temptations, and genuine dangers that arise as practice deepens. The book is unique in its willingness to address the shadow side of spiritual life: the spiritual bypassing, the inflated teachers, the unresolved grief and trauma that meditation can stir up rather than resolve. For men who have been burned by superficial or exploitative teachers, this book offers both a map and a warning. Kornfield insists that genuine spiritual growth must include the heart — the capacity for love, grief, and genuine relationship — not just insight and bliss.