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Satipatthana SATIPAṬṬHĀNA Bhikkhu Anālayo SATIPAṬṬHĀNA il cammino diretto Pubblicato per distribuzione gratuita da Santacittarama Edizioni Monastero Buddhista Santacittarama Località Brulla 02030 Poggio Nativo (Rieti) Edizione italiana a cura di Bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā Traduzione di Letizia Baglioni © Bhikkhu Anālayo 2018 Edizione originale in lingua inglese: Satipaṭṭhāna, the direct path to realization, Birmingham, Windhorse Publications, 2003 (ristampa con variazioni minori 2007) Immagine di copertina: Theodor Franz Steffens Copertina: didodolmen Impaginazione: Bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā Stampa: Mediagraf, Noventa Padovana (Padova) ISBN: 9788885706071 Come atto di dhammadāna e in osservanza della regola monastica buddhista, Bhikkhu Anālayo declina l’accettazione di qualsiasi compenso derivante dai diritti d’autore della presente opera INDICE Elenco delle illustrazioni ix Introduzione 1 Traduzione del Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta 3 Capitolo I Aspetti generali del cammino diretto 15 I.1Lo schema del Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta 15 I.2 Panoramica dei quattro satipaṭṭhāna 20 I.3 L’importanza dei singoli satipaṭṭhāna per la realizzazione 23 I.4 Caratteristiche individuali dei satipaṭṭhāna 25 I.5 L’espressione “cammino diretto” 29 I.6 Il termine “satipaṭṭhāna” 31 Capitolo II Il paragrafo di “definizione” del Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta 35 II.1 Contemplare 36 II.2 Cosa significa “essere diligente” (ātāpī) 38 II.3 “Chiaramente cosciente” (sampajāna) 44 II.4 Presenza mentale e chiara coscienza 47 Capitolo III Sati 51 III.1 L’approccio alla conoscenza nel buddhismo delle origini 51 III.2 Sati 53 III.3 Ruolo e posizione di sati 57 III.4 Rappresentazioni di sati 61 III.5 Caratteristiche e funzioni di sati 66 III.6 Sati e concentrazione (samādhi) 71 Capitolo IV Il ruolo della concentrazione 79 IV.1Libertà da desideri e scontento 79 IV.2 Concentrazione, retta concentrazione e assorbimento 85 IV.3Assorbimento e realizzazione 93 IV.4 Il contributo dell’assorbimento al progresso della visione 100 profonda IV.5 Calma e visione profonda 104 Capitolo V Il “ritornello” del satipaṭṭhāna 109 V.1 Contemplazione interna ed esterna 112 V.2 Interpretazioni alternative della contemplazione interna 117 ed esterna V.3L’impermanenza 121 V.4 La co-origine dipendente (paṭicca samuppāda)126 V.5 Il principio della co-origine dipendente e le sue applicazioni 130 pratiche V.6 Pura consapevolezza e non aderire a nulla 133 Capitolo VI Il corpo 139 VI.1 Le contemplazioni del corpo 139 VI.2 Finalità e benefici della contemplazione del corpo 144 VI.3 La consapevolezza del respiro 148 VI.4L’Ānāpānasati Sutta 157 VI.5 Posture e attività 161 VI.6 Le parti anatomiche e gli elementi 172 VI.7Il cadaverein decomposizione e la meditazione sulla morte 180 Capitolo VII Le sensazioni 185 VII.1 La contemplazione delle sensazioni 185 VII.2 Sensazioni e opinioni (diṭṭhi) 190 VII.3 La sensazione piacevole e l’importanza della gioia 194 VII.4 La sensazione sgradevole 199 VII.5 La sensazione neutra 202 Capitolo VIII La mente 205 VIII.1 La contemplazione della mente 205 VIII.2 La consapevolezza non reattiva degli stati mentali 207 VIII.3 Quattro stati mentali “ordinari” 209 VIII.4 Quattro stati mentali “superiori” 211 Capitolo IX I dhamma: gli impedimenti 215 IX.1 La contemplazione dei dhamma 215 IX.2 La contemplazione dei cinque impedimenti 220 IX.3 L’importanza del riconoscimento degli impedimenti 224 IX.4 Condizioni per la presenza o l’assenza di un impedimento 227 Capitolo X I dhamma: gli aggregati 237 X.1 I cinque aggregati 237 X.2 Il contesto storico dell’insegnamento su anattā 244 X.3 Il sé empirico e la contemplazione degli aggregati 246 X.4 Il sorgere e svanire degli aggregati 251 Capitolo XI I dhamma: le sfere sensoriali 255 XI.1 Le sfere sensoriali e i vincoli 255 XI.2 Il processo percettivo 262 XI.3 L’educazione cognitiva 267 XI.4 L’istruzione a Bāhiya 271 Capitolo XII I dhamma: i fattori del risveglio 275 XII.1 La contemplazione dei fattori del risveglio 275 XII.2 La sequenza condizionale dei fattori del risveglio 277 XII.3 I benefici della coltivazione dei fattori del risveglio 282 Capitolo XIII I dhamma: le quattro nobili verità 287 XIII.1 Le implicazioni di dukkha 287 XIII.2 Le quattro nobili verità 289 XIII.3 La contemplazione delle quattro nobili verità 292 Capitolo XIV La realizzazione 295 XIV.1 Graduale e improvvisa 296 XIV.2 Il Nibbāna e le sue implicazioni etiche 302 XIV.3 La concezione del Nibbāna nel buddhismo delle origini 306 XIV.4 Nibbāna: né unità cosmica né annientamento 308 Capitolo XV Conclusione 313 XV.1 Gli aspetti essenziali del satipaṭṭhāna 313 XV.2L’importanza delsatipaṭṭhāna 318 Bibliografia 327 Elenco delle abbreviazioni 353 ELENCO DELLE ILLUSTRAZIONI Fig. 1.1 Struttura del Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta 19 Fig. 1.2 Progressione delle contemplazioni satipaṭṭhāna 20 Fig. 1.3 Correlazioni dei quattro satipaṭṭhāna 27 Fig. 2.1 Caratteristiche essenziali del satipaṭṭhāna 39 Fig. 3.1 Posizione di sati tra diverse importanti categorizzazioni 58 Fig. 5.1 Aspetti chiave del “ritornello” satipaṭṭhāna 110 Fig. 6.1 Le contemplazioni del corpo 140 Fig. 6.2 Struttura dell’ānāpānasati in sedici passi 160 Fig. 6.3 Quattro aspetti della “chiara coscienza” nei commentari 170 Fig. 7.1 Tre e sei tipi di sensazione 187 Fig. 8.1 Otto categorie per la contemplazione della mente 206 Fig. 9.1 Schema delle contemplazioni dei dhamma 218 Fig. 9.2 I due stadi della contemplazione dei cinque impedimenti 227 Fig. 9.3 Schema dei fattori che indeboliscono o inibiscono gli impedi- 236 menti secondo i commentari Fig. 10.1 I due stadi della contemplazione dei cinque aggregati 239 Fig. 11.1 I due stadi della contemplazione delle sei sfere sensoriali 261 Fig. 12.1 I due stadi della contemplazione dei sette fattori del risveglio 277 Fig. 12.2 Lo schema commentariale delle condizioni sussidiarie allo 285 sviluppo dei fattori del risveglio Fig. 13.1 La struttura quadripartita dell’antica medicina indiana e 291 le quattro nobili verità Fig. 13.2 I due stadi della contemplazione delle quattro nobili verità 293 Fig. 15.1 Caratteristiche e aspetti fondamentali del satipaṭṭhāna 316 Fig. 15.2 Interrelazione dinamiche delle contemplazioni satipaṭṭhāna 317 Bhikkhu Anālayo è nato in Germania nel 1962 e ha ricevuto l’ordina- zione monastica in Sri Lanka nel 1995. Nel 2000 ha completato una tesi di dottorato sul Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta all’Università di Peradeniya, la cui edizione rivista e ampliata pubblicata nel 2003, già tradotta o in corso di traduzione in quattordici lingue, è offerta qui in italiano. Nel 2007 Anālayo ha presentato uno studio comparato dei discorsi del Majjhima- nikāya con le versioni parallele preservate in cinese, sanscrito e tibe- tano come tesi di abilitazione alla libera docenza presso l’Università di Marburgo. Autore di oltre trecento pubblicazioni tra libri ed articoli accademici, è professore ordinario di studi buddhisti presso il Numata Center for Buddhist Studies dell’Università di Amburgo, co-direttore dell’Āgama Research Group presso il Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts (Taiwan), e membro del Barre Center for Buddhist Studies di Barre (Massachusetts), dove attualmente risiede. Bhikkhu Anālayo trascorre la maggior parte del proprio tempo in meditazione solitaria, e conduce ritiri di studio e pratica in Europa, Asia, Australia e Stati Uniti. RINGRAZIAMENTI Ben poco di questo lavoro sarebbe venuto in essere senza il generoso sostegno dei miei genitori, K.R. e T.F. Steffens. Il mio debito di gratitu- dine per i suggerimenti, le correzioni, l’ispirazione e le critiche si estende inoltre a Muni Bhikkhu, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Ñāṇananda Bhikkhu, Guttasīla Bhikkhu, Ñāṇaramita Bhikkhu, Ajahn Vipassī, Dhammajīva Bhikkhu, Brahmāli Bhikkhu, Ānandajoti Bhikkhu, Anagārika Santuṭṭho, Prof.ssa Lily de Silva, Prof. P.D. Pemasiri, Godwin Samararatne, Dhammacāri Vishvapani, Michael Drummond ed Andrew Quernmore. Eventuali errori e travisamenti si devono interamente all’inadeguatezza della mia pratica meditativa e della mia comprensione. jhāyatha, mā pamādattha, mā pacchā vippaṭisārino ahuvattha. Meditate, non siate negligenti, per non rimpiangerlo poi. INTRODUZIONE Questo lavoro, frutto combinato della mia ricerca di dottorato all’Uni- versità di Peradeniya in Sri Lanka e della mia personale esperienza di monaco meditante, si propone uno studio dettagliato della teoria e della prassi della meditazione di presenza mentale secondo il Sati- paṭṭhāna Sutta, nel contesto canonico e filosofico del buddhismo delle origini. La presenza mentale e il modo corretto di applicarla sono senza dubbio argomenti cruciali per chiunque aspiri a percorrere il sentie- ro di liberazione del Buddha. Ma per comprendere e praticare ade- guatamente la meditazione di presenza mentale bisogna prendere in considerazione le istruzioni originarie del Buddha sul satipaṭṭhāna. Di conseguenza, il mio studio si incentra in particolare sui discorsi con- servati nei quattro Nikāya principali e nelle parti storicamente più antiche del quinto Nikāya in quanto fonti di massimo rilievo. Satipaṭṭhāna è una pratica. Nell’intento di dare un risvolto pratico alla mia indagine ho consultato una serie di manuali di meditazione moderni e pubblicazioni affini. La mia scelta è stata dettata soprat- tutto dall’accessibilità del materiale, ma spero comunque di aver incluso un numero sufficientemente rappresentativo di insegnanti di meditazione. Oltre a ciò mi sono avvalso di monografie e articoli accademici sul buddhismo delle origini per illustrare il modello filosofico e il contesto storico al cui interno va collocato il Sati- paṭṭhāna Sutta, fornendo così il retroterra necessario per intendere certi passi o espressioni presenti in questo discorso. Ho tenuto il corpo del testo sgombro, per quanto possibile, da ci- tazioni dirette e annotazioni al margine per preservarne scorrevo- lezza e leggibilità; tuttavia, ho fatto ampio uso delle note a piè di pagina per rinviare a concetti di particolare rilievo e fornire infor- mazioni aggiuntive. A un primo approccio, il lettore non specialista 2 ∙ SATIPAṬṬHĀNA potrebbe decidere di concentrarsi sul testo principale e prendere in considerazione il contenuto delle note in un secondo momento.
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