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Satipaṭṭhāna Meditation: a Practice Guide Praise for Satipaṭṭhāna Meditation: A Practice Guide This is a pearl of a book. On reading it, and comparing it to the author’s previous two studies of satipaṭṭhāna, the impression is that of having left the university lecture theatre and entered the meditation hall, where the wise and experienced teacher is offering Dhamma reflections, illuminating the practice of satipaṭṭhāna with a fertile and colourful lucidity, free of footnotes and arcane cross-references. This book is a treasure-house of practical teachings, rendered accessible with a clear and simple eloquence. The author states that his motivation has been to enrich the practice of satipaṭṭhāna rather than to compete with other approaches – he has succeeded admirably in this, I feel, and with praiseworthy skill and grace. – Ajahn Amaro This breathtaking practice guide is brief, and profound! It offers a detailed, engaging, and flexible approach to satipaṭṭhāna meditation that can be easily applied both in meditation and in day-to-day activities. The inspired practice suggestions and joyful enquiry that pervade each chapter will draw students, gradually but surely, towards deep liberating insight. Satipaṭṭhāna Meditation: A Practice Guide is destined to become an invaluable resource for meditators! – Shaila Catherine, author of Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity Once more Bhikkhu Anālayo has written a masterpiece that holds within it an accessible and clear guide to developing and applying the teachings held within the Satipaṭṭhāna-sutta. Within this book Anālayo explores the subtle nuances of developing mindfulness and how that dedicated cultivation leads to the awakening pointed to in the discourse. This is an indispensable meditative guide for anyone truly seeking to understand and know for themselves the liberating insights offered in the four ways of establishing mindfulness. – Christina Feldman, author of The Boundless Heart SMAPG pages 234x156 v3s02.indd 1 29/06/2018 14:02 Bhikkhu Anālayo presents the Buddha’s practical teaching of the path to Nibbāna in one comprehensive whole: the wheel of satipaṭṭhāna. He writes for practitioners, and his own practice shines through like a beacon. It makes this a very exciting guide for meditators – the truth of it leaps out at you. Each reader can map out for themselves Bhikkhu Anālayo’s clear mandala that draws together the entire body of satipaṭṭhāna practice. In his simplification the lines of Dharma principle are clear, yet none of the richness and potential is lost. Indeed, as you take in what he is saying, more and more significance dawns. – Kamalashila, author of Buddhist Meditation: Tranquillity, Imagination and Insight SMAPG pages 234x156 v3s02.indd 2 29/06/2018 14:02 Satipaṭṭhāna Meditation: a practice GUIDE SMAPG pages 234x156 v3s02.indd 3 29/06/2018 14:02 Also by Anālayo Satipaṭṭhāna, The Direct Path to Realization The Genesis of the Bodhisattva Ideal A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya Excursions into the Thought-world of the Pāli Discourses Madhyama-āgama Studies Perspectives on Satipaṭṭhāna The Dawn of Abhidharma Compassion and Emptiness in Early Buddhist Meditation Saṃyukta-āgama Studies Ekottarika-āgama Studies The Foundation History of the Nuns’ Order Mindfully Facing Disease and Death Buddhapada and the Bodhisattva Path Early Buddhist Meditation Studies Dīrgha-āgama Studies Vinaya Studies A Meditator’s Life of the Buddha Rebirth in Early Buddhism and Current Research SMAPG pages 234x156 v3s02.indd 4 29/06/2018 14:02 Satipaṭṭhāna Meditation: a practice GUIDE Anālayo SMAPG pages 234x156 v3s02.indd 5 29/06/2018 14:02 Windhorse Publications 17e Sturton Street Cambridge CB1 2SN UK [email protected] windhorsepublications.com © Anālayo, 2018 The right of Anālayo to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. As an act of Dhammadāna, Anālayo has waived royalty payments for this book. The index was not compiled by the author. Drawings by Anna Oneglia (www.annaoneglia.com) Cover design by Dhammarati Typesetting and layout by Ruth Rudd Printed by Bell & Bain Ltd, Glasgow British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 978-1-911407-10-2 Limit of Liability: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book so as to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered, the advice and practices contained in it may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any damage. SMAPG pages 234x156 v3s02.indd 6 29/06/2018 14:02 CONTENTS about the author x acknowledgeMent and dedication xi publiSher’S acknowledgeMentS xii foreword by joSeph goldStein xiii introduction 1 Chapter I MINDFULNESS 3 MINDFULNESS AND MEMORY 3 CULTIVATING MINDFULNESS 6 MINDFULNESS AND CONCEPTS 7 MINDFULNESS AND RECEPTIVITY 9 MINDFULNESS OF BODILY POSTURES 12 MINDFULNESS OF BODILY ACTIVITIES 15 BENEFITS OF MINDFULNESS OF THE BODY 18 SUMMARY 23 Chapter II SATIPAṬṬHĀNA 25 FOUR SATIPAṬṬHĀNAS 25 CONTEMPLATION OF THE BODY 27 CONTEMPLATION OF DHARMAS 28 SEVEN CONTEMPLATIONS 29 MINDFULNESS IN DAILY LIFE 31 THE DEFINITION AND THE REFRAIN 34 INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL 35 THE NATURE OF ARISING AND PASSING AWAY 40 JUST BEING MINDFUL 42 DWELLING INDEPENDENTLY 44 SUMMARY 46 SMAPG pages 234x156 v3s02.indd 7 29/06/2018 14:02 VIII / CONTENTS Chapter III ANATOMY 47 THE NATURE OF THE BODY 48 SENSUALITY 49 THE SIMILE 51 A PRACTICAL SIMPLIFICATION 53 A DETAILED APPROACH 55 KEEPING AN EYE ON BALANCE 57 FROM SCANNING TO OPEN PRACTICE 61 SUMMARY 63 Chapter IV ELEMENTS 65 THE ELEMENTS AS QUALITIES 65 A PRACTICAL APPROACH 67 THE SIMILE 69 THE EMPTY NATURE OF MATTER 71 THE ELEMENTS AND MENTAL BALANCE 76 THE ELEMENT SPACE 78 OPEN PRACTICE 80 SUMMARY 81 Chapter V DEATH 83 RECOLLECTION OF DEATH 84 A PRACTICAL APPROACH 86 THE BREATH AND IMPERMANENCE 90 FACING MORTALITY 96 THE ELEMENTS AND DEATH 99 OPEN PRACTICE 100 SUMMARY 101 Chapter VI FEELING 103 FEELING AND REACTIVITY 104 A PRACTICAL APPROACH 106 THE PUSH OF FEELINGS 108 THE BODY AND PAIN 111 THE MIND AND JOY 114 RIGHT VIEW 116 WORLDLY AND UNWORLDLY FEELINGS 116 IMPERMANENCE 121 OPEN PRACTICE 124 SUMMARY 125 Chapter VII MIND 127 LUST, ANGER, AND DELUSION 128 THE ABSENCE OF DEFILEMENTS 134 CONTRACTED AND DISTRACTED 136 HIGHER STATES OF MIND 137 OPENING OF THE HEART 140 SMAPG pages 234x156 v3s02.indd 8 29/06/2018 14:02 142 / IX SKILFUL USE OF LABELS 142 OPEN PRACTICE 144 IMPERMANENCE 145 THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS 147 THE DISTORTED PERCEPTIONS 148 SUMMARY 149 Chapter VIII HINDRANCES 151 CONDITIONALITY 151 FACING A HINDRANCE 154 SENSUAL DESIRE 156 ANGER 159 SLOTH-AND-TORPOR 160 RESTLESSNESS-AND-WORRY 162 DOUBT 164 THE ABSENCE OF THE HINDRANCES 165 OPEN PRACTICE 168 SUMMARY 168 Chapter IX AWAKENING 171 MINDFULNESS 172 INVESTIGATION 174 ENERGY 176 JOY 177 TRANQUILLITY 178 CONCENTRATION 178 EQUIPOISE 180 BALANCING THE AWAKENING FACTORS 181 CULTIVATING INDIVIDUAL AWAKENING FACTORS 185 INCLINING THE MIND TOWARDS AWAKENING 188 OPEN PRACTICE 192 SUMMARY 195 CONCLUSION 197 BALANCE 198 GRADUAL PROGRESSION 200 INSIGHT 205 DAILY-LIFE PRACTICE 208 ADJUSTING THE PRACTICE 209 KEY ASPECTS 212 CULTIVATING TRANQUILLITY 213 DWELLING INDEPENDENTLY 215 SUMMARY 215 quotationS 219 abbreviationS 223 referenceS 224 index 226 SMAPG pages 234x156 v3s02.indd 9 29/06/2018 14:02 ¯ X / SATIPAT. T. H ANA MEDITATION: A PRACTICE GUIDE ABOUT THE AUTHOR Born in 1962 in Germany, Bhikkhu Anālayo was ordained in 1995 in Sri Lanka, and completed a PhD on the Satipaṭṭhāna-sutta at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, in 2000 – published in 2003 by Windhorse Publications under the title Satipaṭṭhāna, The Direct Path to Realization. Anālayo is a professor of Buddhist Studies; his main research area is early Buddhism and in particular the topics of the Chinese Āgamas, meditation, and women in Buddhism. Besides his academic pursuits, he regularly teaches meditation. He presently resides at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Massachusetts, where he spends most of his time in silent retreat. SMAPG pages 234x156 v3s02.indd 10 29/06/2018 14:02 226 / XI ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND DEDICATION I am indebted to Irene Bumbacher, Shaila Catherine, Bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā, Ann Dillon, Linda Grace, Robert Grosch, Hedwig Kren, Yuka Nakamura, and Matt Weingast for commenting on a draft version of this book, and to the staff and supporters of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies for providing me with the facilities needed to do my practice and writing. I would like to dedicate this book to the memory of Bhikkhu Katukurunde Ñāṇananda (1940–2018) in gratitude for guidance and inspiration in exploring deep passages among the early discourses from a practice-related perspective. SMAPG pages 234x156 v3s02.indd 11 29/06/2018 14:02 PUBLISHER’S ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Windhorse Publications wishes to gratefully acknowledge a grant from the Triratna European Chairs’ Assembly Fund and the Future Dharma Fund towards the production of this book. We also wish to acknowledge and thank the individual donors who gave to the book’s production via our “Sponsor-a-book” campaign. SMAPG pages 234x156 v3s02.indd 12 29/06/2018 14:02 FOREWORD / XIII FOREWORD BY JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN Bhikkhu Anālayo’s first book, Satipaṭṭhāna, The Direct Path to Realization, was a seminal work, bridging the divide between rigorous scholarship and meditative understanding and practice. Following in the tradition of great scholar-practitioners, Anālayo illuminated the profound details of the Satipaṭṭhāna- sutta, which inspired my own interest in further exploring this pivotal discourse. Meeting Anālayo in person, and later teaching a retreat with him at the Insight Meditation Society, confirmed my initial enthusiasm for what he was offering to Western Dharma practitioners.
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