Analayo - Satipatthana Meditation: A Practice Guide

Praise for Satipahna Meditation: A Practice Guide

This is a pearl of a book. On reading it, and comparing it to the authors previous two studies of satipahna, 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 satipahna 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 satipahna 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 satipahna 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. Satipahna Meditation: A Practice Guide is destined to become an invaluable resource for meditators!

Shaila Catherine, author of Focused and Fearless: A Meditators Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity

Once more Bhikkhu Anlayo has written a masterpiece that holds within it an accessible and clear guide to developing and applying the teachings held within the Satipahna-sutta. Within this book Anlayo 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

Bhikkhu Anlayo presents the Buddhas practical teaching of the path to Nibbna in one comprehensive whole: the wheel of satipahna. 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 Anlayos clear mandala that draws together the entire body of satipahna 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

SATIPAHNA
MEDITATION:
A PRACTICE
GUIDE

Also by Anlayo

Satipahna, The Direct Path to Realization

The Genesis of the Bodhisattva Ideal

A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikya

Excursions into the Thought-world of the Pli Discourses

Madhyama-gama Studies

Perspectives on Satipahna

The Dawn of Abhidharma

Compassion and Emptiness in Early Buddhist Meditation

Sayukta-gama Studies

Ekottarika-gama Studies

The Foundation History of the Nuns Order

Mindfully Facing Disease and Death

Buddhapada and the Bodhisattva Path

Early Buddhist Meditation Studies

Drgha-gama Studies

Vinaya Studies

A Meditators Life of the Buddha

Rebirth in Early Buddhism and Current Research

SATIPAHNA
MEDITATION:
A PRACTICE
GUIDE

Anlayo

Windhorse Publications

17e Sturton Street

Cambridge

CB1 2SN

UK

windhorsepublications.com

Anlayo, 2018

Electronic edition 2018

The right of Anlayo 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 Dhammadna, Anlayo has waived royalty payments for this book.

Drawings by Anna Oneglia (www.annaoneglia.com)

Cover design by Dhammarati

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data:

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-1-911407-10-2

ebook ISBN: 978-1-911407-11-9

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.

Windhorse Publications would be pleased to hear about your reading experiences with this eBook at:

References to Internet web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor Windhorse Publications is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared

CONTENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in 1962 in Germany, Bhikkhu Anlayo was ordained in 1995 in Sri Lanka, and completed a PhD on the Satipahna-sutta at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, in 2000 published in 2003 by Windhorse Publications under the title Satipahna, The Direct Path to Realization.

Anlayo is a professor of Buddhist Studies; his main research area is early Buddhism and in particular the topics of the Chinese gamas, 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.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND DEDICATION

I am indebted to Irene Bumbacher, Shaila Catherine, Bhikkhun Dhammadinn, 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 ananda (19402018) in gratitude for guidance and inspiration in exploring deep passages among the early discourses from a practice-related perspective.

PUBLISHERS 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 books production via our Sponsor-a-book campaign.

FOREWORD BY JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN

Bhikkhu Anlayos first book, Satipahna, 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, Anlayo illuminated the profound details of the Satipahna-sutta, which inspired my own interest in further exploring this pivotal discourse. Meeting Anlayo 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. His remarkable breadth of knowledge and depth of practice have elucidated with great clarity the liberation teachings of the Buddha.

In this current volume,