Rodney Smith - Touching the Infinite: A New Perspective on the Buddhas Four Foundations of Mindfulness

Rodney Smith shares the beautiful fruits of his many decades of devoted practice of the Buddhas teachings. Touching the Infinite freshly unpacks the instructions on touching the true nature of reality through developing an intimate relationship with the living components of our own direct, moment-to-moment experience. Seekers of system updates for dharma in the twenty-first century will find much fulfillment in this book, which has been written from the heart in a voice that is delightfully creative. Dzogchen Ponlop, author of Penetrating Wisdom and Rebel Buddha I highly recommend Rodney Smiths book Touching the Infinite. His explanations are interesting, lucid, and practical. The Four Foundations of Mindfulness are, in themselves, a most important guide to the realization of the dharma.

I congratulate Rodney on his excellent work. Ajahn Sumedho, author of The Sound of Silence and The Way It Is FOR MEDIA USE ONLY / NOT FOR SALE On-Sale Date: October 31, 2017 / Paperback / $19.95 US-$25.95 CAN ISBN: 9781611805024 / 288 pp / 5.5 x 8.5 No part of this book may be reproduced without permission from the publisher. All requests to: publicity@shambhala.com. Shambhala Publications, Inc. / Distributed by Penguin Random House Touching the Infinite-4th Pages Alter.indd 1 7/18/17 10:48 AM Books by Rodney Smith Awakening: A Paradigm Shift of the HeartStepping Out of Self-Deception: The Buddhas LiberatingTeaching of No-Self FOR MEDIA USE ONLY / NOT FOR SALE On-Sale Date: October 31, 2017 / Paperback / $19.95 US-$25.95 CAN ISBN: 9781611805024 / 288 pp / 5.5 x 8.5 No part of this book may be reproduced without permission from the publisher. All requests to: publicity@shambhala.com.

Shambhala Publications, Inc. / Distributed by Penguin Random House Touching the Infinite-4th Pages Alter.indd 2 7/18/17 10:48 AM Touching the Innite A New Perspective on the Buddhas Four Foundations of Mindfulness Rodney Smith FOR MEDIA USE ONLY / NOT FOR SALE On-Sale Date: October 31, 2017 / Paperback / $19.95 US-$25.95 CAN ISBN: 9781611805024 / 288 pp / 5.5 x 8.5 No part of this book may be reproduced without permission from the publisher. All requests to: publicity@shambhala.com. Shambhala Publications, Inc. / Distributed by Penguin Random House Shambhala Boulder 2017 Touching the Infinite-4th Pages Alter.indd 3 7/18/17 10:48 AM Shambhala Publications, Inc. 4720 Walnut Street Boulder, Colorado 80301 www.shambhala.com 2017 by Rodney Smith All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First Edition Printed in the United States of America o This edition is printed on acid-free paper that meets the American National Standards Institute Z39.48 Standard. kThis book is printed on 30% postconsumer recycled paper. For more information please visit www.shambhala.com. Distributed in the United States by Penguin Random House LLC and in Canada by Random House of Canada Ltd Library of Congress FOR CataLoging MEDIA USE -in-PubLiCation ONLY / NOT Data FOR SALE On-Sale Date: October 31, 2017 / Paperback / $19.95 US-$25.95 CAN Names: Smith, Rodney, 1947 author. Title: Touching the infinit ISBN: e: a new perspectiv 9781611805024 / e on the Buddhas f 288 pp / 5.5 our x 8.5 foundations of mindfulness / Rodney Smith.

No part of this book may be Description: First edition. | Boulder, Colorado: Shambhala Publications, Inc., [2017] | Includes bibliog reproduced raphical r without eferences. permission from the publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 20 All 17002652 | ISBN 9 requests to: 781611805024 (pbk.: alk. paper) publicity@shambhala.com. / Distributed by Penguin Random House Classification: LCC BQ5630.S2 S58 2017 | DDC 294.3/4435dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017002652 Touching the Infinite-4th Pages Alter.indd 4 7/18/17 10:48 AM To my wife, Ellen, whose loyalty and support sustain me, and toParker Huey who always gets it right. FOR MEDIA USE ONLY / NOT FOR SALE On-Sale Date: October 31, 2017 / Paperback / $19.95 US-$25.95 CAN ISBN: 9781611805024 / 288 pp / 5.5 x 8.5 No part of this book may be reproduced without permission from the publisher. / Distributed by Penguin Random House Classification: LCC BQ5630.S2 S58 2017 | DDC 294.3/4435dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017002652 Touching the Infinite-4th Pages Alter.indd 4 7/18/17 10:48 AM To my wife, Ellen, whose loyalty and support sustain me, and toParker Huey who always gets it right. FOR MEDIA USE ONLY / NOT FOR SALE On-Sale Date: October 31, 2017 / Paperback / $19.95 US-$25.95 CAN ISBN: 9781611805024 / 288 pp / 5.5 x 8.5 No part of this book may be reproduced without permission from the publisher.

All requests to: publicity@shambhala.com. Shambhala Publications, Inc. / Distributed by Penguin Random House Touching the Infinite-4th Pages Alter.indd 5 7/18/17 10:48 AM What we are doing is observing the very act of creation. Ajahn Chah FOR MEDIA USE ONLY / NOT FOR SALE On-Sale Date: October 31, 2017 / Paperback / $19.95 US-$25.95 CAN ISBN: 9781611805024 / 288 pp / 5.5 x 8.5 No part of this book may be reproduced without permission from the publisher. All requests to: publicity@shambhala.com. Shambhala Publications, Inc. / Distributed by Penguin Random House Touching the Infinite-4th Pages Alter.indd 6 7/18/17 10:48 AM ContentsPreface ix Terminology xv Introduction 1 1.

Proper Orientation 7 2. The Topography of the Journey 23 3. The First Foundation: The Base Camp of the Body 45 4. The First Foundation: Aging and Death 61 5. The First Foundation: The Body In and of Itself 81 6. The First Foundation: Mental Boundaries 105 7.

The Second Foundation: Feelings 123 8. The Second Foundation: The Story of Feelings 141 9. The Third Foundation: The Way Forward 163 10. The Third Foundation: Crossing the Divide 187 11. The Third Foundation: Subject/Object Contingency 205 12. The Fourth Foundation: The Formless 227 13.

The Fourth Foundation: Abiding in the Formless while Embracing Form 247 The Flower Sermon 260 Notes 261 Touching the Infinite-4th Pages Alter.indd 7 7/18/17 10:48 AM Touching the Infinite-4th Pages Alter.indd 8 7/18/17 10:48 AM Preface This book is not a scholarly endeavor, as I do not have the back ground or temperament for that kind of precision. The book does, however, come from over forty years of immersing myself in the practice and realization of Buddhism. Having lived for that length of time within the framework of Buddhist thought, I am sensitive when something seems to be in or out of alignment with the overall body of the Buddhas teaching. For years I have tried to navigate the antiquated language, the scholarly interpretations, and the commentarial confusion of the Buddhas Four Foundations of Mindfulness. Despite the fact that the Satipatthana Sutta has been shrouded in twenty-five hundred years of opinions, somehow I knew there must be a linear and co hesive way into this sutta that was both obvious and simple. I knew that each foundation could not stand alone but ultimately must be tied to the other three foundations within a unified and organized direction.

A question I often ponder when studying any sutta, in cluding this one, is where is the Buddha pointing in context to his overall teachings, and how does this sutta move us seamlessly and cohesively toward that end? This book offers a different perspective on the