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Like all of Ven. Anālayo's books this new offering isn't for beginners but is sure to be of value to both more experienced practitioners and to scholars. Its endorsement by the likes of Shaila Catherine and Joseph Goldstein give a clear sense of the kind of practitioner the author is writing for: someone who's inspired to pursue the Buddha's teachings in the service of full liberation rather than just a smoother ride through samsara.
To the best of my knowledge Anālayo stands alone for his ability to read the earliest strata of Buddhist teachings in Pali, Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese, while combining those skills with dedicated and intensive meditation practice and the disciplined life of a forest tradition monk. In this book, as in so much of his other writing (including his landmark books on sattipatthana) one has the sense of him peeling back the layers of 2600 years of Buddhist history and getting us perhaps as close as we can ever hope to to the Buddha's own practice and perspective.
The books starts off with a wonderful elucidation of the meaning of "mindfulness" as the Buddha and his earliest students understood it contrasted with the way the term is understood in later forms of Buddhism (from Theravada to Tibetan to MBSR). In typical fashion, Anālayo encourages us to be able to "hold" and appreciate the value of all of the uses of the term over time, being clear about what the suttas teach without prioritizing older or more "original" teachings over later ones.
Subsequent chapters contrast the subtle and refined practice of samatha and vipassana as an integrated whole found in the suttas with later commentarial oversimplifications that value only insight or veer towards a lopsided emphasis on concentration. Here as throughout the book the author's astonishing scholarship is leavened with the flavor of obvious personal meditative experience of what's being discussed, making this an academic book that truly comes alive on the cushion.
The text concludes with a tour-de-force illumination of the Brahmavihāras, contrasting the place of these practices in Early Buddhism with the commentarial tradition while also shedding light on both pre-Buddhist approaches and the Buddha's unique genius in using them in the service of liberating insight rather than getting stuck in bliss states.
- Series: Buddhist Meditation Studies (Book 1)
- Paperback: 252 pages
- Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (March 10, 2017)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1540410501
- ISBN-13: 978-1540410504
- Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Average Customer Review: 6 customer reviews
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#875,481 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4152 in Buddhism (Books)
- #202796 in Religion & Spirituality (Books)
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