book on anapanasati sutta?

[alan...]

to be clear i know there are hundreds. i'm looking for a very specific type:

something like analayo's "satipatthana sutta: the direct path to realization". grounded in the sutta(s). lot's of references. not a modern teachers retelling of the sutta and methods without much direct attention to the sutta itself or theravada and pali canon as a whole.

EDIT: don't get me wrong, i am looking for something with a teachers input. i don't want something that is just dry quotes from the suttas and commentary with almost no words of the author or compiler. i just don't want something like "mindfulness bliss and beyond" by ajahan brahm. that book is wonderful, but it's not what i'm looking for.

as a contrast imagine "four foundations of mindfulness in plain english" by bhante g compared with analayo's "satipatthana sutta: the direct path to realization". four foundations is mostly bhante g's words on the topic and personal interpretation, whereas the latter gives his own words but also includes a great deal more info from the commentaries, suttas, and the theravada tradition as a whole.

[cooran]

Hello alan,

Not sure if this is what you are looking for - but they might help:

Anapanasati - Mindfulness of breathing by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu
Delivered in1959 in a series of lectures to Monks at Suanmokkha Monastery.
http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/anapanasati.pdf


Mindfulness of Breathing - Translated by Bhikkhu Nanamoli
This is a useful anthology of important and pragmatic source material from the Pali Canon and Commentaries on the technique of Anapana, or breath-awareness meditation. It includes the Discourse on Respiration-Mindfulness from the Majjhima Nikaya, commentary from the Vishuddhimagga (Path of Purification), and analyses of other passages and suttas.
Bhikkhu Ñanamoli was ordained as a monk in Sri Lanka, where he spent 11 years living in a monastery and translating the texts of the Theravada Buddhism into English. He was the author of The Discourse on Right View, Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, and The Life of the Buddha.
Review: Among many contemporary translations and commentaries on the Anapanasati Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 118), this book stands out for including the fifth century commentary by Buddhaghosa as well as other references to anapanasati from the MN.

Although Ven. Nanamoli's style is wooden and his choice of words dated, even opaque as in calling the breath a "bodily formation", the commentary by Buddhaghosa (the Papancasudani) which is not found translated elsewhere in English is worth the price of the book. (luckily - this is a free download).

For instance, Buddhaghosa explains that the the third step, translated as "experience the whole body" (sabba kaya), refers to the whole body of breath, not to the flesh-and-blood body as commonly translated. It may be useful to weigh these various interpretations to arrive at a reasoned conclusion.
http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma14/mindfulbreath.html

with metta
Chris

[ancientbuddhism]

Mindfulness in Early Buddhism: New approaches through psychology and textual analysis of Pāli, Chinese and Sanskrit sources, by Tse-fu Kuan

[alan...]

Mindfulness in Early Buddhism: New approaches through psychology and textual analysis of Pāli, Chinese and Sanskrit sources, by Tse-fu Kuan

sweet thanks. and wow! your avatar is awesome! what is it exactly?

also nice signature! that's a perfect analogy to whether or not a buddhist practitioner should be teaching others or not.

[ancientbuddhism]

Mindfulness in Early Buddhism: New approaches through psychology and textual analysis of Pāli, Chinese and Sanskrit sources, by Tse-fu Kuan

sweet thanks. and wow! your avatar is awesome! what is it exactly?

also nice signature! that's a perfect analogy to whether or not a buddhist practitioner should be teaching others or not.

The avatar is a rendition of ashuba contemplation by Dhammatthiko Bhikkhu.

[alan...]

Mindfulness in Early Buddhism: New approaches through psychology and textual analysis of Pāli, Chinese and Sanskrit sources, by Tse-fu Kuan

sweet thanks. and wow! your avatar is awesome! what is it exactly?

also nice signature! that's a perfect analogy to whether or not a buddhist practitioner should be teaching others or not.

The avatar is a rendition of ashuba contemplation by Dhammatthiko Bhikkhu.

cool thanks. i had to google "asubha". on a side note: surely the satipatthana section on foulness counts as asubha contemplation right?

[alan...]

Hello alan,

Not sure if this is what you are looking for - but they might help:

Anapanasati - Mindfulness of breathing by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu
Delivered in1959 in a series of lectures to Monks at Suanmokkha Monastery.
http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/anapanasati.pdf


Mindfulness of Breathing - Translated by Bhikkhu Nanamoli
This is a useful anthology of important and pragmatic source material from the Pali Canon and Commentaries on the technique of Anapana, or breath-awareness meditation. It includes the Discourse on Respiration-Mindfulness from the Majjhima Nikaya, commentary from the Vishuddhimagga (Path of Purification), and analyses of other passages and suttas.
Bhikkhu Ñanamoli was ordained as a monk in Sri Lanka, where he spent 11 years living in a monastery and translating the texts of the Theravada Buddhism into English. He was the author of The Discourse on Right View, Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, and The Life of the Buddha.
Review: Among many contemporary translations and commentaries on the Anapanasati Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 118), this book stands out for including the fifth century commentary by Buddhaghosa as well as other references to anapanasati from the MN.

Although Ven. Nanamoli's style is wooden and his choice of words dated, even opaque as in calling the breath a "bodily formation", the commentary by Buddhaghosa (the Papancasudani) which is not found translated elsewhere in English is worth the price of the book. (luckily - this is a free download).

For instance, Buddhaghosa explains that the the third step, translated as "experience the whole body" (sabba kaya), refers to the whole body of breath, not to the flesh-and-blood body as commonly translated. It may be useful to weigh these various interpretations to arrive at a reasoned conclusion.
http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma14/mindfulbreath.html

with metta
Chris

the buddhanet one looks promising, i'm still perusing it and the other, thanks!

[Cittasanto]

cool thanks. i had to google "asubha". on a side note: surely the satipatthana section on foulness counts as asubha contemplation right?

Asubha means foulness, although some aregu for non-beautiful.
A - negative "not"
subha = beauty

[alan...]

cool thanks. i had to google "asubha". on a side note: surely the satipatthana section on foulness counts as asubha contemplation right?

Asubha means foulness, although some aregu for non-beautiful.
A - negative "not"
subha = beauty

you speak pali? in a year or so i may be pleading with you to help me understand the satipatthana sutta in pali...