books on cultivating wisdom?

[alan...]

in a three trainings sense. i have no confusion about morality, i have books on jhana and mindfulness, but i need a ton of guidance on wisdom. i'm not a beginner, i know about wisdom and i think i may have developed it to a degree but i'm simply being totally honest about where i feel i need work. i have zero access to a real life teacher.

so any books on cultivating wisdom that talk in depth about what wisdom is, how it works, and so on. why the books are good and what not as well would be great.

specifically non-vipassana books! please. i already practice vipassana and have books on that. that may not be so clear: what i'm saying is i don't need any more books talking me through mindfulness and the very specific practice of vipassana stuff (so not mahasi sayadaw, how to focus on the abdomen, nyanaponika thera, etc. kind of stuff, i already read it and love it). i'm looking for books that are totally focused on wisdom cultivation.

however if you know of some that use vipassana and explain VERY clearly how to develop wisdom and go in depth about what that is as well that would work, i just don't need any bare vipassana practice books since i already have them.

i already have the practice side well explained to me as well as the morality practices that lead up to it, i am very much in the dark about the details and in depth explanations of wisdom though. so out of morality, concentration and wisdom, i'm missing the wisdom piece of the puzzle to tie it all together.

[mikenz66]

Hi Alan,

I'm confused about your statements about widsom and vipassana:

Vipassanā: 'insight', is the intuitive light flashing forth and exposing the truth of the impermanency, the suffering and the impersonal and unsubstantial nature of all material and mental phenomena of existence. It is insight-understanding vipassanā-paññā that is the decisive liberating factor in Buddhism, though it has to be developed along with the 2 other trainings in morality and concentration.
...
http://what-buddha-said.net/library/Bud ... ssan%C4%81

Perhaps you mean that you don't need more books on specific meditation methods.

How the development of such wisdom generally progresses, according to the experience collected by the ancient commentators is described in considerable detail in the Visuddhimagga.
[PDF available here: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nanamoli/index.html]

A summary by Mahasi Sayadaw is here: http://www.aimwell.org/Books/Mahasi/Pro ... gress.html

If you want a really in-depth modern book that with excellent references then I recommend:
Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhana and Vipassana
By Shaila Catherine
http://imsb.org/books/wwd.php
This book has copious references to Theravada Suttas and Commentary, which allows you to trace the ideas back to the suttas.


Mike

[alan...]

Hi Alan,

I'm confused about your statements about widsom and vipassana:

Vipassanā: 'insight', is the intuitive light flashing forth and exposing the truth of the impermanency, the suffering and the impersonal and unsubstantial nature of all material and mental phenomena of existence. It is insight-understanding vipassanā-paññā that is the decisive liberating factor in Buddhism, though it has to be developed along with the 2 other trainings in morality and concentration.
...
http://what-buddha-said.net/library/Bud ... ssan%C4%81

Perhaps you mean that you don't need more books on specific meditation methods.

How the development of such wisdom generally progresses, according to the experience collected by the ancient commentators is described in considerable detail in the Visuddhimagga.
[PDF available here: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nanamoli/index.html]

A summary by Mahasi Sayadaw is here: http://www.aimwell.org/Books/Mahasi/Pro ... gress.html

If you want a really in-depth modern book that with excellent references then I recommend:
Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhana and Vipassana
By Shaila Catherine
http://imsb.org/books/wwd.php
This book has copious references to Theravada Suttas and Commentary, which allows you to trace the ideas back to the suttas.


Mike

Thanks much mike! Tell me more about the catherine book? Comparison to focused and fearless? I already have visuddhagga but couldnt grip it and i already have mahasi "progress of insight".

[Ben]

Hi Alan,
The Vism is excellent as a reference. Dip into it from time to time on bits you might think is relevant. For example, I don't usually revisit the section on kasinas.
Wisdom is generally cultivated in a particular practice orientation. Hence, you might find some material within books on particular meditation practices. I recommend Nyanaponika mahathera's "Heart of Buddhist Meditation", as well as Ven Analayo's "Satipatthana" which is both meditation manual and scholarly treatise.
Wishing you all the best,
Ben

[mikenz66]

Hi Alan,

Thanks much mike! Tell me more about the catherine book? Comparison to focused and fearless? I already have visuddhagga but couldnt grip it and i already have mahasi "progress of insight".

Wisdom Wide and Deep is much more detailed (some would say too detailed...) than Focussed and Fearless, with copious references. You can read the Table of Contents, Introduction, and Chapter 1 here: http://imsb.org/books/wwd.php


Mike

[alan...]

Hi Alan,
The Vism is excellent as a reference. Dip into it from time to time on bits you might think is relevant. For example, I don't usually revisit the section on kasinas.
Wisdom is generally cultivated in a particular practice orientation. Hence, you might find some material within books on particular meditation practices. I recommend Nyanaponika mahathera's "Heart of Buddhist Meditation", as well as Ven Analayo's "Satipatthana" which is both meditation manual and scholarly treatise.
Wishing you all the best,
Ben

(so not mahasi sayadaw, how to focus on the abdomen, nyanaponika thera, etc. kind of stuff, i already read it and love it)

that book by nyanaponika (maha)thera is my all time favorite book on buddhist anything save for the pali canon itself! i was blown away at how focused it is and how when you put it into practice it just starts working! excellent recommendation. i loved it so much i bought four more of his books!

what can you tell me about ven analayo's "satipatthana"? how does it compare to nyanaponika? have you read bhante g "four foundations of mindfulness in plain english"?

[Ben]

Hi Alan, Nyanaponika Mahathera's has had a great influence on me. Heart of Buddhist Meditation is a classic. If you loved "heart of..." then you will also love Analayo's modern masterpiece. Analayo's work is also written as a bookend and homage to Nyanaponika's seminal work. It's worth the money whether hard copy or electronic.
With metta,
Ben

[alan...]

Hi Alan, Nyanaponika Mahathera's has had a great influence on me. Heart of Buddhist Meditation is a classic. If you loved "heart of..." then you will also love Analayo's modern masterpiece. Analayo's work is also written as a bookend and homage to Nyanaponika's seminal work. It's worth the money whether hard copy or electronic.
With metta,
Ben

how does it add to nyanaponikas? does it delve deeper into the sutta interpretation? that is something i have yet to see. everyone just gives mindfulness methods in broad sweeps and fails to give explanation to such questions as:

how are we to practice? the whole sutta or just parts that are useful to us personally?

are we to pick one technique from each foundation or just one technique total and use it to practice the other foundations (as in anapanasati fulfilling all four foundations and similar ideas)?

if we are supposed to practice it all, in what order? in tandem, all at once?

[ground]

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... tml#nidana

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... ml#khandha

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... salayatana

[alan...]

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/index.html#nidana

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... ml#khandha

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... salayatana

I think there is a ton of knowledge to be gained and then reflected upon which can develop legitimate Buddhist wisdom through reading such suttas when combined with meditation and mindfulness.