book on anapanasati sutta?

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alan...
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book on anapanasati sutta?

Post by 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.
Last edited by alan... on Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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cooran
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Re: book on anapanasati sutta?

Post by 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" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


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" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

with metta
Chris
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ancientbuddhism
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Re: book on anapanasati sutta?

Post by ancientbuddhism »

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alan...
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Re: book on anapanasati sutta?

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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.
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ancientbuddhism
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Re: book on anapanasati sutta?

Post by ancientbuddhism »

alan... wrote:

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.
I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes.” – Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854

Secure your own mask before assisting others. – NORTHWEST AIRLINES (Pre-Flight Instruction)

A Handful of Leaves
alan...
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Re: book on anapanasati sutta?

Post by alan... »

ancientbuddhism wrote:
alan... wrote:

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...
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Re: book on anapanasati sutta?

Post by alan... »

cooran wrote: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" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


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" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

with metta
Chris
the buddhanet one looks promising, i'm still perusing it and the other, thanks!
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Cittasanto
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Re: book on anapanasati sutta?

Post by Cittasanto »

alan... wrote: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
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
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alan...
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Re: book on anapanasati sutta?

Post by alan... »

Cittasanto wrote:
alan... wrote: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...
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