Essential readings for satipatthana

[Kabouterke]

I was just wondering....

If you had to make a list of essential canonical and non-canonical books/texts/talks that you feel every vipassana meditator should read, what would you put?!

I'm curious to see what you would put

[mikenz66]

Hi Kabouterke

There are a number of books and other resources listed in this Recommended Reading thread in the Medication section:
http://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=341
These cover all aspects of meditation, but you should be able to pick out what interests you from there.

My opinion is that there is so much out there that finding an "essential" set of references (apart from the key suttas) is a hopeless task. My advice would be to simply pick one or two books and investigate in detail. Different teachers have different ways of introducing meditation, and it can be confusing to mix advice. Different members here have experiences of which advice is most helpful. I listed some resources in that thread that I have found particularly helpful. As have others.


Mike

[IanAnd]

If you had to make a list of essential canonical and non-canonical books/texts/talks that you feel every vipassana meditator should read, what would you put?!

In the canonical category, the Samyutta Nikaya will definitely give you a lot to chew over and think about.

In the non-canonical category, whatever piques your interest and helps you to better understand the practice. That may differ from practitioner to practitioner, so there's no set pathway that can be recommended. As mikenz66 has pointed out, this could be just about anything. In that list that he linked to, I tended to like dipping into a number of authors just to see how they compared with what I experienced and how they came together on the practice. In that vein, Ajahn Chah, Bhante Gunaratana, Ajahn Sumedho, Soma Thera, Sayadaw U Pandita, and of course the ever present Thanissaro Bhikkhu were all grist for my mill.

But when it comes to books that I got the most out of in terms of practice, there are only two, and both of them are classics:

The Heart of Buddhist Meditation by Nyanaponika Thera and Ven. Analayo's Satipatthana: The Direct Path to Realization.

If you read and practice with Nyanaponika's book first, Analayo's book will take up where that book leaves off and provide you with veritable mountain of suggestions for continued practice that will take you into the heart of what Gotama taught and recommended in the Satipattana Suttas.

[tiltbillings]

Hi Kabouterke

There are a number of books and other resources listed in this Recommended Reading thread in the Medication section:
http://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=341

Interesting slip of the finger.

As for suggested talks:

http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/96/?search=satipatthana

These are by Joseph Goldstein, an excellent, highly experienced teacher. It would be hard to find better.

[Kabouterke]

Thanks, everybody!