Buddhist Meditation: An Anthology of Texts from the Pali canon (Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism)

Meditative practice lies at the heart of the Buddhist tradition. This introductory anthology gives a representative sample of the various kinds of meditations described in the earliest body of Buddhist scripture, the Pali canon. It provides a broad introduction to their traditional context and practice and supplies explanation, context and doctrinal background to the subject of meditation. The main themes of the book are the diversity and flexibility of the way that the Buddha teaches meditation from the evidence of the canon. Covering fundamental features of Buddhist practice such as posture, lay meditation, and meditative technique it provides comments both from the principal early commentators on Buddhist practice, Upatissa and Buddhaghosa, and from reputable modern meditation teachers in a number of Theravadin traditions. This is the first book on Pali Buddhism which introduces the reader to the wide range of the canon. It demonstrates that the Buddha's meditative tradition still offers a path of practice as mysterious, awe-inspiring yet as freshly accessible as it was centuries ago, and will be of interest to students and scholars of Buddhism as well as Buddhist practitioners. Introduction -- What Is Meditation? ; The Early Manuals ; The Classification Of Meditation Objects ; Different Temperaments ; Finding A Teacher Or Good Friend ; Lay People And The Practice Of Meditation ; Sitting Posture ; Samatha And Vipassana -- Meditation: Introductory Texts -- The Five Hindrances -- Longer Texts: I. Concentration And The Fruits Of Recluseship: The Samannaphala Sutta -- Longer Texts: Ii> The Four Foundations Of Mindfulness: The Satipannhana Sutta -- (1-10) The Ten Kasina Practices -- (11-20) The Ten Foulnesses (asubha) -- The Recollections: The First Six -- The Recollections: The Four Mindfulnesses -- (31-34) The Four Divine Abidings (brahmavihara) -- (35-38) Meditation On The Formless (arupasamapatti) -- The One Perception And The One Defining. [selected And Translated By] Sarah Shaw. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 225-231) And Index. Includes Translations From Pali. BOOK COVER......Page 1 HALF-TITLE......Page 2 SERIES TITLE......Page 3 TITLE......Page 6 COPYRIGHT......Page 7 DEDICATION......Page 8 CONTENTS......Page 10 PREFACE......Page 13 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 15 TRANSLATOR’S NOTE......Page 16 ABBREVIATIONS......Page 17 1 INTRODUCTION......Page 20 2 MEDITATION......Page 40 3 THE FIVE HINDRANCES......Page 58 4 LONGER TEXTS......Page 78 5 LONGER TEXTS......Page 95 6 1-10. THE TEN KASI¡APRACTICES......Page 105 7 11-20. THE TEN FOULNESS(ASUBHA)......Page 120 8 THE RECOLLECTIONS......Page 128 9 THE RECOLLECTIONS......Page 154 10 31-34. THE FOUR DIVINEABIDINGS (BRAHMAVIHARA)......Page 182 11 35-38. MEDITATION ON THEFORMLESS (ARÁPASAMAPATTI)......Page 192 12 THE ONE PERCEPTION ANDTHEONE DEFINING......Page 202 CONCLUSION......Page 213 GLOSSARY......Page 218 NOTES......Page 222 CANONICAL REFERENCES......Page 241 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 244 INDEX......Page 252