This book is a commentary on the Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha's discourse on the four foundations of mindfulness. I read the book when I started meditation practice five years ago and have reread it twice since then, finishing my most recent read a week ago. This book explains the sutta in very clear, understandible terms making it and the practice it describes more accessible to modern western readers. The sutta and the book describe the whole of mindfulness practice both as a meditation practice and as a way of life. As a friend remarked, "Once I found this book, I realized that I didn't need to read anything else." If you want an introduction to mindfulness, this is the book for you. If you want to deepen your understanding of mindfulness, this is the book for you. It is simply the best book I've found on the subject.

"This book is issued in the deep conviction that the systematic cultivation of Right Mindfulness, as taught by the Buddha in his Discourse on Satipatthana, still provides the most simple and direct, the most thorough and effective method for training and developing the mind for its daily tasks and problems as well as for its highest aim: mind's own unshakable deliverance from Greed, Hatred and Delusion."

So opens this humble mastepiece of a book written with great depth, extraordinary knowledge, profound humanity, and in a style that is simple and direct. If the reader is looking for "The" definitive book on how to correctly practice meditation in all its subtle detail, be he Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Sufi-Muslim, Taoist, or even Buddhist, this is "that" book. Period.

The heart of the book takes place in the six opening chapters wherein the great German scholar monk, Nyanaponika Thera, opens petal by petal the immense scope of the Buddha's "Way of Mindfulness" for those seeking instruction on how to obtain insight and wisdom in this lifetime. Each chapter builds up to the next, explaining and further elucidating the subtle insights which make up the Buddha's far-reaching and incomparable teachings.

For the experienced meditator who has never practiced Vipassana meditation, this book will open your eyes to the vast landscape of emptiness which you have been seeking all these years. For the uninitiated seeker taking his first steps in the art of meditation, it will be a valued primer in the art of true mental training. Practicing real mindfulness in one's everyday activities is not an easy endeavor. It takes constant application and sustained effort on the part of the practitioner in order to obtain the real benefits of the practice. This is the reality of mindfulness practice which one would do best to realize and heed if he is truly seeking the peace of mind that this method of training will provide.

The chapter on "Mindfulness and Clear Comprehension" will supply the experienced practitioner with a treasure trove of insight and practical instruction rarely seen in published form. It will answer questions and provide clear and valuable insructions in the true intent of mindfulness practice, which is the cessation of suffering. If one can successfully put to use the information contained in this one chapter, it will truly revolutionize one's life. The age-old religious injunctions of renunciation and detachment will no longer be the rarefied arena of those who devote their whole lives to the religious life. It will be obtainable to any person who can maintain this discipline.

The chapter on Anapana-sati, or "Mindfulness of Breathing," may furnish one who has never tried this method of meditation with an experience of such tranquility that he has never before obtained. Success in this half of the two part method of Vipassana meditation will lead to a deepening of one's ability in concentration which in turn will lead to success in being able to accomplish entry into the Jhanas, or the meditative absorptions. And from this advanced point the goal of every meditator's dream--the mind's liberation--lies palpably before him through the development of insight, if he will but continue to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

For anyone unfamiliar with the Satipatthana method originally expoused by the Buddha, this book will help to clarify its eminently intelligent approach, first through the cultivation in the practitioner of the ability to concentrate and then through the development of insight into the true nature of the world and one's consciousness resulting in liberation of the individual mind. With a clear comprehension of the major aspects of the Buddha's thought--the Three Characteristics of Existence consisting of Anicca or Impermanence, Dukkha or Dissatisfaction, and Anatta or No-Self--and a cultivation within the mind of the reality of these three characteristics, which represent the world's true nature, any dedicated practitioner can achieve liberation and true peace of mind.

The book is subdivided into three parts : the first explains what Insight meditation is about, the second part is a text taken from the "Collection of Long Discourses" of the Buddha, and the third part is a set of various classical texts illustrating the principles explained in the previous parts.

The first part consists in a deep explanation of the different objects of meditation along with practical tips for the right practice of meditation. The second part provides the text on "The Foundations of Mindfulness" with some notes but it is rather crude and difficult for beginners. However, it is very good for people practising Insight meditation from some time. The third part is made of various texts that perfectly illustrate the concepts and the practice explained in part one.

...this book can be seen as the "bible" of Insight meditation...

In summary : The must-have for all people involved in Insight meditation.

Excellent selection with a wonderful introduction. Words of wisdom that express some of the key ideas of the Master with a focus on advice for lay people and those who are undergoing the Training. A good primer for those who are preparing to tackle the major nikayas such as the Digha, Majjhima and Samyutta.

This book is very good for all who want to know how to be a perfected one. There are many methods to practice and you can use them for your life. To me, I think it's great discourse.

Nyanaponika introduces Early Buddhist philosophical psychology in detail. He shows that the common and superficial understanding of the Buddhist theory of self - according to which the theory is a mere list of the parts of a self - is wrong and overlooks the Abhidhamma (probably because it is an abstruse section of the Buddhist canon). The theory includes an often overlooked but sophisticated and plausible description of functional relations amongst the parts of a self, and Nyanaponika shows this with astonishing vivacity. This shows that the Early Buddhist theory was an early scientific psychology of a functionalist sort: a monumental acheivement in human intellectual history. All the while, he skilfully shows how the theory is logically connected with the Buddhist notion of psychological self-refinement and nirvana. Still, Nyanaponika and the Abhidhamma ideas he explains seem at times to rely on a dubious empirical method: the introspections of ancient Buddhist masters (which may have included the Buddha himself) who wrote the Abhidhamma texts. As a consequence, some of the descriptions of the parts of the self and their functions seem vague or implausible. Also, although Nyanaponika is good at explaining the philosophical as well as the psychological, one might have liked a bit more discussion of the structure of what appears to be an underlying Buddhist argument that there is no self. The book is of interest to philosophers and psychologists.

A little gem of clarity and succinctness which deals with the deepest concepts of Buddhism.

Although my own practice centers around the Mahayana teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, recently I have found it very helpful to spend some time studying and practicing the older, more original approaches from the early days of the Buddhist tradition. In that regard, this small gem of a book has been quite a find! It deals, as the subtitle says, with "Buddhist explorations of consciousness and time" through a historical and philosophical account of the third set of the Buddha's teachings, the "basket" of wisdom. Although the subject matter is rigorously discussed from a philosophical standpoint, the book is anything but dry philosophy. Here, in enjoyable and fairly straightforward language, the author brings alive the fundamental Buddhist analytical and synthetical approaches for understanding of the nature of reality, and yet makes this potentially academic study reverberate wonderfully into such practical areas as the need for pure moral discipline, as well as pointing the way to more effective training in meditative tranquility and insight. I think this is one to keep on the bookshelf and re-read and study again from time to time as one's practice deepens, and it will also serve undoubtedly for me as a starting off point for a wealth of further studies, contemplations and meditations.

I like this book because it is not a simple feel-good book on Buddhism (there are plenty of those around (not to knock the genre)) but rather an exploration of some of the deeper aspects of the teachings of the Buddha. The author uses lots of passages from the original writings and then disects their meaning in clear language. There are also some essays on comtempory issues such as "the God idea", devotion, and karma and how it works--evidently karma IS modifiable-I still have a chance!

I trust the author's authenticity and authority--he was a scholar, a monk for 55 years and a committed and long time meditator--what a combination for producing a clear "Vision of Dhamma"!

One of the most direct books on the Dhamma. No retorical ramblings, cuts straight to the point and offers practical advice in a guided manner on how to overcome suffering (from someone I am sure who has overcome it).

A must for all Buddhists!

Well, I bought this book because I wanted to learn more about Buddhism. I did learn more, but it was painful. The information in this book is valuable and important, but the book is poorly written and, frankly, boring. I suppose that good writing is another aspect of worldliness that the authors have shunned.

People who can fly, walk on water, multiply themselves or have x-ray vision are usually associated with comic books. According to Buddhist teachings, these powers are accessible to those who can perfect their concentration. Apart from including biographies of some individuals credited with the above sorts of psychic abilities, it also has equally gripping accounts of the more ordinary aspects of these and many other disciples of the Buddha most of whom became enlightened. It is thus an account of the principal individuals after the Buddha who were supposed to have finished everything that needs accomplishing with no further burdens or debts to pay having gained superknowledge.

The book includes several self contained short biographies, mainly by the Germans Helmuth Hecker and the late Ven Nanyaponika. It is sadly short on details on the great female disciples. Perhaps more room can be created later.

A must for anyone inspired by Buddhism and the potentiality of the human mind for lasting freedom.

One has to read the work on Sariputta and Ananda to know that great virtues do live in the heart of mankinds. Especially at the reading of 'Last Debt Paid' concerning to last days of Sariputta, I cannot help but to be moved by the details of the event. Each reading, makes me feel the presence of the Great Disciples near me. So inspiring and motivating. A good read and re-read for the future. A must have!