The Theory of the Four Stages of Liberation in Pāli Literature
Author: Amrita Nanda
Publisher: Springer Nature
Published:
Total Pages: 356
ISBN-13: 3031558731
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Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand
Author: Pha-boṅ-kha-pa Byams-pa-bstan-ʼdzin-ʼphrin-las-rgya-mtsho
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2006-11-03
Total Pages: 897
ISBN-13: 0861715004
DOWNLOAD EBOOKPabongka Rinpoche was one the twentieth century's most charismatic and revered Tibetan lamas, and in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand we can see why. In this famous twenty-four-day teaching on the lamrim, or stages of the path, Pabongka Rinpoche weaves together lively stories and quotations with frank observations and practical advice to move readers step by step along the journey to buddhahood. When his student Trijang Rinpoche first edited and published these teachings in Tibetan, an instant classic was born. The flavor and immediacy of the original Tibetan are preserved in Michael Richards' fluid and lively translation, which is now substantially revised in this new edition.
The Progress of Insight
Author: Mahasi Sayadaw
Publisher: Buddhist Publication Society
Published: 1994
Total Pages: 64
ISBN-13: 9552400902
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe practice of Vipassana or insight meditation was described by the Buddha as the “direct way” for the overcoming of all sorrow and grief and for realizing Nibbana, the state of perfect liberation from suffering. The essence of this practice consists in the four foundations of mindfulness: mindful contemplation of the body, feelings, states of mind, and mind objects.
Absorption
Author: Johannes Bronkhorst
Publisher: UniversityMedia
Published: 2012
Total Pages: 270
ISBN-13: 3906000249
DOWNLOAD EBOOK"This book argues for the central role played by absorption in the functioning of the human mind. The importance of absorption makes itself felt in different ways; the two studies combined in this book concentrate on two of them. The first study argues that, largely as a result of language acquisition, humans have two levels of cognition, which in normal circumstances are simultaneously active. Mental absorption is a (or the) means to circumvent some, perhaps all, of the associations that characterize one of these two levels, resulting in what is sometimes referred to as mystical experience, but which is not confined to mysticism and plays a role in various "religious" phenomena, and elsewhere. The second study takes as point of departure some puzzling statements in the early Buddhist canon that raises serious questions of a psychological nature. An essential element in the psychological theory proposed is the observation that mental absorption is a source of pleasure. Since the human mind is in large part guided by pleasure, which it seeks to repeat, states of absorption leave memory traces that subsequently direct the mind. However, these memory traces do not "recall" the states of absorption themselves, but rather the objects or circumstances that accompanied them. The resulting activity of the mind differs in this way from person to person, and can pursue wildly diverging goals."--Publisher description.
In the Buddha's Words
Author: Bodhi
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2005-07-28
Total Pages: 512
ISBN-13: 0861714911
DOWNLOAD EBOOK"This landmark collection is the definitive introduction to the Buddha's teachings in his own words. The American scholar monk Bhikkhu Bodhi, whose voluminous translations have won widespread acclaim, here presents selected discourses of the Buddha from the Pali Canon, the earliest record of what the Buddha taught. Divided into ten thematic chapters, In the Buddha's Words reveals the full scope of the Buddha's discourses, from family life and marriage to renunciation and the path of insight. A concise informative introduction precedes each chapter, guiding the reader toward a deeper understanding of the texts that follow." "In the Buddha's Words allows even readers unacquainted with Buddhism to grasp the significance of the Buddha's contributions to our world heritage. Taken as a whole, these texts bear eloquent testimony to the breadth and intelligence of the Buddha's teachings, and point the way to an ancient yet ever vital path. Students and seekers alike will find this systematic presentation indispensable."--BOOK JACKET.
The Noble Eightfold Path
Author: Bodhi (Bhikkhu.)
Publisher: Pariyatti
Published: 2000
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9781928706076
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis book offers a clear, concise account of the Eightfold Path prescribed to uproot and eliminate the deep underlying cause of suffering--ignorance. Each step of the path is believed to cultivate wisdom through mental training, and includes an enlightened and peaceful middle path that avoids extremes. The theoretical as well as practical angles of each of the paths--right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration--are illustrated through examples from contemporary life. The work's final chapter addresses the Buddhist path and its culmination in enlightenment.
Early Buddhist Meditation
Author: Keren Arbel
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2017-03-16
Total Pages: 235
ISBN-13: 1317383990
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis book offers a new interpretation of the relationship between 'insight practice' (satipatthana) and the attainment of the four jhànas (i.e., right samàdhi), a key problem in the study of Buddhist meditation. The author challenges the traditional Buddhist understanding of the four jhànas as states of absorption, and shows how these states are the actualization and embodiment of insight (vipassanà). It proposes that the four jhànas and what we call 'vipassanà' are integral dimensions of a single process that leads to awakening. Current literature on the phenomenology of the four jhànas and their relationship with the 'practice of insight' has mostly repeated traditional Theravàda interpretations. No one to date has offered a comprehensive analysis of the fourfold jhàna model independently from traditional interpretations. This book offers such an analysis. It presents a model which speaks in the Nikàyas' distinct voice. It demonstrates that the distinction between the 'practice of serenity' (samatha-bhàvanà) and the 'practice of insight' (vipassanà-bhàvanà) – a fundamental distinction in Buddhist meditation theory – is not applicable to early Buddhist understanding of the meditative path. It seeks to show that the common interpretation of the jhànas as 'altered states of consciousness', absorptions that do not reveal anything about the nature of phenomena, is incompatible with the teachings of the Pàli Nikàyas. By carefully analyzing the descriptions of the four jhànas in the early Buddhist texts in Pàli, their contexts, associations and meanings within the conceptual framework of early Buddhism, the relationship between this central element in the Buddhist path and 'insight meditation' becomes revealed in all its power. Early Buddhist Meditation will be of interest to scholars of Buddhist studies, Asian philosophies and religions, as well as Buddhist practitioners with a serious interest in the process of insight meditation.
Critical Readings on Pure Land Buddhism in Japan
Author: Galen Amstutz
Publisher: BRILL
Published: 2020-06-08
Total Pages: 356
ISBN-13: 9004401504
DOWNLOAD EBOOKPure Land was one of the main fields of mythopoesis and discourse among the Asian Buddhist traditions, and in Japan of central cultural importance from the Heian period right up to the present. However, its range, inconsistency, variability, and complexity have tended to be misevaluated. The pieces reproduced in this set, organized both chronologically and thematically, have been chosen as linchpin works accentuating the diversity of what evolved under this heading of Buddhism. Special attention is given to the traps into which Western observers may fall, the role of the large True Pure Land (Jōdoshinshū) school, and the richness of Tokugawa and twentieth-century developments. These selections of previously published articles will serve as an essential starting point for anyone interested in this perhaps underestimated area of Buddhist studies.
Paths to Liberation
Author: Robert E. Buswell
Publisher:
Published: 1992
Total Pages: 544
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Noble Eightfold Path
Author: Bhikkhu Bodhi
Publisher: Buddhist Publication Society
Published: 2010-12-01
Total Pages: 151
ISBN-13: 955240116X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Buddha's teachings center around two basic principles. One is the Four Noble Truths, in which the Buddha diagnoses the problem of suffering and indicates the treatment necessary to remedy this problem. The other is the Noble Eightfold Path, the practical discipline he prescribes to uproot and eliminate the deep underlying causes of suffering. The present book offers, in simple and clear language, a concise yet thorough explanation of the Eightfold Path. Basing himself solidly upon the Buddha's own words, the author examines each factor of the path to determine exactly what it implies in the way of practical training. Finally, in the concluding chapter, he shows how all eight factors of the path function in unison to bring about the realization of the Buddhist goal: enlightenment and liberation.
