This book identifies what is meant by sati (smrti); usually translated as ‘mindfulness’; in early Buddhism; and examines its soteriological functions and its central role in the early Buddhist practice and philosophy. Using textual analysis and criticism; it takes new approaches to the subject through a comparative study of Buddhist texts in Pali; Chinese and Sanskrit. It also furnishes new perspectives on the ancient teaching by applying the findings in modern psychology. In contemporary Buddhism; the practice of mindfulness is zealously advocated by the Theravada tradition; which is the only early Buddhist school that still exists today. Through detailed analysis of Theravada's Pali Canon and the four Chinese Agamas - which correspond to the four main Nikayas in Pali and belong to some early schools that no longer exist - this book shows that mindfulness is not only limited to the role as a method of insight (vipassana) meditation; as presented by many Theravada advocates; but it also has a key role in serenity (samatha) meditation. It elucidates how mindfulness functions in the path to liberation from a psychological perspective; that is; how it helps to achieve an optimal cognitive capability and emotional state; and thereby enables one to attain the ultimate religious goal. Furthermore; the author argues that the well-known formula of ekaayano maggo; which is often interpreted as ‘the only way’; implies that the four satipa.t.thaanas (establishments of mindfulness) constitute a comprehensive path to liberation; and refer to the same as kaayagataa sati; which has long been understood as ‘mindfulness of the body’ by the tradition. The analysis shows that kaayagataa sati and the four satipa.t.thaanas are two different ways of formulating the teaching on mindfulness according to different schemes of classification of phenomena.
#1223351 in Books 2007-04-14 2007-02-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.69 x .58 x 6.85l; 1.13 #File Name: 0415394848256 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Avoid the Kindle edition of this bookBy DanielAnyone purchasing the Kindle edition of this atlas should be aware that many of the maps do not render properly; but are badly distorted; usually east-west; but sometimes north-south. Pretty much worthless.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Vital toolBy Jeffrey HuntingtonYou can't tell the players even with a scorecard--they keep changing the names and the spellings. This books is very helpful in locating the cities and regions which historians talk about. The scope is very broad; from 800 B.C. into the 21st century; with quite a bit of emphasis on the 20th. However; many of the maps are merely schematic; with little detail and lots of white space. Perhaps this is preferable to too much clutter; but I could have used more information about which cities were on which side of the border at some time. Maps are black and white with hatchings. Modern printing techniques can do better.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Ever Changing Map BackgroundBy J. H.There is a lot of information here and the maps would have been a great way to visualize that information. However; the author uses multiple map backgrounds; different sizes; orientations and scales; constantly changing them w/ what seems no rhyme or reason. Had the author displayed the information on just a few map backgrunds; allowing the reader to follow the information instead of constantly trying to interpret a new map; this would have been a fantastic reference. Instead; it's just ok and barely that.
