Mindfulness and Insight: The Mahasi Method

by Mahasi Sayadaw

Overview

A clear, simple meditation method on practicing mindfulness for insight, which takes us to our goal of liberation, the end of all suffering.

Discarding any striving or ambition to attain something, the refined guidance that Mahasi Sayadaw provides in this book will lead practitioners to systematically and gradually purify their minds of attachment, aversion, and delusion and to realize the successive stages of enlightenment, culminating in the attainment of enlightenment (nibbana).

Mindfulness and Insight is an excerpt of two key chapters from the comprehensive, authoritative Manual of Insight, which expounds the doctrinal and practical aspects of mindfulness (satipatthana) and the development of insight knowledge (vipassana) up to and including nibbana. In Manual of Insight, Mahasi Sayadaw acknowledged that these two chapters alone offer suitable guidance on our own journey of awakening by realizing path knowledge, fruition knowledge, and nibbana, particularly for those with little or no knowledge of the Pali scriptures.

Part 1, “The Development of Mindfulness,” offers comprehensive instructions for developing mindfulness based on the Buddha’s teachings on the four foundations of mindfulness, as outlined in the highly regarded Discourse on Mindfulness (Satipatthana Sutta).

Part 2, “Practical Instructions,” provides guidance in both the practices preliminary to undertaking insight meditation and in developing insight knowledge, ranging from initial practices to advanced levels of practice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781614295372
Publisher:	Wisdom Publications MA
Publication date:	03/05/2019
Pages:	172
Sales rank:	648,624
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

The Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw (1904–82), U Sobhana Mahathera, was one of the most eminent meditation masters of modern times and a leader in the contemporary resurgence of vipassana meditation. He is the author of numerous works on both meditation and the Buddhist scriptures in his native Burmese, and held Burma’s highest scholastic honor, the Agga Mahapandita (awarded 1952).

Thousands of people have been trained at his Thathana Yeiktha Meditation Centre in Yangon and many more have benefited from his clear-cut approach to meditation practice available through his voluminous writings and through the teachings abroad of his disciples, including Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Rodney Smith, and many others. More than a hundred branch centers of the Thathana Yeiktha Centre have been established in Burma and his method has spread widely to other countries, East and West.

Table of Contents

Foreword Sharon Salzberg xi

Introduction: The Universal and Timeless Journey of Awakening Steve Armstrong 1

Preface Mahasi Sayadaw 47

The Development of Mindfulness 49

Checking Meditation against the Pali Texts 49

Contemplation of the Body 54

Contemplation of Feeling 105

Contemplation of Mind 116

Contemplation of Mental Objects 119

Mindfulness of the Four Noble Truths 145

The Benefits of Mindfulness 172

Practical Instructions 177

Preparations for Practice 177

The Basic Practice 178

Insight 190

The Experience of Nibbana 208

A Word of Advice 218

Appendixes 221

Appendix 1 The Spiritual Faculties 222

Appendix 2 Stream of Consciousness 224

Appendix 3a Mental States 227

Appendix 3b Mental Factors 229

Appendix 4 The Progress of Insight Knowledge through the Stages of Purification 231

Abbreviations 233

Notes 235

Bibliography 249

Index 251

About Vipassana Metta Foundation 275

Editorial Reviews

In this valuable extract from the Manual of Insight by Mahasi Sayadaw, one of the great Burmese masters of the twentieth century, Sayadaw describes in detail both the theoretical development of mindfulness and the eminently practical, step-by-step instructions for its practice. Mindfulness and Insight is a treasure house of Dhamma.

Joseph Goldstein

This book is both a map and method for liberation. Mahasi Sayadaw exposes the depths of experiential reality, exploding perceived limitations on a meditator’s ability to observe mind and body. Clear and coherent, often poetic, this could be the most important book you’ll ever read.”

Kate Lila Wheeler

In 1976 I was in Rangoon receiving meditation instructions from the Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw. One of my great discoveries was that if you practiced vipassana the way the Sayadaw taught it, wisdom would naturally unfold. From his point of view, enlightenment was a possibility for everyone. To practice meditation with Mahasi Sayadaw’s faith was a profound experience.”

Jack Engler

This book, drawn from the core chapters of Mahasi Sayadaw's magisterial Manual of Insight, offers us the clearest, most direct, most practical instructions in English for the development of insight. Simple but profound, clear but not superficial, the instructions laid down here serve as a trustworthy roadmap for any serious practitioner who aspires for the goal of the Buddha's teaching.”

Bhikkhu Bodhi

In this book, the great meditation teacher Mahasi Sayadaw provides inspiring and brilliantly detailed instruction and guidance for practicing insight meditation. The Mahasi method is the invaluable foundation of my own mindfulness practice; I am confident this book will be useful for anyone dedicated to the path of insight.”

Gil Fronsdal

For those teaching introductory mindfulness meditation and feeling they've lost touch with the depth of insight meditation, this book is a valuable reminder of the power, promise, and potential of the Dhamma to liberate us from suffering. A sheer pleasure to read.”

Rev. Sumi Loundon Kim

A wonderful and clear exposition of Mahasi-style practice—direct, liberating instructions from one of our greatest masters.

Jack Kornfield

"Many mindfulness practitioners never encounter the classical renderings of the Buddhist teachings or the precise instructions that make insight meditation a path of liberation. This book on the Mahasi method of practice is a wonderfully clear and deep guide to what the Buddha called 'the sure heart's release.'"

Tara Brach

Mahasi Sayadaw’s teachings are a treasure. They are presented here with authenticity and clarity from one of the greatest meditation masters of all time. When I look to the underpinnings of the current mindfulness movement in the United States and elsewhere, I see Mahasi Sayadaw’s influence. Mahasi Sayadaw taught a path to insight and freedom that was simple, clear, doable, and direct. I am so delighted these teachings, which so transformed my life, are now available to us all.”

Diana Winston

In this book, the great meditation teacher Mahasi Sayadaw provides inspiring and brilliantly detailed instruction and guidance for practicing insight meditation. The Mahasi method is the invaluable foundation of my own mindfulness practice; I am confident this book will be useful for anyone dedicated to the path of insight.”  

 

—Gil Fronsdal

A wonderful and clear exposition of Mahasi-style practice—direct, liberating instructions from one of our greatest masters.

—Jack Kornfield

Mahasi Sayadaw’s teachings are a treasure. They are presented here with authenticity and clarity from one of the greatest meditation masters of all time. When I look to the underpinnings of the current mindfulness movement in the United States and elsewhere, I see Mahasi Sayadaw’s influence. Mahasi Sayadaw taught a path to insight and freedom that was simple, clear, doable, and direct. I am so delighted these teachings, which so transformed my life, are now available to us all.”
 

—Diana Winston

For those teaching introductory mindfulness meditation and feeling they've lost touch with the depth of insight meditation, this book is a valuable reminder of the power, promise, and potential of the Dhamma to liberate us from suffering. A sheer pleasure to read.”

 

—Rev. Sumi Loundon Kim

"Many mindfulness practitioners never encounter the classical renderings of the Buddhist teachings or the precise instructions that make insight meditation a path of liberation. This book on the Mahasi method of practice is a wonderfully clear and deep guide to what the Buddha called 'the sure heart's release.'"

 

—Tara Brach

In this valuable extract from the Manual of Insight by Mahasi Sayadaw, one of the great Burmese masters of the twentieth century, Sayadaw describes in detail both the theoretical development of mindfulness and the eminently practical, step-by-step instructions for its practice. Mindfulness and Insight is a treasure house of Dhamma.

 

—Joseph Goldstein

In 1976 I was in Rangoon receiving meditation instructions from the Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw.  One of my great discoveries was that if you practiced vipassana the way the Sayadaw taught it, wisdom would naturally unfold.  From his point of view, enlightenment was a possibility for everyone. To practice meditation with Mahasi Sayadaw’s faith was a profound experience.”

 

—Jack Engler

This book is both a map and method for liberation.  Mahasi Sayadaw exposes the depths of experiential reality, exploding perceived limitations on a meditator’s ability to observe mind and body.  Clear and coherent, often poetic, this could be the most important book you’ll ever read.”

 

—Kate Lila Wheeler

This book, drawn from the core chapters of Mahasi Sayadaw's magisterial Manual of Insight, offers us the clearest, most direct, most practical instructions in English for the development of insight. Simple but profound, clear but not superficial, the instructions laid down here serve as a trustworthy roadmap for any serious practitioner who aspires for the goal of the Buddha's teaching.”

 

—Bhikkhu Bodhi