The Meditative Way: Readings in the Theory and Practice of Buddhist Meditation / Edition 1

by Roderick Bucknell, Chris Kang

Overview

Buddhist meditation, while attracting less popular attention than some other meditative disciplines, has given rise to a particularly rich literature in recent years. Despite differences in style and terminology, these modern writings on Buddhist meditation serve much the same purposes as did the manuals and commentaries of the classical masters: to explicate and interpret the Buddha's teachings on meditation, to clarify the nature and value of the various meditative techniques and attainments, and/or to offer advice on the actual practice of meditation.
Meditators are increasingly inclined to compare and evaluate critically what the different contemporary meditation masters have to say, to weigh up the results of relevant scientific studies, or to consult translations of the primary texts in search of the Buddha's 'original' teachings on meditation. Writers on meditation are also increasingly adopting an appropriately critical approach, particularly as regards the reliability of textual accounts. Relatively few still commit the old error of assuming that the Pali canon is a complete and faithful record of what the Buddha said on the subject, or that the classical commentators were infallible authorities.
The present collection of twenty-eight readings is designed to give meditators, researchers, and general readers ready access to representative samples of those writings, and to the principal relevant texts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780700706785
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/16/1996
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Introduction General Introduction; Part I Pali Sources; Chapter 1 The Middle Way, Dhamma-cakka-ppavattana Sutta; Chapter 2 The Eightfold Path Explained, Sacca-vibhanga Sutta; Chapter 3 The Subduing of Thoughts, Vitakka-santhāna Sutta; Chapter 4 The Four Sublime States, Udumbarika-sīhanāda Sutta; Chapter 5 The Foundations of Mindfulness, Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta; Chapter 6 Mindfulness of Breathing, Ānāpāna-sati Sutta; Chapter 7 The Jhānas, Sallekha Sutta; Chapter 8 The Meditator’s Progress, Samaññaphala-phala Sutta; Part II Classical Masters; Chapter 9 Concentration on the Earth Disk, Buddhaghosa; Chapter 10 Self-Protection through Mindfulness, Śāntideva; Chapter 11 Calm and Insight, Zhiyi; Chapter 12 Seated Meditation, Dōgen; Chapter 13 Some Zen Kōans, Mumon; Chapter 14 Fastening the Mind, Tsongkhapa; Part III Contemporary Masters; Chapter 15 A Spectrum of Meditative Practices, Dhammika Bhikkhu; Chapter 16 Observing your Mind, Achaan Chah; Chapter 17 Insight by the Nature Method, Buddhadasa Bhikkhu; Chapter 18 Insight through Mindfulness, Mahasi Sayadaw; Chapter 19 The Meditative Mind, Dhiravamsa; Chapter 20 Watching Thoughts and Emotions, Godwin Samararatne; Chapter 21 Zen Mind, Shunryu Suzuki; Chapter 22 Some Tibetan Practices, Kathleen McDonald; Chapter 23 Meditation in Tantra, Lama Yeshe; Part IV Personal Accounts; Chapter 24 Experiences in Meditation, Chris Kang; Chapter 25 From a Meditator’s Diary, Jane Hamilton-Merritt; Chapter 26 A Student’s Response to Meditation, Donald K. Swearer; Chapter 27 Initial Meditative Experiences, Roger Walsh; Chapter 28 Experiments in Insight Meditation, Rod Bucknell;