Mindfulness With Breathing : A Manual for Serious Beginners

Readable and instructive.

If you want to practice Insight Meditation, you'll need to understand two of the Buddha's key teachings - the Anapanasati Sutta and the Satipatthana Sutta. This succinct book by the late Ajahn Buddhadasa expertly deals with the first of these. First read the Sutta, then the book. Read it carefully, a little at a time, paying close attention to each sentence - you'll learn from a true master (a more Western-friendly version of this same material is Larry Rosenberg's excellent book "Breath-byBreath..."). Then read the Satipatthana Sutta and one of the outstanding books about that, such as by Bhikkhu Analayo. These two men are among the best sources for learning Insight Meditation/Vipassana.

Although there are newer and more 'Western' books about mindfulness of breathing, this one is still essential reading to understand how best to follow the mediation practice as described by the Buddha directly. Wonderfully clear recommendations about how to live a good life while implementing all sixteen steps of mindfulness of breathing as well as condensed versions, if needed, depending how much time you can really devote to this practice. Excellent translation by Santikaro, a longtime student of the teacher-author, Buddhadassa Bhikkhu. This is one to treasure and read again and again as needed.

This book is a thorough and authoritative discussion of the "Mindfulness of Breathing" Sutta of Buddha. It treats the sixteen steps, or four groups of four, with great detail. It teaches how to watch the breath and what to be mindful of during the breathing exercises. Even though I have practiced vipassana meditation for years, I was surprised to see the specific, sequential, and direct instructions Buddhadasa gives. It is not just, "Pay attention to your breathing and make mental notes when your mind wanders." I have had to read the book two times just to begin to understand it. A third reading is coming. It is hard to comprehend all sixteen steps, but one can just use the first tetrad, the first four steps, and go a long way. A summary is given by the translator at the end. This book is for one who seriously wants to use mindfulness meditation of the Theravada kind to try to gain self-knowledge. For that it is excellent.

Ajahn Buddhadasa is a controversial figure in the annals of 20th century Theravada Buddhism, even having his works banned for a time in conservative strongholds like Burma. Still, I liked this book. It's nothing new if you are familiar with the Anapanasati sutta from the Pali Canon but Buddhadasa Bhikkhu turns aspects of the famous sutta into a system of training for the "serious beginner." If you're not serious about Buddhism or meditation then I don't think you ought to buy this since it will probably either bore you to death or frustrate you. However, if you really want to learn breath meditation and don't expect any serious results overnight or even over the course of a month or more I think it's a great book. I love it, but if you're into Buddhist scholarship and have no faith in meditation or Enlightenment you'll be wasting your money. There is no scholarship here, just a forest monks instructions on meditation from a life lived practicing it.

I have plateaued in my meditation practice, which I started about 4 years ago. Even though my life has changed profoundly, I am now even more curious about the advanced experiences of Jhana and Awakening.Anapanasati is the foundation upon which these advanced skills are built. This book strikes the right balance between the detail and the high level view of Anapanasati.

This is a book to read slowly. The specific meditative techniques are doable. The explanations are enlightening and require more than one reading. May all beings benefit from a meditation practice.

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Having read dozens of books on Mindfulness meditation, starting with Kabat-Zinn and moving further from the westernised de-Buddhismed mindfulness books to sources closer to the original, Buddhadasa Bhikku's classic exposition of the practice as described in the Anapanasat Sutta, lucidly translated by Santikaro Bhikku, feels like an essential source - not one to be rushed, or read over a weekend, but to be followed carefully step by step. Very pleased to have found it.

The book is a translation of a series of talks given by the late Buddhasa Bhikkhu, a renowned Thai meditation master and scholar of Buddhist teaching. Famous for his individual, and sometimes radical approach, when he died in 1993 he was acknowledged as among the most significant spiritual figures in the 20th century Buddhist world. His funeral reflected his life, no ceremony, no emphasis on him as a personality, but always pointing to the Dhamma, in other words, the ultimate reality of nature, or truthThe talks translated here are informal in tone, but extremely precise in giving instructions for the development of the 16 stages the Buddha proclaimed for breathing mindfulness meditation. This development covers both Samatha (calm) and Vipassana (insight) aspects of the breathing mindfulness practice. The 16 stages of breathing mindfulness culminate in the very highest attainment - enlightment - so even experienced meditators will gain much from careful and repeated readings of this text. Putting the stages into practice, by patient daily practice is the best way for lone meditators to establish mindfulness and eventually clear comprehension - but it is important to return to the text, as by our very nature we are more often than not asleep and miss or mis-interpret subtle but significant elements of the instructions for the practice. The emphasis is on direct experience, but also on following fully and completely the instructions given, if results are to be achieved. The reason for this is simple: the instructions provide a method for establishing the necessary conditions to experience the fruits of the practice. If the conditions are not in place, the results will not arise - cause is not present, so effect will not follow. Those who can should always seek a trusted and experienced meditation teacher if possible, as well as use the valuable material in this manual.

Practical and clearly written manual for Anapanasati practice. Also, it gives a very good general introduction to (Theravada) Buddhism including the most important Pali words. It has proper amount of repetition to get the message through. Nice introduction and summary included.

I found this book to be very helpful. It is clearly written and is easy to understand, although I'm sure there are deeper insights to be gained from further contemplation of its content. I've gained many insights from a first reading. It goes deeper than the basics of meditation, I feel.

Clear and precise details, no nonsense.