The Practical Way To Nibbana a series of lectures drawing on the original instructions from Mahasatipatthana Sutta – The Great Discourse on the Establishing of Mindfulness. This is one of the core texts in Theravada Buddhism and it has something that most of the old scriptures lack – an understanding of the individual practitioners personality and how it affects his meditations and how specific types of people people should be guided. The Practical Way To Nibbana was published by the Vipassana Meditation Centre in Singapore in 2.000 print copies.
Download the (poorly scanned) pdf ebook-version here:
What is the Mahasatipatthana Sutta?
The Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta is one of the most well-known and significant discourses in Buddhist scripture, particularly within the Theravada tradition. It can be found in the Digha Nikaya, which is part of the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali Canon. The title of the sutta can be translated as “The Great Discourse on the Establishing of Awareness” or “The Great Frames of Reference.”
This sutta elaborates on the practice of satipaṭṭhāna, the establishment or foundations of mindfulness, which is a fundamental method in Buddhist practice for the cultivation of mindfulness and clear comprehension. It is considered a direct path to realization, leading to enlightenment and the cessation of suffering. The discourse outlines four foundations of mindfulness that practitioners are to develop:
Kāyānupassanā: Mindfulness of the body, which includes practices like mindfulness of breathing, contemplation of the body’s parts, the elements, and the corpse in decay, aiming to foster a non-attachment to the physical form.
Vedanānupassanā: Mindfulness of feelings or sensations, observing them as pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral without clinging or aversion.
Cittānupassanā: Mindfulness of the mind, recognizing and understanding different mental states (e.g., lustful, free from lust, hateful, free from hate, deluded, undeluded, contracted, distracted, exalted, unexalted, surpassable, unsurpassable, concentrated, unconcentrated).
Dhammānupassanā: Mindfulness of mental objects or phenomena, which involves contemplating various aspects of the Dharma, including the Five Hindrances, the Six Sense Bases, the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, and the Four Noble Truths.
The Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta is especially revered for its detailed guidance on how to apply mindfulness in meditation and daily life, providing a comprehensive path toward insight, liberation, and the end of suffering. Its teachings are central to Vipassana or insight meditation practices, and it has a profound influence on various schools of Buddhism, serving as a cornerstone for meditative practice and philosophical understanding.