Perhaps you have been practising meditation for some time now, but feel that you have reached a plateau. Perhaps you have decided that it might be a good idea to go directly to the source and investigate the teachings of the Buddha. Perhaps you have already started to explore the Pali canon and are feeling a little overwhelmed.
This book offers you a structured anthology of the Pali suttas. Each chapter deals with one theme from the Buddha’s teaching, providing you with some of the most important texts that relate to that theme. The chapters are organised in such a way that they offer a helpful framework for grasping the Buddha’s teaching in its entirety.
But this is not only an anthology. It is also a workbook. It is a book that requires you to work. You will be asked many questions, all of which relate to how you understand the situation you’re in right now. These questions are designed to expose the various phenomena, mentioned in the suttas, that are there in your present experience.
Perhaps this mindful reflection can help you to see if you are going in the same direction as the Buddha. Preface 9
Abbreviations 25
Introduction: How to Read the Suttas 27
1. Understanding 45
2. The Five Aggregates 65
3. Matter 81
4. Feeling 95
5. Perception 111
6. Determinations 129
7. Consciousness 143
8. Impermanence 159
9. Dependent Origination 175
10. The Senses 191
11. Mindfulness I: satipaṭṭhāna 205
12. Mindfulness II: Contexts 233
13. Virtue and Sense Restraint 259
14. Sensuality and the Hindrances 279
15. Jhāna 299
Conclusion: First Things First 321
Glossary 339
Sutta References 343
Further Reading 347
