Maha Satipatthana Sutta 1-8 / Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
Four Foundations Of Mindfullness | Part 1 | Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

Four Foundations Of Mindfullness | Part 2 | Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

Culture Exchange Blog
Sep 4, 2017

 

Visit https://spiritualaudiobooks.net for our full catalog of spiritual audiobooks Countless people worldlwide have made Mindfulness in Plain English a beloved and bestselling classic in almost a dozen languages. Now after nearly two decades, Bhante helps meditators of every stripe take their mindfulness practice to the next level - helping them go, in a word, beyond mindfulness. In the same warm, clear, and friendly voice, Bhante introduces the reader to what have been known for centuries as the "jhanas" - deeply calm, joyous, and powerful states of meditation that, when explored with the clearly presented tools in this book, can lead to a life of insight and unshakeable peace. Every meditation tradition explains that there are two aspects to any effective meditation practice: insight and concentration. In "Mindfulness in Plain English, " author Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, a monk from Sri Lanka and venerated teacher of Buddhism, offered basic instruction on the meaning of insight (or vipassana) meditation through concepts that could be applied to any tradition.
In "Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English, " he presents the levels of concentration with the same simplicity and humor that made the previous book so successful. The focus here is on the Jhanas, those meditative states of profound stillness and concentration in which the mind becomes fully immersed and absorbed in the chosen object of attention. Using the Jhanas to guide readers along the path to joy, happiness, equanimity, and one-pointedness, the author provides all of the instruction necessary to utilize meditation as a tool for building a more fulfilling life. With Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English: An Introductory Guide to Deeper States of Meditation, Bhante Gunaratana attempts to bring the same ease of understanding found in his highly regarded classic Mindfulness in Plain English to the development of deep states of concentration, or jhana, and their use on the path to liberation.
This book is quite a contrast to his 1985 book on the jhanas and path of practice, The Path of Serenity and Insight, which was very academic in style and relied heavily on the commentaries. Beyond Mindfulness is written in an easy-to-read, easy-to-understand style that clearly seems based on the author’s personal experience with the path of concentration. These intertwining practices of wisdom and concentration and the resulting emancipated mind are the themes of this new book. The first part of the book focuses on setting the stage for Right Concentration. Bhante begins by defining concentration and its role on the path to liberation. He then describes the practices and qualities of mind and heart that are the foundation for both jhana and insight, including morality, mindfulness and clear comprehension, the strengthening of the Five Faculties (faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom), suppressing the Five Hindrances (sense-desire, aversion, sleepiness and sluggishness, restlessness and worry, and doubt) and the cultivation of lovingkindness (metta). Although he describes the development of breath meditation, it appears that metta practice actually plays the primary role in his approach to Right Concentration. The chapter on “Access Concentration” offers a clear sense of the experience of moving from ordinary distracted mind to the strong state of concentration called access, which just precedes the jhanas. Bhante Gunaratana offers a clear sense of the depth of concentration needed for the insights leading to the stages of awakening. Whether one believes that formal jhana practice is a necessary part of the path or not, Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English makes a convincing case for the role of jhana. QUOTES “Building concentration is primarily a matter of removing certain mental factors that hinder its application.” “As you practice jhana-oriented meditation, you move over time through a series of mental states that become more and more subtle as you proceed through them. You start where you are now and you go far, far beyond. You move beyond the range of concepts and sensory perceptions.”

 

Eight mindful steps to happiness : walking the path of the Buddha
Author: Henepola Gunaratana
Publisher: Boston, MA : Wisdom Publications, ©2001.
Edition/Format: eBook : Document : English
View all editions and formats

 

Biography of Venerable Dr. Henepola Gunaratana Nayaka Thera


Venerable Dr. Henepola Gunaratana Nayaka Thera was born on the 7th of December, 1927 in a small village named Henepola and ordained at the age of 12 as a Buddhist monk at a small temple in Malandeniya Village in Kurunegala District in Sri Lanka. His preceptor was Venerable Kiribatkumbure Sonuttara Mahathera. He received his basic Buddhist education at a small monks' school called Vidyasekhara Pirivena, Gampaha.

At the age of 20 he was given higher ordination in Kandy in 1947. He received his higher education from Vidyalankara College in Kelaniya and Buddhist Missionary College of Mahabodhi Society in Colombo. Subsequently he was sent to India for five years of missionary work for the Mahabodhi Society, serving the Harijana (untouchable) people in Sanchi, Delhi, and Bombay.

Later he spent ten years as a missionary in Malaysia, serving as religious advisor to the Sasana Abhivurdhiwardhana Society, Buddhist Missionary Society and the Buddhist Youth Federation of Malaysia. He has been a teacher in Kishon Dial School and Temple Road Girls' School and Principal of the Buddhist Institute of Kuala Lumpur.

At the invitation of the Sasana Sevaka Society, Bhante Gunaratana came to the United States in 1968 to serve as Honourary General Secretary of the Buddhist Vihara Society of Washington, D.C. In 1980 he was appointed President of the Society. During his years at the Vihara, he has taught courses in Buddhism, conducted meditation retreats, and lectured widely throughout the United States and Canada.

The Venerable has also pursued his scholarly interests by earning a B.A., an M.A., and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from The American University. He taught courses on Buddhism at The American University, Georgetown University, Bucknell University, PA, and University of Maryland. Also he has lectured at many universities in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. He is the author of Come and See, The Path of Serenity and Insight, The Jhanas and Mindfulness In Plain English (1994 Wisdom Publication's best seller list ). His articles have been published in the U.S.A., Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, England and France.

Bhante Gunaratana was the Buddhist chaplain at The American University, counseling students interested in Buddhism and Buddhist meditation. He is now president of the Bhavana Society and abbot of the monastery in West Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley, about 100 miles west of Washington, D.C. He continues to teach meditation and conduct retreats worldwide.

Some articles written by the Venerable available on-line are:-

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  • Growth and development of Buddhist Organizations.

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  • Going upstream.

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  • Sex, Celebacy and the Spiritual life.

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  • The Buddhist View of Death.

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  • :- http://www.buddha.sg/htm/people/gunara.htm

 

Four Foundations Of Mindfullness | Part 3 | Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

Four Foundations Of Mindfullness | Part 4 | Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

Culture Exchange Blog
Sep 5, 2017

 

Retreat Day 1Dhamma Talk Anicca Dr Bhante H. Gunaratana

Maha Satipatthana Sutta part 1 Dr Bhante H Gunaratana

Maha Satipatthana Sutta part 2 Dr Bhante H Gunaratana

Maha Satipatthana Sutta part 3 Dr Bhante H Gunaratana

Maha Satipatthana Sutta part 4 Ven Dr Bhante H Gunaratana

Buddha Dharma Television
Feb 27, 2021

 

Maha Satipatthana Sutta part 5 Dr Bhante H Gunaratana

Maha Satipatthana Sutta part 6 Dr Bhante H Gunaratana

Maha Satipatthana Sutta part 7 Dr Bhante H Gunaratana

Maha Satipatthana Sutta part 8 Dr Bhante H Gunaratna

Buddha Dharma Television
Feb 27, 2021

 

Maha Nidana Sutta part 1 Dr Bhante H. Gunaratana

Maha Nidana Sutta part 2 Dr Bhante H. Gunaratana

Maha Nidana Sutta part 3 Dr Bhante H. Gunaratana

Maha Nidana Sutta part 4 Dr Bhante H. Gunaratana

Maha Nidana Sutta part 5 Dr Bhante H. Gunaratana

Maha Nidana Sutta part 6 Dr Bhante H. Gunaratana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72xLFZTlPaI
Buddha Dharma Television
Feb 22, 2021