Introducing Mindfulness: Buddhist Background and Practical Exercises, Paperback/Bhikkhu Analayo

Buddhist meditator and scholar Bhikkhu An layo introduces the Buddhist background to mindfulness practice, from mindful eating to its formal cultivation as satipa h na (the foundations of mindfulness). As well as providing an accessible guide, An layo gives a succinct historical survey of the development of mindfulness in Buddhism, and practical exercises on how to develop it. The orally transmitted early teachings he examines provide a range of perspectives on mindfulness. An layo draws out a clear focus on the role of mindfulness in the path to 'awakening; an understanding of reality as it is. He shows how mindfulness is a central tool for recognizing the influence of greed, anger and delusion, and how to emerge from these to progress on the path to liberation. Mindfulness fosters a gradual freeing of the mind from these influences and brings about a clear vision of reality, enabling us to be more fully in touch with what is taking place and remain in the present.