Can you suggest name of the best books having translations or interpretations of Satipatthana
Hi Kavichou!
For an initial overview, there are entries on satipaį¹į¹hÄna (PDF) and the Satipaį¹į¹hÄna-sutta (PDF) in the Encyclopedia of Buddhism.
If youād like to explore this topic in more detail, there are two books Iād recommend:
- Perspectives on Satipaį¹į¹hÄna (2013) (PDF), which studies the topic through a comparative study of Pali, Chinese and Tibetan early Buddhist sources.
- Satipaį¹į¹hÄna Meditation: A Practice Guide (2018) (PDF), which helps with putting satipaį¹į¹hÄna into practice.
Both encyclopedia articles and both books were written by Professor Bhikkhu AnÄlayo, who also wrote his PhD thesis on satipaį¹į¹hÄna in early Buddhism (published in 2003 as Satipaį¹į¹hÄna, the Direct Path to Realization, a book available in different languages here).
Finally, you can also read or listen to some of the original texts themselves if youād like, such as the MahÄsatipaį¹į¹hÄna-sutta and the suttas in the Satipaį¹į¹hÄna-saį¹yutta. Hope this helps.
@cdpatton has recently translated the Chinese Ekottarika agama parallel of the Satipatthana sutta.
The Way of Mindfulness: The Satipatthana Sutta and Its Commentary by Soma Thera
Bhikkhu Bodhi explains in his introduction:
This book, The Way of Mindfulness, contains all the authorized instructions on Satipatthana meditation passed down in the Theravada tradition: the Satipatthana Sutta stemming from the Buddha himself (in the more concise version of the Majjhima Nikaya [MN10], which omits the detailed analysis of the Four Noble Truths found in the Digha Nikayaās Maha-satipatthana Sutta); the commentary by Buddhaghosa [5th century CE]; and selections from the tika by [Acariya] Dhammapala [6th or 7th century CE]. ā¦
The book was originally compiled in the late 1930s by Ven. Soma Thera (1898-1960), a bhikkhu of Sri Lanka, and has been maintained in print since the early 1940s.
There are also ten recorded lectures by Bhikkhu Bodhi on the Satipaį¹į¹hÄna Sutta in section VI.2 of his Systematic Study of the Majjhima NikÄya.