Bhikkhu Analayo (b. 1962) was ordained as a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka in 1995 and completed his PhD on satipatthana at the University of Peradeniya in 2000.
Currently, he is primarily focused on meditation practice and contributes to the Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, among other scholarly projects.
His work continues to bridge the teachings of the Buddha with modern Buddhist practice. That’s why I’m sharing three best Bhikkhu Analayo books on mindfulness meditation.
1. Introducing Mindfulness: Buddhist Background and Practical Exercises
In Introducing Mindfulness, Buddhist meditator and scholar Bhikkhu Anālayo introduces the Buddhist background to mindfulness practice, from mindful eating to its formal cultivation as satipaṭṭhāna (the foundations of mindfulness).
As well as providing an accessible guide, Anālayo 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.
Anālayo 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.
2. Satipatthana Meditation: A Practice Guide
From the Buddhist meditator and scholar, Bhikkhu Anālayo, this is a thorough-going guide to the early Buddhist teachings on Satipatthana, the foundations of mindfulness, following on from his two best-selling books, Satipatthana: The Direct Path to Realization and Perspectives on Satipatthana.
With mindfulness being so widely taught, there is a need for a clear-sighted and experience-based guide. Analayo provides it in Satipatthana Meditation: A Practice Guide.
3. Mindfulness of Breathing: A Practice Guide and Translations
Buddhist scholar and teacher Bhikkhu Anālayo explores the practice of mindfulness of breathing in the sixteen steps of the Ānāpānasati Sutta.
This is an authoritative, practice-orientated elucidation of a foundational Buddhist text, useful to meditators whatever their tradition or background.
In the first six chapters of Mindfulness of Breathing, Anālayo presents practical instructions comparable to his (other book) Satipatthāna Meditation: A Practice Guide.
The remaining chapters contain his translations of extracts from the early Chinese canon. With his accompanying commentary, these help the practitioner appreciate the early Buddhist perspective on the breath and the practice of mindfulness of breathing.
Anālayo presents his understanding of these early teachings, arising from his own meditation practice and teaching experience.
His aim is to inspire all practitioners to use what he has found helpful to build their own practice and become self-reliant.
The book is accompanied with freely downloadable audio files offering guided and progressive meditation instructions from the author.
Complement this list of best Bhikkhu Analayo books on mindfulness meditation with three best Buddhist meditation books for beginners.
