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Knowing and Seeing: Talks and Questions-and-Answers at a Meditation Retreat in Taiwan
"The talks in this book were given by the Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw of Pa-Auk Forest Monastery, Pa-Auk, Mawlamyine, Myanmar, while he conducted a two-month meditation retreat at Yi-Tung Temple, Sing Choo City, Taiwan. In the course of those two months, apart from giving daily meditation instructions to individual meditators, the Sayadaw read seven main talks, which had been prepared at Pa-Auk prior to the retreat. Those talks were interspersed with seven Question-and-Answer talks; the questions having been given beforehand by the meditators at the retreat, and the answers then having been likewise prepared beforehand by the Sayadaw...
...All sixteen talks had been prepared in English, and then read in English by the Sayadaw. For the benefit of the audience, who were all Chinese, the talks were also translated beforehand into Chinese, and the Chinese read concurrently with the Sayadaw’s reading.
The talks are concerned mainly with the Sayadaw’s principal approach to insight meditation: to practise tranquillity meditation first, after which to use it as a necessary vehicle for insight meditation. The Sayadaw teaches also pure-insight meditation, which is why he provides an exposition of the orthodox instructions for both methods.
The talks, as they appear here, are not word-per- fect versions of the talks as they were given in Taiwan. This is because the Sayadaw decided that the material should be edited prior to publication. To that end, the Sayadaw requested that the language be changed in any way deemed necessary, and himself added further details etc. The Sayadaw was very frequently consulted during the entire editing process, and his approval se- cured for changes other than those of only form."
...All sixteen talks had been prepared in English, and then read in English by the Sayadaw. For the benefit of the audience, who were all Chinese, the talks were also translated beforehand into Chinese, and the Chinese read concurrently with the Sayadaw’s reading.
The talks are concerned mainly with the Sayadaw’s principal approach to insight meditation: to practise tranquillity meditation first, after which to use it as a necessary vehicle for insight meditation. The Sayadaw teaches also pure-insight meditation, which is why he provides an exposition of the orthodox instructions for both methods.
The talks, as they appear here, are not word-per- fect versions of the talks as they were given in Taiwan. This is because the Sayadaw decided that the material should be edited prior to publication. To that end, the Sayadaw requested that the language be changed in any way deemed necessary, and himself added further details etc. The Sayadaw was very frequently consulted during the entire editing process, and his approval se- cured for changes other than those of only form."
310 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2000
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About the author
Pa-Auk Tawya Sayadaw
13 books4 followersThe Most Venerable Bhaddanta Āciṇṇa Mahāthēra, more commonly referred to as the Pa-Auk Sayadaw, is a Theravāda monk, meditation teacher and the abbot of the Pa-Auk Forest Monastery in Mawlamyine.
Sayadaw was ordained as a novice in 1944 and fully ordined in 1954. He became a forest monk, and developed a set of meditation methods often called the "Pa-Auk Method".
Sayadaw was ordained as a novice in 1944 and fully ordined in 1954. He became a forest monk, and developed a set of meditation methods often called the "Pa-Auk Method".
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October 20, 2023
I have always admired and respected Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw. This book is an absolute treasure. It offers a glimpse of the meditation training being taught at Pa Auk Monastery, from cultivating samatha to vipassana. Everything is based on what the Buddha taught - discerning materiality and mentality as well as their causes, seeing them as impermanent, dukkha and non-self. I really enjoyed reading this book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews