Manual of Insight Mahāsi Sayadaw forewords by JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN and DANIEL GOLEM AN anual of Insight is the magnum opus of Mahasi Sayadaw, one of the foremost originators of the vipassana movement that has swept through the Buddhist world over the last hundred years This manual—representing fifteen years of dedicated work by the Vipassana Metta Foundation Translation Committee under managing editor Steve Armstrong—offers a comprehensive overview of the practice of insight meditation, including the foundational aspects of ethical self-discipline, understanding the philosophical framework for the practice, and developing basic concentration and mindfulness It culminates with an in-depth exploration of the various types of insight and spiritual fruits that the practice yields M “I owe an inexpressible debt to Mahasi Sayadaw’s scholarship, understanding, and courage of transmission It is a great gift to have this translation available.” —SHARON SALZBERG, author of Real Happiness “A truly important work of one of the greatest contemporary masters, with rich detail and profound insight.” —JACK KORNFIELD, author of The Wise Heart This exquisite volume includes a comprehensive collection of charts, such as “The Progress of Insight,” “Mental Factors Present in Each Consciousness,” and “Planes of Existence.” These are presented on a separate large-format pullout for easy use and reference VIPASSANĀ METTĀ FOUNDATION TRANSLATION COMMITTEE Project Advisor Sayadaw U Paṇḍita (Paṇḍitārāma Shwe Taung Gon Sasana Yeiktha, Yangon, Myanmar) Managing Editor Steve Armstrong Translators Hla Myint Ariya Baumann Abhidhamma and Pāḷi Research Consultants Sayadaw U Janaka (Chanmyay Yeiktha, Yangon, Myanmar) Sayadaw U Indaka (Chanmyay Myaing Meditation Center, Yangon, Myanmar) Sayadaw U Sāgara (Chanmyay Myaing Study Monastery, Hmawbi, Myanmar) Hla Myint (Myanmar and USA) Akiñcano (Marc Weber) (Germany) Pāḷi Quote Citations, Glossaries Ven Vīrañāṇī Abhidhamma Charts Steve Armstrong Editors Ven Vīrañāṇī Steve Armstrong Ariya Baumann Deborah Ratner Helzer Kamala Masters Funding provided by Vipassanā Mettā Foundation All proceeds from the sale of this book will be used to freely distribute copies to Buddhist monastics, libraries, and meditation centers, and to support opportunities to practice the method outlined in the book For further information and to report errors, please visit: www.mahasimanualofinsight.org Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa!1 Without equal is the Omniscient Buddha of nine attributes!2 Without equal is the Dhamma of six attributes!3 Without equal is the Saṅgha of nine attributes!4 When we reflect in this way, the mind becomes particularly clear and delighted At that moment we observe the mental states of reflection, clarity, and delight as well as the physical phenomena that depend on these mental states as they arise May virtuous people who practice as instructed in this book attain path, fruition, and nibbāna in this very life Thus have I composed this manual on the practice of insight meditation Publisher’s Acknowledgment The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous contribution of the Hershey Family Foundation toward the publication of this book Contents Foreword by Joseph Goldstein Foreword by Daniel Goleman Managing Editor’s Preface Introduction PURIFICATION OF CONDUCT The Purification of Conduct for Monks Observing the Monastic Precepts ◆ Pursuing a Pure Livelihood ◆ Wisely Using Requisites ◆ Carefully Restraining the Senses ◆ Practicing Restraint Prior to the Practice of Meditation ◆ Restraint that Comes from Meditation ◆ Restraint as a Prerequisite for Meditation The Purification of Conduct for the Laity Comparisons to Monastic Morality ◆ The Five Spiritual Obstacles ◆ The Enlightenment of Immoral Laypeople ◆ How Different Types of People Are Suited to Different Trainings Purifying Conduct with Meditation Morality by Means of Abandonment ◆ Morality by Means of Abstinence ◆ Morality by Means of Mental Volition ◆ Morality by Means of Restraint ◆ Morality by Means of Nontransgression ◆ Morality as Remote and Immediate Conditions for Concentration and Knowledges ◆ The Power of Meditation to Purify Morality for Monastics ◆ Nota Bene: The Practice of Morality Is Essential PURIFICATION OF MIND Mental Purification Three Types of Mental Purification ◆ Two Vehicles for Going to Enlightenment ◆ Methods for Taking the Two Vehicles to Enlightenment ◆ Insight with Momentary Concentration ◆ Methods for Developing Insight Mental Purification for Those Who Take the Vehicle of Insight to Enlightenment Liberations and Hindrances ◆ Helpful Contemplations to Dispel Hindrances ◆ Obstacles to Concentration and the Methods to Overcome Them ◆ States of One-Pointedness ABSOLUTE AND CONVENTIONAL REALITIES What Is Reality? Ultimate Reality ◆ Conceptual Illusions ◆ Hearsay and Such ◆ Description vs Experience ◆ The Correct Definition of Ultimate Reality ◆ Transience The Two Meanings of Activity The Meaning that Ordinary People Know ◆ The Meaning that Insight Meditators Know Two Kinds of Insight Appropriate Objects for Meditation ◆ The Present Moment ◆ Inferential Insight: Knowledge by Comprehension Lessons to Learn from Those Who Take the Vehicle of Tranquility to Enlightenment Observation of the In- and Out-Breath ◆ To What Extent Must Insight Be Purified? ◆ Venerable Sāriputta’s Method ◆Venerable Moggallāna’s Method ◆ A Note of Caution THE DEVELOPMENT OF MINDFULNESS Checking Meditation against the Pāḷi Texts Five Kinds of Phenomena Contemplation of the Body The Case of Seeing ◆ The Case of Hearing ◆ The Case of Smell ◆ The Case of Taste ◆ The Case of Touch ◆ Mindfulness of Breathing ◆ The Four Primary Material Elements ◆ How to Observe Thought ◆ How to Note General Activities ◆ Clear Comprehension ◆ Accurate Awareness Contemplation of Feeling Pleasant Feeling ◆ Unpleasant Feeling ◆ Neither- Unpleasant-nor-Pleasant Feeling ◆ Worldly Pleasure ◆ Unworldly Pleasure ◆ Worldly Displeasure ◆ Unworldly Displeasure ◆ Worldly Neither Displeasure nor Pleasure ◆ Unworldly Neither Displeasure nor Pleasure ◆ Realizing Feelings Contemplation of Mind Mental States ◆ Realizing Mind Contemplation of Mental Objects The Five Hindrances ◆ Wise Attention ◆ Unwise Attention ◆ The Five Aggregates ◆ The Six Senses ◆ The Ten Fetters ◆ The Seven Factors of Enlightenment ◆ Balancing Spiritual Faculties ◆ The Seven Types of Suffering ◆ The Four Noble Truths Mindfulness of the Four Noble Truths Truths in the Round of Existence and Truths Beyond It ◆ How Suffering Is Realized ◆ How the Origin of Suffering Is Realized ◆ How Cessation and Path Are Realized ◆ Cultivating Mundane Understanding ◆ Cultivating Supramundane Understanding ◆ How to Develop the Noble Eightfold Path ◆ The Moment of Path Knowledge ◆ Other Objects of Meditation The Benefits of Mindfulness The Only Way ◆ The Buddha’s Acknowledgment ◆ Suitable Contemplations PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS Preparations for Practice The Basic Practice The Primary Object ◆ Distracting Thoughts ◆ Physical Discomfort ◆ Odd Experiences ◆ Getting a Drink ◆ Going to Bed ◆ Getting Up ◆ Eating a Meal ◆ Increasing the Number of Objects ◆ General Objects ◆ Mental States ◆ Diligence Insight Mind and Body ◆ Cause and Effect ◆ Effects of Concentration ◆ Seeing the Three Characteristics ◆ Distractions from the Path ◆ Disappearance ◆ Disillusionment ◆ Looking for Relief ◆ Equanimity The Experience of Nibbāna Entering Fruition ◆ Clarifying the Insight Knowledges ◆ Practicing for Higher Paths and Fruitions ◆ A Note on Parāmī A Word of Advice STAGES OF INSIGHT KNOWLEDGE Insight Knowledge that Discerns Mental and Physical Phenomena: Purification of View Awareness of Phenomena ◆ Discerning Mental and Physical Phenomena ◆ Seeing Things as They Really Are Insight Knowledge that Discerns Conditionality: Purification by Overcoming Doubt The First Way of Seeing Conditionality ◆ The Second Way of Seeing Conditionality ◆ The Third and Fourth Ways of Seeing Conditionality ◆ The Fifth Way of Seeing Conditionality ◆ The Lesser Stream Enterer Insight Knowledge by Comprehension Comprehension of Impermanence ◆ Comprehension of Suffering ◆ Comprehension of NotSelf ◆ Contemplation of Mental Phenomena ◆ Other Types of Contemplation ◆ Strengthening the Mental Faculties ◆ Seven Ways to Contemplate Physical Phenomena ◆ Seven Ways to Contemplate the Mind ◆ Practical Advice Also Available from Wisdom Publications In This Very Life The Liberation Teachings of the Buddha Sayadaw U Paṇḍita Edited by Kate Wheeler Translated by U Aggacitta Foreword by Joseph Goldstein The State of Mind Called Beautiful Sayadaw U Paṇḍita Edited by Kate Wheeler The Four Foundations of Mindfulness Sayadaw U Sīlānanda Foreword by Larry Rosenberg Buddhist Ethics Hammalawa Saddhatissa Introduction by Charles Hallissey Abhidhamma Studies Buddhist Explorations of Consciousness and Time Nyanaponika Thera Edited and Introduced by Bhikkhu Bodhi A Heart Full of Peace Joseph Goldstein Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama THE TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA In the Buddha’s Words An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon Edited and Introduced by Bhikkhu Bodhi Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama Great Disciples of the Buddha Their Lives, Their Works, Their Legacy Nyanaponika Thera and Hellmuth Hecker Edited by Bhikkhu Bodhi The Long Discourses of the Buddha A Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya Maurice Walshe Foreword by Venerable Sumedho Thera The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi The Connected Discourses of the Buddha A Translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya Bhikkhu Bodhi The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha A Translation of the Aṅguttara Nikāya Bhikkhu Bodhi About Wisdom Publications Wisdom Publications is the leading publisher of classic and contemporary Buddhist books and practical works on mindfulness To learn more about us or to explore our other books, please visit our website at wisdompubs.org or contact us at the address below Wisdom Publications 199 Elm Street Somerville, MA 02144 USA We are a 501(c)(3) organization, and donations in support of our mission are tax deductible Wisdom Publications is affiliated with the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) Thank you for acquiring Manual of Insight Please visit wisdompubs.org/manual-charts to download a free PDF version of the comprehensive collection of seven charts, including “The Progress of Insight,” “Mental Factors Present in Each Consciousness,” and “Planes of Existence.” Wisdom Publications 199 Elm Street Somerville, MA 02144 USA wisdompubs.org © 2016 Vipassanā Mettā Foundation All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photography, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system or technologies now known or later developed, without permission in writing from the publisher Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Sobhana, Mahā caññ‘ Cha rā to‘ ’A rhaṅ‘, 1904–1982, author Title: Manual of insight / Mahasi Sayadaw ; translated and edited by the Vipassanā Mettā Foundation Translation Committee Other titles: Wịpạthạna shụ nī kyān English Description: Somerville, MA : Wisdom Publications, 2016 | Includes bibliographical references and index | Translated from Burmese and Pali Identifiers: LCCN 2015041172 (print) | LCCN 2016008923 (ebook) | ISBN 9781614292777 (hardback) | ISBN 1614292779 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781614292913 (Ebook) | ISBN 9781614292913 (ebook) | ISBN 1614292914 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Vipaśyanā (Buddhism) | BISAC: RELIGION / Buddhism / Rituals ISBN 978-1-61429-277-7 ebook ISBN 978-1-61429-291-3 20 19 18 17 16 54321 Design by Gopa & Ted Set in 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Aspects of Disillusionment: Insight Knowledges of Fear, of Danger, and of Disenchantment Insight Knowledge of Fear ◆ Insight Knowledge of Danger ◆ Insight Knowledge of Disenchantment Insight. .. Manual of Insight Mahāsi Sayadaw forewords by JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN and DANIEL GOLEM AN anual of Insight is the magnum opus of Mahasi Sayadaw, one of the foremost originators of the vipassana... Corruptions of Insight ◆ Purification by Knowledge and Vision of What Is Path and Not Path ◆ Purification by Knowledge and Vision of the Way Insight Knowledge of Dissolution Insight and Counter-Insight