Foreword

When Sayādaw U Pandita first came to teach in the United States in 1984, we knew him only by reputation as the successor to Mahāsi Sayādaw of Burma. But in ways that we could not have imagined at the time, his teaching and presence helped to open many new doors of understanding. As a meditation master, he has guided us through the subtleties of practice; as a scholar, he has brought new meaning and life to the timeless words of the Buddha; and as a great spiritual friend, he has inspired us to seek the highest freedom.

Just as the Buddha came from the warrior class of ancient India, so too, is Sayādaw U Pandita a spiritual warrior of our time. His emphasis on heroic effort is joined with a joyous confidence that liberation is possible in this very life . Sayādaw has helped us recognize our own inner capacity to overcome the limitations of the conditioned mind.

This book is a collection of talks from the first three month retreat that Sayādaw taught at the Insight Meditation Society. He describes in detail both the practical journey of awakening and a profound theoretical model of understanding. These discourses reward a thoughtful reading, allowing the familiar aspects of the teachings to mature in our minds, and challenging us with new perspectives on some old and cherished viewpoints.

This book is a treasure house of applied Dhamma. May it help to awaken wisdom and compassion in us all.

JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN

Barre, Massachusetts