Open AccessThe Centrality of Mindfulness-Related Meditations in Early Buddhist Discourse
Author(s) -
Bhikkhu Anālayo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
mindfulness
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.509
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1868-8535
pISSN - 1868-8527
DOI - 10.1007/s12671-020-01381-y
Subject(s) - buddhism , mindfulness , meditation , parallels , contemplation , context (archaeology) , centrality , psychology , epistemology , social psychology , psychotherapist , philosophy , history , theology , archaeology , mechanical engineering , mathematics , combinatorics , engineering
This article surveys references to mindfulness-related meditations found in Pāli discourses in the first five chapters of the Majjhima-nikāya and their parallels, showing the ubiquity of a concern with contemplative practices in early Buddhist thought. Such concerns were, according to these texts, not confined to monastics, but also included lay practitioners. Overall, the impression emerges that meditation as a key element of early Buddhist thought stands within a wider doctrinal and even cosmological context.