Mindfully Facing Disease and Death: Compassionate Advice from Early Buddhist Texts - Paperback

by Bhikkhu Analayo (Author)

The chief aim of this book is to provide a collection of passages taken from the Buddha's early discourses that provide guidance for facing disease and death. The present anthology focuses on the theme of compassion, and is concerned with anukampa: compassion as the underlying motivation in altruistic action. The author draws on his own translations from the Chinese Agama collection, presented here for the first time, alongside their counterparts from the Pali texts, enabling readers to compare the parallel versions in English translation. Taken together with Analayo's practical commentary we gain a first-hand impression of what early Buddhism had to say about disease and death.

Front Jacket

Disease and death are undeniably integral parts of human life. Yet when they manifest we are easily caught unprepared. To prepare for these, we need to learn how to skillfully face illness and passing away. A source of practical wisdom can be found in the early discourses that record the teachings given by the Buddha and his disciples.

The chief aim of this book is to provide a collection of passages taken from the Buddha's early discourses that provide guidance for facing disease and death. The present anthology focuses on the theme of compassion, and is concerned with anukampa: compassion as the underlying motivation in altruistic action.

Analayo uses his own translations from the Chinese originals, presented here for the first time. Taken together with his practical commentary, we thereby gain a first-hand impression of what early Buddhism had to say about disease and death.

Back Jacket

Winner of the 2017 Nautilus Silver Book Awards in the category Religion/Spirituality of Eastern Thought.

Disease and death are undeniably integral parts of human life. Yet when they manifest we are easily caught unprepared. To prepare for these, we need to learn how to skillfully face illness and passing away. A source of practical wisdom can be found in the early discourses that record the teachings given by the Buddha and his disciples.

The chief aim of this book is to provide a collection of passages taken from the Buddha's early discourses that provide guidance for facing disease and death. The present anthology focuses on the theme of compassion, and is concerned with anukampa: compassion as the underlying motivation in altruistic action.

Analayo uses his own translations from the Chinese originals, presented here for the first time. Taken together with his practical commentary, we thereby gain a first-hand impression of what early Buddhism had to say about disease and death.

Author Biography

Analayo is a professor of Buddhist Studies at the Sri Lanka International Academy in Pallekele. He teaches at the Center for Buddhist Studies of the University of Hamburg and researches at the Dharma Drum Buddhist College in Taiwan. Analayo's published works include Satipatthana: The Direct Path to Realization (2003), Perspectives on Satipatthana (2014) and Compassion and Emptiness in Early Buddhist Meditation (2015).