The Heart of the Buddha’s Path is the second in a three-volume series about the teachings of the Buddha. It is based on his original teachings as found in the Pāli Canon. It covers three important topics: the wisdom teachings of the Buddha, mindfulness, and “samadhi” which is variously translated as “concentration,” “stillness,” and “meditative absorption.”
The section on wisdom presents the Buddha’s fundamental understanding of the nature of life. This includes his teachings on the Four Noble Truths, karma, “dependent co-arising,” the three marks of existence, and emptiness.
The word “mindfulness” is largely misused as meaning something like “attention.” But the word “mindfulness” literally means “to keep something in mind.” There is a discussion of not only the true meaning of the term, but an exploration of the Buddha’s three most important discourses on mindfulness.
That brings us to “samadhi,” or more properly, “samma samadhi,” or right samadhi. These are states of deep concentration, absorption, or stillness. As with mindfulness, there is a discussion of the Buddha’s most important teachings from his own discourses, as well as techniques for attaining samadhi.
The Heart of the Buddha’s Path takes you deep into the mind of the Buddha, his view of the world, his training on meditation, and the underlying thinking of his entire path.
