This is the first of a long series of in-depth reviews of the Satipatthana Sutta, known as the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse.  Peter is using several of the books on this topic written by the German Theravadin Monk Analayo on the Sutta, including “Satipatthana-The Direct Path To Realization” and “Satipatthana Meditation-A Practice Guide”.  Analayo is highly regarded as a scholar of Buddhism and is also a dedicated meditation practitioner, who is currently in residence at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.  During this talk Peter described the history of the Satipatthana Sutta and important structural elements, required because the Discourse had to be memorized over many generations before it was written and preserved.  Two categories described by Analayo were listed–Definitions and Refrains.

This was followed by discussion of the impact of the Sutta on the participants.

Here are the notes prepared for this talk:  Satipatthana Via Analayo

Next week’s talk will begin the focus on the first of the Four Foundations, Kayanupassana, Mindfulness of the Body.