Mahathera Henepola Gunaratana

The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation, by Mahathera Henepola Gunaratana (Buddhist Publication Society Wheel Publication No. 351; 1988; 159k/53pp.)

This booklet, a condensed version of Bhante Gunaratana's treatise, "The Path of Serenity & Insight" (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1985), outlines the role of jhana (meditative absorption) in Theravada Buddhist meditation. The author's perspective here is based largely on the later commentaries to the Pali Canon — principally Buddhaghosa's magnum opus, Visuddhimagga (The Path of Purification) — and therefore uses examples from the relatively rare practice of kasina meditation. Still, many of the insights offered by the book will be of value to those practicing satipatthana vipassana and breath meditation.