Meditation: Focus on the Present Moment in Early Buddhist Practice

Much of Buddhist meditation practice involves a focus on the present moment. We'll look at the history behind such ideas with help from one recent paper by Anālayo that takes a look at mindfulness practices in early Buddhism. Then we'll turn to a look at some other early texts that discuss both the benefits and dangers of a present-focused practice.

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✅ Books mentioned:
Gil Fronsdal, The Dhammapada https://amzn.to/3fZh9qs
Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Suttanipāta https://amzn.to/3wTcBc3
Eckart Tolle, The Power of Now https://amzn.to/3ySnvka

✅ Video mentioned:
A Short History of Buddhist Mindfulness Meditation -- https://youtu.be/XMtbVOK4-30

✅ Suttas mentioned:
https://suttacentral.net/mn131/en/sujato
https://suttacentral.net/mn132/en/sujato
https://suttacentral.net/mn133/en/sujato
https://suttacentral.net/mn134/en/sujato
https://suttacentral.net/mn38/en/sujato

✅ Other materials:
Bhikkhu Anālayo, “The Emphasis on the Present Moment in the Cultivation of Mindfulness,” in Mindfulness (2019) 10:571–581. https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/analayo/emphasispresentmoment.pdf

https://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/8.9-Bhaddekaratta-S-m131-piya.pdf

00:00 Intro
03:53 Mindfulness isn’t all present-focused
04:29 Present focus of the Foundations of Mindfulness (Anālayo’s Paper)
07:42 Other suttas on the present moment
12:52 Faltering in the present
15:13 The present as the arena of practice

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present moment meditationpresent moment awareness