The Progress Of Insight

A Treatise on Satipatthana Meditation

By:  Mahasi Sayadaw

The practice of Vipassana or insight meditation was described by the Buddha as the “direct way” for the overcoming of all sorrow and grief and for realizing Nibbana, the state of perfect liberation from suffering. The essence of this practice consists in the four foundations of mindfulness: mindful contemplation of the body, feelings, states of mind, and mind objects.

In this treatise the Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw charts the entire way of mindfulness up to its culmination, the emphasis being on the advanced stages of the Path. The Burmese meditation master shows their distinctive features of these stages in great clarity, illustrating them with descriptions of actual meditative practice. The treatise was composed in the Pali language and was translated into English by Venerable Nyanaponika Thera.

Mahasi Sayadaw was one of the foremost Buddhist meditation masters of modern times. He was highly esteemed for his accomplishments in both the scholastic and practical aspects of Theravada Buddhism.