Sayadaw U Pandita

The Way to Happiness and Peace: Understanding the Basics of Insight Meditation

a book cover with a wheel

All beings Everywhere by their very nature seek happiness, but few realize that happiness can only be found by obtaining peace of mind.

The Buddha taught that peace of mind does not descend upon us by chance, but can be achieved by diligent practice of the Noble Eightfold Path. This path – the path to peace – unfolds in three stages: morality, concentration, and wisdom. Its culmination is the practice of Insight meditation, which leads directly to the bliss of liberation. In the present booklet, Sayadaw U Pandita explains in simple and lucid language the basic steps to be taken in the development of insight meditation. His instructions, which centre around the “four foundations of mindfulness,” will be beneficial to both beginners and experienced meditators.


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About Sayadaw U Pandita

Sayadaw U Pandita, born on july 28 in 1921 and deceased on 16 April 2016, was one of the foremost masters of Vipassanā.

U Pandita began practicing Vipassana under the guidance of Mahāsi Sayādaw beginning in 1950 and became his sole succes after his death in 1982. He has taught many of the Western teachers and students of the Mahāsi style of Vipassanā meditation.

U Pandita was known for teaching a rigorous and precise method of self-examination. He taught Satipaṭṭhāna or Vipassanā, emphasizing Buddhist ethics as a requisite foundation. He was also an erudite scholar of the Pali Tipiṭaka, the Theravāda canon. Until his death at age 94 in 2016, he continued to lead retreats and give dharma talks, but he rarely gave interviews.

You yourselves must strive, the Buddhas only point the way

Buddha, Dhp 276