This wonderful book has been transcribed from five lectures on Buddhist philosophy by the late Venerable Mahathera Madawela Punnaji. It follows on the heels of his successful book, Letting Go of ‘Self’: Lessons in Buddhist Psychology (June 2021, Amazon). Life Examined: Lessons in Buddhist Philosophy reveals the pitfalls of an unexamined life and shows how a change in our philosophy of life can free us from suffering by:

•Exploring how human thinking evolved up to the present.

•Discovering how the Buddha’s thinking surpassed all human thinking with an extraordinary view of life.

.•Learning stepwise the meaning of truth, goodness, happiness, existence, and non-existence.

•Integrating and experiencing the above philosophical analyses into your life and verifying them in your own experience.

•Living an authentic life guided by the Buddha’s philosophy with confidence.

Book Review by Rick Hanson, Ph.D.

From the teachings of a brilliant and dedicated monk, and beautifully edited by Mahendra Wijayasinghe, this is clear and helpful overview of central ideas from the original teachings of the Buddha - particularly as they are approached in the Theravadan tradition centered in Southeast Asia. These ideas are not mere abstractions, but potent catalysts for personal transformation. A boon and a blessing to explore, with benefits rippling through the person reading this book and onward to touch many others.

Rick Hanson is a psychologist, Senior Fellow of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and New York Times best-selling author. His books are available in 31 languages – with over a million copies in English alone. He has lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard, taught in meditation centers worldwide, and been featured on the BBC, CBS, NPR, and other major media. Two of his books are Neuro Dharma and Buddha’s Brain. (https://www.rickhanson.net/)

Book Review by Leigh Brasington

A very nice dive into Epistemology, Ethics, Aesthetics and Ontology. These are all explained in very clear detail including different philosophical approaches and, most importantly, how they are taught in Buddhism. Definitely worth reading.

Leigh Brasington is a disciple of the late Sister Ayya Khema and author/teacher of jhāna meditation in the US and elsewhere (http://www.leighb.com/). He is the author of “Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhānas.”

Bhante Punnaji’s intensive, scientific research into original Buddhism produced many books, including Return to Tranquility; Ascending the Supernormal Eightfold Way; Buddha the Radical Shrink: Buddhist Psychotherapy; and Beyond the Horizon of Time - Is Reincarnation Buddhist?

In Letting Go of ‘Self,’ he teaches that the ‘self’- identity or ‘notion of self’ is indeed a tragedy because it carries with it all the miseries of life. The Buddha and his Awakened disciples let go of the ‘self’- identity, which all Buddhists attempt to do in their practice. It involves sacrificing what one cherishes most, the feeling of ‘being.’ Bhante Punnaji explains how we can turn our lives into a joyful existences by gaining freedom from the ‘notion of self.’ Those who feel their ‘self’-identity crushed or rejected struggle the most with letting go; they can be defensive and anchored to their ‘notion of self.’ Yet freedom lies only in letting go of one’s false ‘self.’

Students and seekers of all backgrounds will find this simple, logical presentation indispensable.

Book Review by Rick Hanson, Ph.D.

Monastically trained teachers, with a life of deep practice, are often the best guides to the deep teachings of the Buddha. This book is no exception, with its comprehensive unpacking of the myriad mental activities that are conventionally bundled together and construed as "I" or "me" or "mine." As the Buddha pointed out, this presumption of a kind of unified, unchanging, and independent entity "inside" us is both unfounded in our direct experience, and a fundamental source of much suffering and harm - as we believe ourselves to be separated and isolated and beleaguered, take life oh so personally, get attached to "my" views, and seek to defend and glorify "me, myself, and I." Grounded in deep practice and great scholarship, this is a wonderful, useful book.

This book explains the “why” and “how” of Satipatthāna meditation within the framework of the Eightfold Way for anyone seeking stepwise instructions to begin practicing Satipatthāna.

Teachings and practices unique to this book:

Satipatthāna is introspection and not mindfulness. It is the result of introversion of attention (sammā sati) followed by constant observation (sampajañña) of the inner unconscious reactions to external events, memories, and imaginations.

• The two essential yet often overlooked techniques to purify the mind before beginning satipatthāna meditation.

• Breathing meditation (Ānāpānasati) is an exercise in relaxation rather than concentration; and risk of a hypnotic state by concentrating rather than relaxing the body and calming the mind.

• Emphasize relaxing the body, purifying the mind, and achieving happiness through constant awareness of inner unconscious emotional reactions.

• Daily Q & A sessions and an exclusive 30-year collection of Qs & As on Buddhism and meditation with the author.

• The Seven Steps to Awakening (satta bojjhanga) is Insight Meditation (Vipassana).

Book Review on Amazon

What is Buddhism? Bhante Punnaji’s Radical Reconstruction of What the Buddha Taught

Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2023

Venerable Punnaji’s book is nothing less than an unprecedented revolutionary reconstruction of Buddhism, based on the earliest statements and commentaries of Gotama Buddha. This great Buddhist scholar claims that the original teachings of the Buddha were altered by mistranslations and misinterpretations. In this regard, what has been labeled as Buddhism is only half-true, at best. Regarding mistranslations, Bhante Punnaji tells us that the original Buddhist meaning of Satipatthana is not “mindfulness” or awareness of things outside the body, but rather attention paid to tensions, reactions, feelings which are inside the body. (For example, see p. 66, p. 237) However beneficial mindfulness meditation is, consider the revolutionary implications. In addition, Bhante Punnaji conclusively demonstrates that Buddhism was probably the first psychotherapy, indeed the first cognitive psychology at the deepest possible level, in contrast to the less deep forms and more superficial forms of Western psychotherapy. Bhante Punnaji states that original Buddhist psychology requires an introversion of attention into the internal muscular tensions and fight or flight states. Relaxation of the body is seen as critical in order to relax the mind. This aspect of original Buddhism translates and corrects breathing meditation. “We watch our breathing to determine the extent to which we are agitated or calm…Remember you are not trying to concentrate on breathing.” (P. 129) This book radically changes our understanding of Buddhism like none other.

Venerable Punnaji’s research and analysis focused on Pāli suttas dating back to the Buddha, and he called his interpretations Proto Buddhism.

This book is a posthumous publication brought to fruition by a group of the author’s devoted pupils. For some, this book will be a treasury of previously unpublished material, shedding novel light on the profound and exacting discourses of the Buddha. It will be intensely provocative for others, querying long-held sentiments and opposing normative modes of Buddhist ideology and application. For others, the notions expounded in the book will still seem heretical to Buddhist tradition, resulting in their dismissal as the views of a recalcitrant monk.

Wherever the reader’s reaction may fall on this spectrum, we trust that investing time with an open mind could be well worth the labor, particularly for those drawn to the early, pre-sectarian Buddhist theories, practices, and texts. Whatever the reader’s ultimate deductions about this book, we have faith that one and all can acquire something of significance. At the least, a more vibrant delineation of one’s views, at the most, the paradigm shift argued for by the author.

This book is organized into ten chapters, moving from a description of who a Buddha is to a step-by-step systematic explanation of his teachings, as understood by the author. It does not aim to comprehensively re-translate the vast canon of the Buddha’s discourses. Instead, each chapter addresses what the author considered errors in the current rendition and analysis of the Buddha’s sermons. These are highlighted in a “Prevalent Error to be Addressed” section at the beginning of each chapter. The book contains previously unpublished sutta translations and discussions.

These ideas are offered with a heartfelt wish that they may aid dialogue and comprehension of the liberating wisdom of the Buddha so that human anguish can continue to be quenched by his message. We hope that others will benefit just as much as we have from the author’s unyielding effort to unearth the meaning of the elusive discourses of the Buddha. Our deepest wish is that the spirit of his contribution, the heart of his profound thinking, and his ecumenical approach live on to help all genuine seekers of the Buddha’s wisdom. The author was always humble enough to acknowledge that his interpretations may be incorrect. He asked us to validate his views in the crucible of our own experience. Take this opportunity to judge for yourself with an open mind.

Please read and share this book with others through website postings and social media. Hard copies will be available from the Buddhist Maha Vihara, Kuala Lumpur and from other sources.

May all beings be well, happy, and peaceful!

Dhammashanti,

Editor