FOREWORD TO THE FIRST EDITION

The late Venerable Nyanaponika of Forest Hermitage, Kandy, Sri Lanka had made a compilation of six topics extracted from Seven discourses of Mahasi Sayadaw, with the permission of the Buddha Sasana Nuggaha Organization and this compilation was published under the title “Thoughts on The Dhamma” by the Buddhist Publication Society of Kandy, Sri Lanka in 1983. While the book was in preparation, Mahasi Sayadaw passed away in August 1982, and thus it turned out to be a memorial issue in honour of Sayadawgyi. The book was again reprinted and published by Malaysian Buddhist Meditation Centre, of Penang, Malaysia after 1983, the exact year of publication being unknown since it was not mentioned in the book itself.

This book was donated by Dr. Win Naing Kyaw, a member of the Buddha Sasana Nuggaha Organization Executive Committee, on 18.1.2015 to the Buddha Sasana Nuggaha Organization. New online Edition had been prepared and put up in website by Bhikkhu Pesala of Association for Insight Meditation in August 2013.

The topics covered in this book are:-

(1) The Dhamma

(2) The Burden Of The Aggregates

(3) Ethics

(4) Concentration

(5) Meditation

(6) Insight Meditation

The original discourses from which these topics are compiled are as follows:-

(1) To Nibbana Via The Noble Eightfold Path

(2) The Wheel of Dhamma

(3) Hemavata Sutta

(4) Ariyavasa Sutta

(5) Bhara Sutta

(6) Lokadhamma

(7) Sakkapananha Sutta

The Buddha Sasana Nuggaha Organization had never published this book before, and we are pleased to publish it for the first time, so that it becomes available to the English readers in Myanmar as well as abroad. BPS (Buddhist Publication Society) of Kandy, Sri Lanka kindly gave us permission to reprint it. We take this opportunity to record our heartfelt thanks to BPS for its kindness. In our reprint of the book, the entire book is the same as the original book published by BPS. However, we slightly amended the contents page to show the detailed headings, and updated the short biography of Mahasi Sayadaw.

As to the book itself, since Venerable Nyanaponika had written a very informative introduction which was included in our edition, we have nothing to add, except our good wishes to all readers and meditators to able to practise Vipassana Insight Meditation, as taught by Mahasi Sayadaw and attain various stages of purification.

Dr. Tint Soe Lin

President

Buddha Sasana Nuggaha Organization

Mahasi Sasana Yeiktha

June, 2016

Thoughts On The Dhamma

This copy is First Edition published in June 2016 in which the grammar, punctuations and spellings of English words were corrected during January 2019 for the next Edition.

(1) English words corrected by “ Microsoft Words” in computer by Ma Soe Soe on 4.1.2019 and checked by U Khin Maung Oo on 5.1.2019.

(2) Pali words re-checked by ----------------------.

Note; the words in red are not to be uploaded in the website.