SSW How to Use

You may use the site and videos for group or individual self-study. The following pointers and materials may be useful.

Pre-reading for all Students
Some pre-reading before each satipaṭṭhāna exercise is required to gain the most from the course. The pdf version of the course book is here.
Satipatthana Sutta Commentarial Coursebook 1.3
The hard copy can be obtained from Nalanda Institute, Malaysia. Click here for its contact info.

Using the Videos
1. It is best to watch the videos in sequence.
2. For the discussion topics,
a) first view the beginning of the track to understand the topic
b) pause and do your own discussion
c) then only watch the video of the presentation, explanation and Q&A if any.
Perhaps some of your questions might be answered in the Q&A or the teacher’s exposition. You can email him any doubts or questions that still need to be clarified, but he does not promise a prompt reply. Contact him via the webmaster (satipatthana.sbs@gmail.com).
3. For the guided asubha meditation sessions in Day 2 (one during the day, one at night), it would be better to view the video once while looking at the images of the body parts / corpse, and another time with the eyes closed, as you follow the instructions, trying to visualize what you had seen earlier.

For Group Organisers
If you are organising a study group, the following might be useful.
1. Notes for Organiser contains guidance for the organiser to prepare for a live course.
2. Timetables for Days 1-4 which can serve as a useful guideline. The empty “Time” column is for you to plan your daily schedule according to the actual timing of the video tracks in the “Duration” column. In the “Topic to Cover / File name” column, most of the file names correspond to the topics to be covered. The “Page” column gives the page number/s of the relevant topic in the Course Book.

Video Pack and Other Materials
1. We have also produced a Video Pack, consisting of 5 discs in mp4 format for those who need/ prefer a hard copy. Below are pictures of the pack and discs.

A pdf of the pack’s manual can be viewed and downloaded here. Although the time duration is according to the 5 DVD discs in the Pack, you may find the detailed listing of the contents useful. You can also request for a free copy of the Video Pack itself, available since 3 June 2014, from Nalanda Institute, Malaysia. The Video Pack has higher resolution and is recommended for group study.

2. A short article by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, where he argues that “the commentaries are right in viewing their type of jhāna as unnecessary for Awakening, but Awakening cannot occur without the attainment of jhāna in the canonical sense”. It can be viewed and downloaded
here