When Awareness Becomes Natural: A Guide to Cultivating Mindfulness in Everyday Life

Finding awareness in any kind of ordinary daily activity–the first trade book from a Southeast Asian Buddhist monk-teacher who is becoming prominent worldwide, particularly in the Insight Meditation community.

Meditation is great–but it’s not what Buddhist practice is all about. That’s the message of this engaging and funny Burmese Buddhist monk, and it’s a message that is finding a significant following among Westerners in the Insight Meditation tradition. Sayadaw U Tejaniya teaches how to bring awareness to any sort of activity in order to discover deep insight and liberation from suffering. It works in sitting meditation, but it works just as well when sorting the laundry or doing data entry. My teachings are nothing new, he says. They are, as always, based on the four foundations of mindfulness- awareness of the body, awareness of feelings and sensations, awareness of mind, and understanding of dhamma or nature, i.e., mind and matter. These four foundations are as explained in the Buddha’s discourse on mindfulness, the Satipathana sutta. How I offer these teachings is a reflection of my life and practice and the way in which they are presented is to accommodate the way in which modern yogis live their lives.