This comprehensive study draws exhaustively on a wide range of sources both primary and secondary, and in particular the Pali texts, to offer an authoritative study of the "thirty-seven conditions that contribute to awakening"(bodhi-pakkihiya dhamma). This classic set of Buddhist teachings is examined both collectively and individually , thus revealing how early Buddhist thinkers understood the process of spiritual practice by which ordinary consciousness is transformed in the mystic mind. Sensitive, conscientious, and featuring full notes and extensive bibliography, this text will be appreciated by scholars and students alike.
Rupert Gethin is a Lecturer in Indian Religions and Co-Director of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol. He has published several books on the subject of Buddhist throught and literature, including The Foundations of Buddhism (Oxford University Press).