Two Styles of Insight Meditation is written by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Insight meditation has grown in popularity around the world in recent years, but it has undergone a subtle transformation in the process. Rather than being taught as an essential aspect of the Buddhist path, it is now frequently offered as a secular discipline whose benefits are more related to everyday life than to supramundane liberation. Many meditators attest to the practical benefits of practicing insight meditation, which varies from improved job performance and better relationships to a deeper sense of peace, compassion, and awareness.
While such advantages are undoubtedly valuable in and of themselves, they are not the ultimate aim that the Buddha himself holds up as the pinnacle of his instruction. The attainment of Nibbana, the eradication of all defilements here and now, and release from the endless cycle of rebirths, is that objective, according to the texts.
