In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (The Teachings of the Buddha) Kindle Edition

Researchers believe that "The Buddha" ( a term meaning "The Awakened One" ) was an actual man named Siddhartha Gautama that lived in India over 2,600 years ago.His teachings were passed down for several centuries after his death via an oral tradition until they were written down on collections of palm leaves. These are stored in the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali Canon, the texts of the oldest surviving form of Buddhism known as Theravada. The Sutta Pitaka consists of 5 "Nikayas" or books/collections.These collection are thousands of pages long, contain much repetitive content and have only been translated into English as of the 19th century. Translations into English are still being perfected as ancient Pali and modern English are extremely different languages.In other words, the reader who wants to read the Buddhist message for him/herself has the daunting task of combing through several large, expensive, repetitious volumes of translations that may not be clear to a modern reader."In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon" is an anthology of the Buddha's teachings compiled by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Bhikkhu Bodhi was born in New York City in 1944 as Jeffrey Block. He is an American Theravada Buddhist monk. Bhikkhu Bodhi has translated large portions of the Pali Canon himself and is a native English speaker.His goal in compiling his anthology is to make the Buddha's message more accessible to the ordinary person and to encourage the ordinary person to read the Pali Canon themselves.To this end, he has chosen what he thinks are the most essential of the Buddha's discourses. Bhikkhu Bodhi has also put these suttas ( discourses from the Buddha ) into a logical order by subject in his anthology -- something which doesn't exist in the Pali Canon, which is a scattered, repetitious collection of separate talks.Bhikkhu Bodhi further aids the reader by reducing the repetition of phrases in the translations ( left over from the oral tradition ) and Bhikkhu Bodhi introduces each section with some extremely helpful essays on the suttas that follow.The result is an easy to understand, scholarly anthology that gives the reader a sense of what can be found in the Sutta Pitaka in regards to the essentials of the Buddha's message - without having to make the larger investment of going through the significantly more voluminous, repetitious and expensive English translations of these collections.This book will likely not be enjoyable to people whose exposure to Buddhism has been a mixture of inspirational poetry, psychological analysis and elements borrowed from other spiritual traditions.People who are uncomfortable reading text that is more "religious" will find those elements in this collection.Bhikkhu Bodhi has striven to given an honest snap shot of what someone can expect to find in translations of the Pali Canon. That snap shot includes the presence of preternatural beings, mythical realms and what is commonly known in the West as "reincarnation". If you have limited tolerance for reading such things, this book isn't for you.This book can also be dry in many sections. It isn't a book that can be read, or understood by reading through it in many large chunks while laying on a couch after a taxing day. My recommendation would be to read it a tiny bit of time, sitting up and during your best hours to get the most out of it.I was surprised to see that a copies of the "The Peg" (Ani Sutta, Samyutta Nikaya XX.7), "The Unconjecturable" (Acintita Sutta, Anguttara Nikaya IV.77) and "To Sivaka" (Moliyasivaka Sutta, Samyutta Nikaya XXXVI.21) suttas (discourses from the Buddha ) were not included in this anthology.These suttas state that the Buddha knew his teachings would get distorted over time, that theBuddha believed that ordinary people could not explain the details of their current situation by tracing their karma ( kamma ) and that not all situations a person encounters in their lives are the result of karma. These are extremely important ideas and it is a bit strange that they are not included in an anthology of essential teachings attributed to the Buddha himself.As stated previously, a big problem for those seeking to understand Buddhism directly from the original texts is that these texts haven't been translated very well into English. English and Pali are just very different languages. The modern world is also very different from the ancient world from where the texts came.Given that Bhikkhu Bodhi is an American and a native English speaker I had different expectations for these translations than what I read.As an example, throughout the anthology the root causes of "suffering" are listed as being "greed, hatred and delusion". The terms in quotes are not the only possible English translations. The English translations are technically correct, but I believe the terms used hold extreme connotations to the contemporary English speaker which rob the Buddhist message of its meaning and relevance to contemporary life.Many people interpret "suffering" as agony, "greed" as extreme desire, "hatred" as an extremely strong emotion and "delusion" as close to being insane. Other translators have stated that the Pali word "dukha", commonly translated as "suffering" really refers to any dissatisfactory feeling from a vague sense of things not being the best as they could be on one end, to flat out agony on the other end.So, an alternate translation like this one is possible:"The root cause of feelings of unhappiness, distress or suffering come from desire, aversion or being ignorant to the nature of life."To me, that speaks to me much more as a modern person and seems relevant to many more of my experiences than:"The roots of suffering are greed, hatred and delusion".The alternative translation doesn't come off as a recycled puritanism of which I want no part of as a secular person.There are a number of other examples of alternative translations like this one.I'm not a scholar of any kind and Bhikkhu Bodhi is. As an expert who has devoted his life to Buddhism I wouldn't be surprised to learn Bhikkhu Bodhi is correct in his translation choices.I'm just saying my preference would have been for the other choices and I think that will be true for many people interested in this book.I believe this book to be a first of its kind in what does and how well it does it. I heartily encourage anyone with an interest in Buddhism to endure the shortcomings of the book. Read it in little bits every day, read the whole thing and talk to people about it. Such an investment will keep coming back to you for the rest of your life.

no exaggeration. i wasted YEARS on other new forms of buddhism: vajrayana developed up to 1,200 years after buddhas death, zen developed up to 900 years after buddhas death, and others (pure land doesn't even count as it's not about awakening, but going to a very late invented buddhist realm AFTER death based on faith in a very late invented "amitabha buddha"). do these other forms work? not for me! maybe they do for others. but the bottom line is that the original teachings are just that: the original. they are laid out in a step by step frame to lead one to awakening. bodhi has compiled many here to make them very simple and straightforward (otherwise one must read hundreds of pages to get the step by step feel as they are recorded in massive volumes, very spread out. totally worth it though, i have all of his translations). whereas zen is totally reliant on teachings of individual zen masters and the same goes for vajrayana (ie. the practice is not recorded in full in their respective scriptures for said schools). if you try to just read all the mahayana scriptures (all written after the original scriptures were recorded) without reading any works by teachers of those sects or having an actual teacher, you will be lost in a mass of contradictions and confusion.for example if you read the lankavatara sutra you will learn vague ideas about meditating, then read the infinite life sutras and you will think you should be praying to amitabha, then read vajrayana stuff and you will think you should be praying to tibetan gods, practicing dream yoga, and spinning prayer wheels. the original teachings are reliant on THE BUDDHA'S teachings which are internally consistent and not confusing. they are about morality, meditation to still and gladden the mind (culminating in equanimity and higher states), and finally reflection on reality in order to see through it's constructs. they do not teach any other practices or worship of any "buddhas" or "gods", and there is no conflict from one sutta (sanskrit: sutra) to another. sounds like the right choice to me!i didn't even know this was the original teachings. this is a collection of texts from the oldest known record of the buddha's teachings (other than the agamas which are preserved in chinese and are of numerous schools and therefore less consistent, some as old as this, some newer, some of unknown origin, and so on), without these, there would be no buddhism. this is from the pali canon or pali tipitaka from the oldest surviving school the theravada.years and years i spent practicing versions of buddhism with little fruit.then i discovered the original and had rapid progress. it's a tried and true system. i have seen through reality on multiple occasions now.this book is indispensable. with this and some supplementary commentaries and maybe some web reading on jhana practice and insight reflection one could easily start to have great progress.final note: if you dedicate your life to some other tradition under a competent teacher, you MIGHT have some success. like go ordain in a zen monastery or at the very least spend a LOT of time with a zen teacher. i really don't know and i don't want to totally knock other traditions as supposedly they work if you take it that far. but if you are practicing mostly alone like most westerners, go with the original works by the buddha himself and commentaries and supplementary teachings on those works.this isn't just me talking either, 99% of zen and vajrayana teachers will tell you that you MUST have a teacher to progress. most theravada will say the same, but using the scriptures as your teacher is a viable and realistic option as long as you are diligent! whereas you cannot simply read mahayana/vajrayana scriptures and walk away with any kind of consistent or complete practice methodology.

Bikkhu Bodhi is well known for his output as an author, editor, and commentator (not to mention his reverence as a practitioner). This book is both beautiful to hold, and beautiful to read. The commentaries provided by Bodhi are concise, informative, and a joy to read, while the discourses themselves are presented in such a way as to be accessible, and relevant to the preceding introductions.The book is laid out well, with a clear survey of what is to follow. The reader is introduced to the core concepts and aims of each discourse, reading clearly how what they are about to read is intended to teach a certain principle. When reading the discourses that follow, the reader is therefore armed with a degree of context, which means the discourses have meaning akin to what they originally intended to convey.I was thoroughly impressed with the book's presentation, the commentary of Bodhi, and of course the discourses themselves. A wonderful edition to any library.

Want a well laid out anthology summarising what The Buddha actually said rather than other peoples well meant reinterpretations of what they think he said? Then buy this book. If you want to get as close as you can to what the Buddha actually taught to his followers and how he taught it then this is it. It is by far the best available overview of the original core Buddhist teachings from which all other strains of Buddhism developed. Discover the Buddhas actual teachings presented in his own words and introduce yourself to one of the most sensible, logical and genuinely life changing religions in existence. The philosophy outlined in this book is extraordinary and reading it will make a positive change to your outlook on life. The Pali canon is one of the oldest written records of the Buddhas words. It is also written in a language similar to that which the Buddha would have spoken. Therefore it is the most accurate record available of the words of one of the most remarkable human beings who ever lived. This is an excellent anthology of passages from the Pali Canon which gives a sound overview of its teachings organised into sections on each key theme. Buy it.

This volume is a valuable collection of teachings, arranged by theme, taken from the Pali Suttas. This work serves as both a fine introduction to the wider and voluminous Pali Suttas for those who are new to them and as a fine single volume summary for those already familiar with the work. Bhikkhu Bodhi has also, through the thematic structure he uses for his anthology, provided a helpful template and structure to aid the understanding of those who have read, or go on to read, the complete Suttas. The volume includes a useful introduction and each of the ten themed chapters is preceded by a helpful introduction/overview. The volume also includes useful notes and indices."A remarkable book. A gift to the world."- Andrew Olendzki, Executive Director of the Barre Center of Buddhist Studies, in Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's QuarterlyAlso of interest may be Bhikkhu Bodhi's wonderful collection of the Buddha's teachings specifically focusing on conflict resolution, interpersonal and social problem-solving, and the forging of harmonious relationships. These teachings are again drawn from the Pali Canon, and organized into ten thematic chapters.  The Buddha's Teaching on Social and Communal Harmony (Teachings of the Buddha) A number of the Suttas are also available in complete translations by Bhikkhu Bodhi:The  Connected Discourses of the Buddha: Samyutta Nikaya The Middle Length Sayings: Majjhima-Nikaya An Ancient Collection of Buddha's Discourses: The Suttanipata The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: Anguttara Nikaya The  Long Discourses of the Buddha: Digha-Nikaya  is also available in a translation by Maurice Walshe. The Buddha's Teaching on Social and Communal Harmony (Teachings of the Buddha)Connected Discourses of the Buddha: Samyutta NikayaThe Middle Length Sayings: Majjhima-NikayaAn Ancient Collection of Buddha's Discourses: The SuttanipataThe Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: Anguttara NikayaLong Discourses of the Buddha: Digha-Nikaya

Very good in its own right but hard going. An enjoyable, easier and insightful version of many of the major Sutras, in one book, is 'Awakening of the Heart' by Thich Nhat Hahn

Another magnificent piece of writing by Bhikkhu Bodhi, an absolute legend introducing and translating the teachings of the great teacher the Buddha to the western world, this book is a compilation and introduction to the amazing tales of the dhamma, if you are looking at this book what are you waiting for, trust me you wont regret it, it is truly amazing