The Buddha traces the entire progress of a disciple from the first step on the path to the attainment of Nibbana in this second sutta of the Sutta Pitaka, one of the most elevating of the Buddha's discourses. On a full-moon night in Autumn, in reply to a question asked by King Ajatasattu of Magadha, the Buddha expounds the visible fruits of the Buddhist monk's life, sketching the progress of the disciple. "Originating in response to a question whether the life of a recluse is capable of yielding fruits that are visible here and now, the Sāmaññaphala Sutta is intended to explain to the secular world at large why so many “young men of good family” (and women as well) chose to leave behind their homes, wealth, loved ones, and status in order to follow the Sage of the Sakyan clan into homelessness." —Bhikkhu Bodhi
The Brahmajala, one of the Buddha’s most important discourses, weaves a net of sixty-two cases capturing all the speculative views on the self and the world. The massive commentary and subcommentary allow for a close in-depth study of the work. The book contains a lengthy treatise on the Theravada conception of the Bodhisattva ideal. The long introduction is itself a modern philosophical commentary on the sutta.
he Mahanidana Sutta is the Buddha’s longest discourse on dependent arising, often taken to be the key to his entire teaching. The commentary treats this doctrine according to the Abhidhamma method, explained in an appendix. A penetrative introduction lays bare the sutta’s structure and the philosophical significance of dependent arising.
Compiled and translated by Nyanaponika Thera Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 30 November 2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nyanaponika/wheel026.html
This profound and difficult discourse of the Buddha aims at exposing and eliminating the concept of the ego at its most fundamental level. The commentary offers a detailed explanation of the sutta while a long introduction investigates the text's meaning and its implications for philosophy and psychology.
This is the eBook of the BPE edition of Tranquillity & Insight. The pragmatic nature of the Buddha's teaching makes it perennially relevant to all times, and perhaps especially useful for coping with the difficulties of the present age. Leaving aside metaphysical and theological considerations, the Buddha's teaching focuses on what each person can do here and now to overcome the roots of suffering. The heart of this teaching is meditation, which aims at two goals: the calming down of the restless mind and the arousing of insight into the true nature of existence. The present widely acclaimed book explains the methods of Buddhist meditation in a concise yet complete account according to the oldest Buddhist tradition, that based on the Pali Canon. The aim of the book is essentially practical. While providing all the information necessary to proper understanding, the stress is on the need for practice and personal commitment. This work will both instruct the beginner and inspire the experienced meditator. "An excellent reference book ... Will appeal to beginners and non-beginners alike, and will meet the need for a more readable publication in this complex field of spiritual activity." -Buddhist Studies Review
The Buddha's teachings center around two basic principles. One is the Four Noble Truths, in which the Buddha diagnoses the problem of suffering and indicates the treatment necessary to remedy this problem. The other is the Noble Eightfold Path, the practical discipline he prescribes to uproot and eliminate the deep underlying causes of suffering. The present book offers, in simple and clear language, a concise yet thorough explanation of the Eightfold Path. Basing himself solidly upon the Buddha's own words, the author examines each factor of the path to determine exactly what it implies in the way of practical training. Finally, in the concluding chapter, he shows how all eight factors of the path function in unison to bring about the realization of the Buddhist goal: enlightenment and liberation.
"This book helps to fill what has long been a glaring gap in the scholarship of early Buddhism, offering us a detailed textual study of the Satipatthāna Sutta, the foundational Buddhist discourse on meditation practice."--Back cover.
This volume offers a complete translation of the Samyutta Nikaya, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, the third of the four great collections in the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali Canon. The Samyutta Nikaya consists of fifty-six chapters, each governed by a unifying theme that binds together the Buddha's suttas or discourses. The chapters are organized into five major parts. The first, The Book with Verses, is a compilation of suttas composed largely in verse. This book ranks as one of the most inspiring compilations in the Buddhist canon, showing the Buddha in his full grandeur as the peerless "teacher of gods and humans." The other four books deal in depth with the philosophical principles and meditative structures of early Buddhism. They combine into orderly chapters all the important short discourses of the Buddha on such major topics as dependent origination, the five aggregates, the six sense bases, the seven factors of enlightenment, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the Four Noble Truths. Among the four large Nikayas belonging to the Pali Canon, the Samyutta Nikaya serves as the repository for the many shorter suttas of the Buddha where he discloses his radical insights into the nature of reality and his unique path to spiritual emancipation. This collection, it seems, was directed mainly at those disciples who were capable of grasping the deepest dimensions of wisdom and of clarifying them for others, and also provided guidance to meditators intent on consummating their efforts with the direct realization of the ultimate truth. The present work begins with an insightful general introduction to the Samyutta Nikaya as a whole. Each of the five parts is also provided with its own introduction, intended to guide the reader through this vast, ocean-like collection of suttas. To further assist the reader, the translator has provided an extensive body of notes clarifying various problems concerning both the language and the mean
