Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Thank you to Bhikku Bodhi for his tremendous effort. If you are a serious practitioner, especially a lone practitioner as I am, this book is invaluable for making available the undiluted teachings of the Buddha himself. Most of the books in my Buddhist library have been helpful to some extent or other but most are explanations of the teachings, i.e. the Buddha's words once-removed. I rank very highly What the Buddha Taught, by Walpola Rahula. This book is much more extensive. It is also more accessible than The Middle Length Discourses (trans. Bhiddhu Nanamoli and Bhiddhu Bodhi) because it is organized into general topics, such as "The Human Condition" and "Mastering the Mind." Highly recommended as a life reference.

This book is written in clear and understandable English. It gives very understandable explanations of all major Buddhist Dhamma teachings while avoiding all the mythology that entered Buddhism in the later centuries. This summary of the Pali Canon is very close to the original Buddha of history. You will find how to over come greed, hatred, and delusion by over coming clinging and the false view of self. It has the greatest explanation of the Noble Eightfold path I have ever read. The Four Noble truths are the main theme of these scriptures. If you have already read the Dhammapada and have some understanding of Buddhism then buy this for the advanced learning. However this book is not for beginners and non-Buddhists may not be able to grasp it. Bhikkhu Boddhi has written wonderful introductions to each section that really prepare you to receive the teachings. 5 Stars, thank you Bhikkhu.

It seems there are many books telling us how the Budda would date, eat, work...etc. These books may be helpful, but why not get as close to the original sources as possible? Unfortunately the Suttas (or sutras...the collected rememberances of the Buddas talks) can be overwhelming for many of us because of their vast number, the repetitive language, the obscure references, and they are not anthologized in a helpful way. In this book you have exerpts of the most foundational suttas. They are presented in chapters related by topic and each chapter has a wonderful introduction. The structure is oriented towards practice - ethical training, meditation, and wisdom. If you are looking for a book that is beyond a basic introduction and can be a touchstone for your own development - this could be a book you could work with for years to come. I can't recommend it highly enough

I own many of the longer and complete translations of the Pali Canon available now and have spent years studying and teaching, to the best of my ability, the contents and character of each. What I find most useful about Bhikkhu Bohdi's anthology is it's concise and focused selection of Suttas and the logic of the overall outline, making it an extremely useful learning tool of the heart of Buddhism. Also, I took an extended trip recently and this was the only book of scripture I took along. It's physical size combined with the translations themselves and Bhikkhu Bodhi's erudite and clear commentary made this a wonderful traveling companion. If your Buddhist library can hold only one book, I highly recommend this volume.

After having read a few books on buddhism, which caused some confusion around what Buddhist (would) say, what they believe and what Buddha actually said, I found this book fundamental. I was alway afraid of the long long sutras - and I almost gave up reading the original words of Buddha. Now I think there is no better introduction to Buddhism than the real source. After this, explanations and summaries of buddhism are easier to grasp and judge. But I needed a good introduction to it. It was this book.

I particularly liked the sensible 'shortenings', i.e. when repetitions are omitted. It might be strange for the first time, but you soon get used to it and it makes sense. It is a thick book anyway with many essential areas of what Buddha said to the lay people and to monks and to this own disciples. A wonderful compilation.

Anybody interested in pursuing an understanding of Buddhism and Buddhist teachings can tell you how overwhelming it can be to try to sift through the religious texts. First of all, the Pali canon is quite huge, such that it would take a lifetime to read and absorb it all, and the printed versions of it (in Pali, there is still no complete English translation) are anywhere from 35 to 58 volumes. From this vast ocean of scripture Bhikkhu Bodhi effectively organizes it into chapters based on major points of doctrine. Each chapter has a few pages of Bhikkhu Bodhi's own interpretation and explanation, but the bulk of the book is devoted to the scripture. I highly recommend it to anybody who wants to better understand Buddhism (including Mahayana Buddhism). As for those who are as intensely interested in Theravada Buddhism as I am, I would say that this book, along with a good translation of the Dhammapada, is essential.

An excellent overview of the sutras (suttas in Pali) which gives more than an excellent introduction to the entire tipitaka of the Pali scriptures. If you have time to read only one book on the Buddhist scriptures, this is the one.

I bought this based on the previous customer comments, and I was not disappointed. This is a very nice, compact, volume. Topical organization and introductory sections are very helpful to me as a newcomer to Buddhism. Heavy repetitions have been omitted, making the suttas very easy to read without compromising the integrity of the message. I highly recommend this volume to new practitioners or students of Buddhism.

According to one survey, it was said that America produces many
millionaires each year.

Supposing that you are one of the lucky one, you earn the wealth righteously and you are also a Buddhist. What is the right view that you should hold in dealing with the wealth acquired?

This is the million dollars question and of course many enthusiastic people would shower you lots of unsolicited advice.

Beware! Beware!

Their intentions are good but the advices may not necessarily correct and accurate if you examine them closely.

So, what did the Buddha say about the million dollars question?

It is fortunate that now we can refer to the wonderful book entitled "In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Cannon", compiled by highly respected America born Bhikkhu Bodhi. This book collects many important teachings by the Buddha. In essence, this book is for anyone who wishes to gain benefits by practicing Dhamma that leads to happy present life, happy future life and the ultimate good.

From time to time, the past and living masters always caution the believers not to get trapped in the big palace of Buddhist suttas or sutras in Sanskrit. This book provides an invaluable map to those who wish to find the way out in this majestic palace. Whatever level of spiritual goal you have in mind, you can rely on this map to reach your destination.

Surprisingly, many other advices of similar nature can be found. For example, how to be united in future lives for husband and wife who are deeply in love, how to repay one's parent etc. In my opinion, this book has convincingly dispelled the common wrongly held belief that Buddha only teaches the Dhamma for the people who renounce. As shown in this book, many of Buddha's teachings are for those who still stuck in the routine of worldly life!

For those who do not have to worry about the million dollars question and wonder why this book is special, perhaps you can listen to what H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama has said in the forward:

"What I find especially encouraging about this book is that it shows so clearly how much fundamentally all schools of Buddhism have in common. I congratulate Bikkhu Bodhi for the careful work of compilation and translation"

What about the answer to the million dollars question mentioned earlier?

The answer can be found in Pg 126-127 under the heading "The Proper use of Wealth". Let's preview the details of the first out of the four sound advices given:

"With the wealth thus gained he makes himself happy and pleased and properly maintains himself in happiness; he makes his parents happy and pleased and properly maintains them in happiness; he makes his wife and children, his slaves, workers and servants happy and pleased and properly maintains them in happiness; he makes friends and colleagues happy and pleased and properly maintains them in happiness. This is the first case of wealth gone to good use, fruitfully applied and used for a worthy cause"

How amazing! Not only the servants, even the slaves are supposed to be included for sharing. Remember, these words were spoken twenty five hundreds years ago.

Of course, after earning a million, you might want more. The answer can be found in the fourth advice.

I strongly encourage you to find out straight from the mouth of the Buddha!


About the reviewer:

Benjamin F C TENG PhD, was born in Singapore. Currently, he is working as associate professor in engineering in a university at San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA. He is a sangha member of two Tibetan Buddhist centers (Email: tengfc@yahoo.com).

The Pali canon is enormous, heterogenous, and alien-sounding. This book is a wonderful introduction to the general themes and ideas in that canon. It includes bits of texts (as well as many complete suttas) from all five Nikayas, along with helpful introductory essays and valuable notes. This book is a wonderful introduction to "Hinayana" Buddhism, which is all too often portrayed as an obsolete, simple-minded form of Buddhism best ignored in favor of Mahayana or Vajrayana systems. This book shows, for example, that the idea of the Bodhisattva was not an invention of Mahayanins and that lovingkindness is at least as important in Hinayana as in Mahayana (see, e.g., the "cow's udder" reading from the Anguttara Nikaya on pp. 178-79). I cannot think of a better entree into Buddhism than the Buddha's own words, and with Bhikkhu Bodhi's layout of and commentary on these texts, those words really have a chance to shine.