The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya, 2 Vols. [Hardcover]

Bhikkhu Bodhi (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000

A complete translation of the Samyutta Nikaya--the third great collection of the Buddha's discourses preserved in the Pali Canon--containing all of the inportant short suttas on such major topics as the Four Nobel Truths, dependent origination, the seven factors of enlightenment, and the Nobel Eightfold Path.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...one of the richest and most important of all Buddhist texts. -- Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart

This new work will make accessible even more of the original teachings, offering guidance, instruction and inspiration on the path of awakening. -- Joseph Goldstein, author of Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom.

With painstaking care, the eminent Buddhist scholar monk, Bhikkhu Bodhi, has translated the 2889 discourses of the Buddha. No one is better qualified. Collected into their different themes, The Connected Discourses point the way to enlightenment. This book serves as one of the finest resources available for insight into the human condition. The Buddha addresses issues such as body/mind, daily life realities, suffering and joy, awareness and meditation. This book is rich in spiritual teachings, suitable for daily reflection, study, a manual for psychologists, a teaching guide at universities, and offering a wealth of benefits to anyone interested in the true heart of the Buddha's teachings. I regard it as an indispensable guide to an awakened life. With 2080 pages, it is an extraordinary publishing initiative. This book is worth every penny. Buy it. It is money well spent. " - Christopher Titmuss, author of Light on Enlightenment and An Awakened Life -- Christopher Titmuss, author of Light on Enlightenment and An Awakened Life

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 2080 pages
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0861711688
• ISBN-13: 978-0861711680
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.5 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,607,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new standard for English translations of Buddhist texts, November 24, 2000

By 

Roger H. Fisher - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya, 2 Vols. (Hardcover)

With the publication of this massive, two-volume text, American born and educated Bikkhu Bhodi presents to the English-speaking world the intellectual equivalent of the Hubble telescope. Peering through the gigantic lens one blinks a time or two in absolute amazement -- and then suddenly sees, with unprecedented clarity and brilliance, formerly unseen reaches of the spiritual cosmos. He beholds nothing less than the Light of Asia.

Virtually all Buddhists agree that the fundamental essence of the Buddha's teaching and doctrine is presented nowhere else as clearly as in the middle section of the Pali Tipitika, consisting primarily of the four great Nikayas. These works, of which the Samyutta Nikaya is the third, contain thousands of suttas in which are preserved the earliest (and probably most authentic) glimpses of the Buddha absorbed in carrying out his ministry. In these suttas we find him talking with anyone who showed real interest, and earnestly and persistently explaining to them his Dhamma. It is by reading these suttas that today's student comes as close as he is ever likely to get to studying that same Dhamma -- and in something like the Buddha's own words.

Efforts to translate Buddhist texts began within decades of the Buddha's death, and have never ended. Differing dialects within India itself necessitated the synthesis of a Buddhist lingua franca, and Pali was the result. Export of the doctrine outside India led to generation after generation of translators producing versions which could be comprehended in Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Tibet, Thailand, etc. However serious attempts to create texts for English-speaking persons began only about 125 years ago, and though great strides have been made since, much of it has also been shaky or frankly misleading.

This distinguished edition of the Samyutta Nikaya by Bikkhu Bhodi was preceded within the last fifteen years by outstanding translations of two other of the four great Nikayas, the Digha and the Majjhima, both also published by Wisdom. But as fine as each of these other publications certainly were, they are dramatically surpassed by this Samyutta, which sets an entirely new standard for English translations of any Buddhist work from any tradition or school.

Bhodi has relentlessly pursued properly nuanced and finessed English equivalents for the vast complexity of Buddhist doctrinal concepts, occasionally reversing practices he doggedly followed in earlier works. The result is a startling crisp, lucid text which inches us reassuringly closer to what might in time become the basis for a "standard" version of Theravada literature.

The reader is staggered by the Samyutta's encyclopedic scope. It not only covers vast conceptual territory but, as the title "Connected Discourses" suggests, it has a far tighter internal structure than the two preceding Nikayas. Thus large sections tend to be devoted to one after another of its fifty-six major unifying themes, including the chain of causation, the Four Noble Truths, the five aggregates, the six sense bases, the Noble Eightfold Path, etc. Often one main sutta reviews the unifying concept or theme, followed by several shorter suttas in which related topics or themes are presented and elaborated. Like mini-seminars, these groups of suttas are clearly designed to teach in a coherent, graduated way, and the avid reader/student is easily able to navigate between topics according to interest or need.

Supplementing the breadth and richness of the Samyutta's text itself, Bikkhu Bhodi has written an immense number of explanatory notes, and he precedes each major section or division with a lengthy, marvelously informative introduction to the relevant concepts and to the various suttas in which those concepts are presented. He has also devised a number of interesting and highly useful appendices, including some unique concordances (coordinating elements both internal and external to the Samyutta), and systematically identifies numerous "templates" based upon which many of the suttas turn out to have been constructed or designed.

As profound as this work is, it offers much to both the uninitiated as well as to the very advanced student. Bikkhu Bodhi suggests that the original compilers of the Samyutta Nikkaya may have had as one of their fundamental motives that of fashioning something of a "study syllabus," aimed at guiding insight meditators who were intent on achieving direct realization of the ultimate truth. This reflects lofty aims indeed, both on the part of the compilers and of their assumed audience. Because insight meditation remains today the preoccupation of so many, and because direct realization of ultimate truth is still a goal avidly sought by all Buddhists, this wonderful new Samyutta Nikaya could well emerge as the magnet needed to draw together practictioners and students from all orientations and from every level of advancement.

I am convinced, though, that in the end it will be the rare reader indeed, whatever he may be seeking and however acccomplished he may may already be in pursuit of that aim, who fails to be moved simply by the inherent beauty of this ancient text, the elegance of its pristine new translation, and the sheer weight of erudition which has been devoted to its preparation. Students of the Buddha -- and of the humanities in general -- are deeply indebted to Bhikkyu Bodhi for this triumphant work. It challenges us all by giving us so much to live up to.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing achievement and a precious gift, January 7, 2001

By 

Practitioner (Washington State, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya, 2 Vols. (Hardcover)

I can only express my profound gratitude, joy, and wonder over Bhikku Bodhi's marvelous translation of "The Connected Discourses of the Buddha." What a treasure trove exists here! These texts will provide a lifetime of study, reflection, meditation, and guidance for all serious students of the Buddha's teachings. They are beautifully put together, thoroughly referenced and explicated, and translated with a great depth of understanding and obvious love. This book is not only a classic work of translation but also, for the serious practitioner, a priceless boon. To have access, in this day and age and in English, to the canonical literature that almost certainly most accurately reflects the actual words of the Buddha, and in such a beautiful and authortative version, is a great benefit. Many, many heartfelt thanks to Bhikku Bodhi and Wisdom Publications for this tremendous achievement !

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dense and redundant, but quality, September 23, 2001

By 

JeffWW - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya, 2 Vols. (Hardcover)

If you're looking to experience as close as possible what it was like to sit in the forest and listen to the Buddha's dharma talks, this will get you there. But did the Buddha really repeat himself so much? It's common to see passages repeated in Buddhist sutras, but boy these really take the cake. This is a huge, rich work, to be in my library for a lifetime.