The Great Disciples of the Buddha: Their Lives, Their Works, Their Legacy (Hardcover)

~ Nyanaponika Thera (Author), Hellmuth Hecker (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Like Jesus's apostles...the main disciples of the historic Buddha were transformed by his awe-inspiring spiritual force!

Product Details

• Hardcover: 411 pages
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications (October 25, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0861711289
• ISBN-13: 978-0861711284
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,408,026 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, Inspiring and Moving, December 6, 2000

By	Ahmed Siraj (New Mexico, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

One has to read the work on Sariputta and Ananda to know that great virtues do live in the heart of mankinds. Especially at the reading of 'Last Debt Paid' concerning to last days of Sariputta, I cannot help but to be moved by the details of the event. Each reading, makes me feel the presence of the Great Disciples near me. So inspiring and motivating. A good read and re-read for the future. A must have!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book. Brings a lot of hard to find material together., August 23, 1999

By A Customer

This book saves everybody a lot of searching around. It covers the main Disciples of the Buddha plus a number of Disciples not particularly well known in the Buddhist Lay Community, every Monastic I know who has read it, applauds it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Priceless, February 28, 2004

By	Swing King (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Disciples of the Buddha: Their Lives, Their Works. Their Legacy (Paperback)

This is a really good resource for anyone interested in expanding their knowledge in addition to the prose of all the ancient Pali texts. As the title of this book suggests, what you are setting out to read here is ultimately an exploration into the careers and character of the Buddha's greatest disciples. He covers tough subjects such as their ambiguous and esoteric past lives and their aspirations towards enlightenment. Sometimes Nyanaponika, when possible, gives us an account as to the nature of the individual's death. For anyone who studies the Pali Cannon, or who wants to further their understanding of Buddhist theological history - this is your book.

The lives depicted here demonstrate that indeed upholding spiritual ideals are apparently documented as having paid off. And not necessarily by means of having gained some "thing." Here are examples of people who struggled against their human existence as much as we all do. Only through faith in the Buddhist path and their practice, were they able to transverse the mundane realm of existence into the realm of the spiritually noble. What a wonderful book we have here. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.