In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (The Teachings of the Buddha) Paperback – July 28, 2005
by Bhikkhu Bodhi (Author), His Holiness the Dalai Lama (Foreword)
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Part of: The Teachings of the Buddha (7 Books)
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"I am sure that many people will benefit from In the Buddha's Words." -- Thich Nhat Hanh
"A remarkable book. In the Buddha's Words is an anthology drawing primarily of the first four [widely available translations of collections of the Buddha's spoken teachings], and manages quite successfully to both summarize them and extract their essence. [ . . . ] Although this material has been available for some time now, one of the things that has remained a difficulty for many readers is its complexity and scope. In the Buddha's Words provides a framework with which to see the teachings' overall structure, and it does so in a skillful way. Bhikkhu Bodhi's introductions alone, strung together, would themselves serve as a beautiful and accessible overview of the dhamma. [ . . . ] I think this anthology will rapidly become the sourcebook of choice for both neophyte and serious student alike. In the Buddha's Words reveals the mature understanding of someone who has not only a complete mastery of his material, but also of someone who has deeply understood the nature and intention of the dhamma and who shares it with us as an expression of his own caring. This publication will be very much welcomed by Western meditators and students of the dhamma. [ . . . ] Any amount of study or practice that helps to deepen wisdom and assist us to emerge from layers of delusion is precious. This book could contribute to this enterprise more than almost anything else in print. It gives us access to the very texture of the dhamma, the specific words and phrases, which guided and inspired the Buddha's original students. Bhikkhu Bodhi has created a framework upon which he has placed the key elements of the dhamma for all to plainly see and investigate for themselves. With a map of such clarity in hand, one may tread the landscape with confidence. Those for whom the Buddha's teaching is a living tradition will find this book to be a dear friend and spiritual companion. My overall response to the work is one of gratitude--to the author, the translator and editor, the publisher, and all the other helpers and benefactors who have contributed to making this gift to the world." -- Andrew Olendzki, Executive Director of the Barre Center of Buddhist Studies -- excerpted from a three-page review in Buddhadharma
"As close as we'll get to the original teachings and account of the life of the Buddha.", Tricycle
"Congratulations and gratitude to Wisdom for the new publication In the Buddha's Words--if someone relatively new to Buddhism were to buy only one book, this should be it!" -- Jean Smith, author of NOW! and editor of 365 Zen
"In the Buddha's Words has ten chapters, each with an insightful introduction and a handful of sutras, many newly translated, edited and condensed to make them more manageable for the non-scholar. The book begins with a rich explanatory General Introduction that alone would be worth the purchase of the book.", Right View magazine, from the Mid-America Buddhist Association
From the Back Cover
This landmark collection is the definitive introduction to the Buddha’s teachings—in his own words. The American scholar-monk Bhikkhu Bodhi, whose voluminous translations have won widespread acclaim, here presents selected discourses of the Buddha from the P›li Canon, the earliest record of what the Buddha taught. Divided into ten thematic chapters, In the Buddha’s Words reveals the full scope of the Buddha’s discourses, from family life and marriage to renunciation and the path of insight. A concise, informative introduction precedes each chapter, guiding the reader toward a deeper understanding of the texts that follow.
In the Buddha’s Words allows even readers unacquainted with Buddhism to grasp the significance of the Buddha’s contributions to our world heritage. Taken as a whole, these texts bear eloquent testimony to the breadth and intelligence of the Buddha’s teachings, and point the way to an ancient yet ever-vital path. Students and seekers alike will find this systematic presentation indispensable.
About the Author
Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. Born in northeastern Tibet in 1935, he was as a toddler recognized as the incarnation of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama and brought to Tibet's capital, Lhasa. In 1950, Mao Zedong's Communist forces made their first incursions into eastern Tibet, shortly after which the young Dalai Lama assumed the political leadership of his country. In 1959, Chinese forces occupied the city, forcing His Holiness to escape to India. There he set up the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, working to secure the welfare of the more than 100,000 Tibetan exiles and prevent the destruction of Tibetan culture. In his capacity as a spiritual and political leader, he has traveled to more than sixty-two countries on six continents and met with presidents, popes, and leading scientists to foster dialogue and create a better world. In recognition of his tireless work for the nonviolent liberation of Tibet, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. In 2012, he relinquished political authority in his exile government and turned it over to democratically elected representatives. He is the author of numerous books, including The Good Heart, The Meaning of Life, The World of Tibetan Buddhism, and The Compassionate Life.
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Product details
Item Weight : 1.51 pounds
Paperback : 512 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-0861714919
Product dimensions : 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
Publisher : Wisdom Publications; Fifth Printing edition (July 28, 2005)
Language: : English
Best Sellers Rank: #14,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#3 in Buddhist Sacred Writings (Books)
#5 in Theravada Buddhism (Books)
#6 in Dalai Lama
Customer Reviews: 4.7 out of 5 stars 656 ratings
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bhikkhu bodhi pali canon buddhas words buddha knew his teachings bhikku bodhi highly recommend teachings of the buddha human condition dalai lama sutta pitaka years ago anyone interested pali cannon buddhist teachings noble truths theravada buddhist easy to read bikkhu bodhi new age mahayana and vajrayana
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BingBong
5.0 out of 5 stars The most important Buddhist book in the English language.
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2018
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I have been Buddhist for 10 years. I have read many of these suttas, and many Mahayana suttas as well. I have been searching for a book like this for a decade and finally found it. The “first discourse” sutta containing the 8 fold path and 4 truths, and the “4 foundations of mindfulness” sutta are both in this book. Those are 2 of the most defining and important Buddhist scriptures. As far as I know this is the only published book on earth , in English, that has both of these sutras in it. Buddhists have a scripture presentation deficit. The scripture is wonderful but there is too much and it is poorly organized. This book fixes that for me and I will be forever great full. There are many internet memes and things that claim to be said by Buddha but they are never cited. And there are far too many books out there about what Buddhism is without scripture as evidence. This book is what Buddhism is. From the source. Makes all those other books obsolete. Thank you.
106 people found this helpful
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Cynthia Brown
4.0 out of 5 stars Love the translation, but way over-compressed
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2019
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First of all I am not a religious scholar - I am an ordinary person trying to read up on the origins of Buddhism. I gave this four stars because of all of the work that went into the translation. However, and this is significant to me, the editing went way too far in terms of cutting out text deemed to be repetitive. The repetition has a purpose: to ingrain the concepts in the reader / listener's mind, and this particular edition does not meet that need for me.
As an example, many passages describe a concept as it relates to the six senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and mind. The text will usually read something like Sight <complete discussion>, Hearing ... Mind ... <wrap-up> (the ... are the editor's, not mine). In other words, the complete discussion is only there once, for the first example. If you are reading this as someone investigating early Buddhism for personal reasons, this is jarring and completely disrupts the flow of the sutta. I choose to read the unabridged Mark Twain / Alexandre Dumas because I want to read the author's full words; I was hoping for this here but was disappointed with the amount of .ZIP in the editing.
The unabridged version should be made available, at least for the Kindle where page count is not an issue.
21 people found this helpful
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Consumer
5.0 out of 5 stars It's all in here
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2015
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I have the other translations of the Nikayas, but continue to return to this anthology because it contains all the dhamma that is needed for practice. When I first came to Buddhism, I thought that by reading hundreds of suttas, I would be closer to understanding and attainment. I spent much time reading the nikaya collections, and should not have done that.
Once I began to practice more, and learn from monastics, I realized that maybe there is such a thing as too much sutta study. The Buddha did not recommend studying our way to enlightenment, as if this was a college degree. That's why it's great that BB has made this anthology in such a way that it captures everything of major importance from the suttas and we don't need to spend all of our time reading the nikayas to piece things together. He has done that for us here.
I recommend reading this anthology, then go find a monastic to help you with practice rather than continuing on to read the bigger collections in this series.
56 people found this helpful
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Carter Wood
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource for advancing your Buddhist studies.
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2015
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Once again, Bhikkhu Bodhi has proven himself to be one of the most helpful Buddhist writers today. I bought a copy of the Majjhima Nikaya (The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha) and although it is an excellent translation, I found it quite inaccessible. This is the problem with the Pali Canon for people who aren't high caliber Buddhist scholars. You could read that book from cover to cover, but because there is so little organization and structure it's difficult to understand Buddhism as a unified whole - you just get pieces of it in the suttas without understanding how it all fits together in a comprehensible framework. Fortunately, Bhikkhu Bodhi understood this problem and found a solution: In the Buddha's Words. Basically, he arranged sections of the Pali Canon into a format that explains everything in an organized way. It's a thorough explanation of Buddhist teachings that, because they're directly quoted from the Pali Canon, are in the Buddha's own words. For example, one of the ten main chapters was The Way to a Fortunate Rebirth, so he took sections from the Pali Canon that explain this topic in detail. I would, however, highly recommend that you already be familiar with the basics of Buddhism before reading this book. Excellent Book.
55 people found this helpful
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Mr Newman
5.0 out of 5 stars The best introduction to what the Buddha himself thought and taught
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 28, 2016
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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.
13 people found this helpful
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Matt Jenkins
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fine Anthology
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 15, 2012
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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 Quarterly
Also 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.
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35 people found this helpful
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Hannah
3.0 out of 5 stars Hard Going
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 16, 2019
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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
4 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Buddha Vacana
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2018
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As I am yet to master the Pali language I greatly appreciate these translations of the early Buddhist teachings.
Delivery was well ahead of schedule.
Thank you
2 people found this helpful
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S. Mark St.Ear
5.0 out of 5 stars A flavour of the Pali Canon
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 22, 2013
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This is the book I've been looking for for a few years. It has selections from sutras ranging in length from a paragraph to a few pages. Arranged thematically in 10 chapters, Bikkhu Bodhi has done a magnificent job of presenting an overview of the Buddha's teaching. He introduces each chapter with an incisive introduction, and this book has left me better informed and hungry to explore the Pali Canon more extensively.
Superb!
3 people found this helpful
