In the Buddha's Words: an anthology of discourses from the Pali Canon
In the Buddha's Words: an anthology of discourses from the Pali Canon
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ISBN / SKU
9780861714919
Format
Paperback
Pages
496
Dimensions
225 x 150
Category/ies
Description
The works of the Buddha can feel vast, and it is sometimes difficult for even longtime students to know where to look, especially since the Buddha never explicitly defined the framework behind his teachings. Designed to provide just such a framework, In the Buddha's Words is an anthology of the Buddha's works that has been specifically compiled by a celebrated scholar and translator. For easy reference, the book is arrayed in ten thematic sections ranging from "The Human Condition" to "Mastering the Mind" to "The Planes of Realization." Each section comes with introductions, notes, and essays to help beginners and experts alike draw greater meaning from the Buddha's words. The book also features a general introduction by the author that fully lays out how and why he has arranged the Buddha's teachings in this volume. This thoughtful compilation is a valuable resource for both teachers and those who want to read the Buddha on their own.
PRAISE
"I am sure that many people will benefit from 'In the Buddha's Words.'"
—Thich Nhat Hanh, author of Anger, Peace is Every Step, and Living Buddha, Living Christ
Excerpted from a three-page review in Buddhadharma:
"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, in Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly
"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
PRAISE
"I am sure that many people will benefit from 'In the Buddha's Words.'"
—Thich Nhat Hanh, author of Anger, Peace is Every Step, and Living Buddha, Living Christ
Excerpted from a three-page review in Buddhadharma:
"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, in Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly
"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
Contents
Foreword vii
Preface ix
List of Abbreviations xiv
Key to the Pronunciation of Pali xv
Detailed List of Contents xvii
General Introduction 1
I. The Human Condition 17
II. The Bringer of Light 41
III. Approaching the Dhamma 79
IV. The Happiness Visible in This Present Life 105
V. The Way to a Fortunate Rebirth 143
VI. Deepening One’s Perspective on the World 181
VII. The Path to Liberation 221
VIII. Mastering the Mind 255
IX. Shining the Light of Wisdom 299
X. The Planes of Realization 371
Notes 425
Table of Sources 459
Glossary 469
Bibliography 471
Index of Subjects 475
Index of Proper Names 481
Index of Similes 483
Index of Pali Terms Discussed
Detailed List of Contents
I. The Human Condition
Introduction 19
1. Old Age, Illness, and Death
(1) Aging and Death (SN 3:3) 26
(2) The Simile of the Mountain (SN 3:25) 26
(3) The Divine Messengers (from AN 3:35) 29
2. The Tribulations of Unreflective Living
(1) The Dart of Painful Feeling (SN 36:6) 31
(2) The Vicissitudes of Life (AN 8:6) 32
(3) Anxiety Due to Change (SN 22:7) 33
3. A World in Turmoil
(1) The Origin of Conflict (AN 2: iv, 6, abridged) 35
(2) Why Do Beings Live in Hate? (from DN 21) 35
(3) The Dark Chain of Causation (from DN 15) 36
(4) The Roots of Violence and Oppression (from AN 3:69) 36
4. Without Discoverable Beginning
(1) Grass and Sticks (SN 15:1) 37
(2) Balls of Clay (SN 15:2) 37
(3) The Mountain (SN 15:5) 38
(4) The River Ganges (SN 15:8) 38
(5) Dog on a Leash (SN 22:99) 39
II. The Bringer of Light
Introduction 43
1. One Person (AN 1: xiii, 1, 5, 6) 50
xvii
2. The Buddha’s Conception and Birth (MN 123, abridged) 50
3. The Quest for Enlightenment
(1) Seeking the Supreme State of Sublime Peace
(from MN 26) 54
(2) The Realization of the Three True Knowledges
(from MN 36) 59
(3) The Ancient City (SN 12:65) 67
4. The Decision to Teach (from MN 26) 69
5. The First Discourse (SN 56:11) 75
III. Approaching the Dhamma
Introduction 81
1. Not a Secret Doctrine (AN 3:129) 88
2. No Dogmas or Blind Belief (AN 3:65) 88
3. The Visible Origin and Passing Away of Suffering (SN 42:11) 91
4. Investigate the Teacher Himself (MN 47) 93
5. Steps toward the Realization of Truth (from MN 95) 96
IV. The Happiness Visible in This Present Life
Introduction 107
1. Upholding the Dhamma in Society
(1) The King of the Dhamma (AN 3:14) 115
(2) Worshipping the Six Directions (from DN 31) 116
2. The Family
(1) Parents and Children
(a) Respect for Parents (AN 4:63) 118
(b) Repaying One’s Parents (AN 2: iv, 2) 119
(2) Husbands and Wives
(a) Different Kinds of Marriages (AN 4:53) 119
(b) How to Be United in Future Lives (AN 4:55) 121
(c) Seven Kinds of Wives (AN 7:59) 122
xviii In the Buddha’s Words
3. Present Welfare, Future Welfare (AN 8:54) 124
4. Right Livelihood
(1) Avoiding Wrong Livelihood (AN 5:177) 126
(2) The Proper Use of Wealth (AN 4:61) 126
(3) A Family Man’s Happiness (AN 4:62) 127
5. The Woman of the Home (AN 8:49) 128
6. The Community
(1) Six Roots of Dispute (from MN 104) 130
(2) Six Principles of Cordiality (from MN 104) 131
(3) Purification Is for All Four Castes (MN 93, abridged) 132
(4) Seven Principles of Social Stability (from DN 16) 137
(5) The Wheel-Turning Monarch (from DN 26) 139
(6) Bringing Tranquillity to the Land (from DN 5) 141
V. The Way to a Fortunate Rebirth
Introduction 145
1. The Law of Kamma
(1) Four Kinds of Kamma (AN 4:232) 155
(2) Why Beings Fare as They Do after Death (MN 41) 156
(3) Kamma and Its Fruits (MN 135) 161
2. Merit: The Key to Good Fortune
(1) Meritorious Deeds (It 22) 166
(2) Three Bases of Merit (AN 8:36) 167
(3) The Best Kinds of Confidence (AN 4:34) 168
3. Giving
(1) If People Knew the Result of Giving (It 26) 169
(2) Reasons for Giving (AN 8:33) 169
(3) The Gift of Food (AN 4:57) 170
(4) A Superior Person’s Gifts (AN 5:148) 170
(5) Mutual Support (It 107) 171
Detailed List of Contents xix
(6) Rebirth on Account of Giving (AN 8:35) 171
4. Moral Discipline
(1) The Five Precepts (AN 8:39) 172
(2) The Uposatha Observance (AN 8:41) 174
5. Meditation
(1) The Development of Loving-Kindness (It 27) 176
(2) The Four Divine Abodes (from MN 99) 177
(3) Insight Surpasses All (AN 9:20, abridged) 178
VI. Deepening One’s Perspective on the World
Introduction 183
1. Four Wonderful Things (AN 4:128) 191
2. Gratification, Danger, and Escape
(1) Before My Enlightenment (AN 3:101 §§1–2) 192
(2) I Set Out Seeking (AN 3:101 §3) 192
(3) If There Were No Gratification (AN 3:102) 193
3. Properly Appraising Objects of Attachment (MN 13) 193
4. The Pitfalls in Sensual Pleasures
(1) Cutting Off All Affairs (from MN 54) 199
(2) The Fever of Sensual Pleasures (from MN 75) 202
5. Life Is Short and Fleeting (AN 7:70) 206
6. Four Summaries of the Dhamma (from MN 82) 207
7. The Danger in Views
(1) A Miscellany on Wrong View (AN 1: xvii, 1, 3, 7, 9) 213
(2) The Blind Men and the Elephant (Ud 6:4) 214
(3) Held by Two Kinds of Views (It 49) 215
8. From the Divine Realms to the Infernal (AN 4:125) 216
9. The Perils of Samsara
(1) The Stream of Tears (SN 15:3) 218
(2) The Stream of Blood (SN 15:13) 219
xx In the Buddha’s Words
VII. The Path to Liberation
Introduction 223
1. Why Does One Enter the Path?
(1) The Arrow of Birth, Aging, and Death (MN 63) 230
(2) The Heartwood of the Spiritual Life (MN 29) 233
(3) The Fading Away of Lust (SN 45:41–48, combined) 238
2. Analysis of the Eightfold Path (SN 45:8) 239
3. Good Friendship (SN 45:2) 240
4. The Graduated Training (MN 27) 241
5. The Higher Stages of Training with Similes (from MN 39) 250
VIII. Mastering the Mind
Introduction 257
1. The Mind Is the Key (AN 1: iii, 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10) 267
2. Developing a Pair of Skills
(1) Serenity and Insight (AN 2: iii, 10) 267
(2) Four Ways to Arahantship (AN 4:170) 268
(3) Four Kinds of Persons (AN 4:94) 269
3. The Hindrances to Mental Development (SN 46:55, abridged) 270
4. The Refinement of the Mind (AN 3:100 §§1–10) 273
5. The Removal of Distracting Thoughts (MN 20) 275
6. The Mind of Loving-Kindness (from MN 21) 278
7. The Six Recollections (AN 6:10) 279
8. The Four Establishments of Mindfulness (MN 10) 281
9. Mindfulness of Breathing (SN 54:13) 290
10. The Achievement of Mastery (SN 28:1–9, combined) 296
IX. Shining the Light of Wisdom
Introduction 301
1. Images of Wisdom
Detailed List of Contents xxi
(1) Wisdom as a Light (AN 4:143) 321
(2) Wisdom as a Knife (from MN 146) 321
2. The Conditions for Wisdom (AN 8:2, abridged) 322
3. A Discourse on Right View (MN 9) 323
4. The Domain of Wisdom
(1) By Way of the Five Aggregates
(a) Phases of the Aggregates (SN 22:56) 335
(b) A Catechism on the Aggregates (SN 22:82 =
MN 109, abridged) 338
(c) The Characteristic of Nonself (SN 22:59) 341
(d) Impermanent, Suffering, Nonself (SN 22:45) 342
(e) A Lump of Foam (SN 22:95) 343
(2) By Way of the Six Sense Bases
(a) Full Understanding (SN 35:26) 345
(b) Burning (SN 35:28) 346
(c) Suitable for Attaining Nibbana (SN 35:147–49,
combined) 346
(d) Empty Is the World (SN 35:85) 347
(e) Consciousness Too Is Nonself (SN 35:234) 348
(3) By Way of the Elements
(a) The Eighteen Elements (SN 14:1) 349
(b) The Four Elements (SN 14:37–39, combined) 349
(c) The Six Elements (from MN 140) 350
(4) By Way of Dependent Origination
(a) What Is Dependent Origination? (SN 12:1) 353
(b) The Stableness of the Dhamma (SN 12:20) 353
(c) Forty-Four Cases of Knowledge (SN 12:33) 355
(d) A Teaching by the Middle (SN 12:15) 356
(e) The Continuance of Consciousness (SN 12:38) 357
(f) The Origin and Passing of the World (SN 12:44) 358
xxii In the Buddha’s Words
(5) By Way of the Four Noble Truths
(a) The Truths of All Buddhas (SN 56:24) 359
(b) These Four Truths Are Actual (SN 56:20) 359
(c) A Handful of Leaves (SN 56:31) 360
(d) Because of Not Understanding (SN 56:21) 361
(e) The Precipice (SN 56:42) 361
(f) Making the Breakthrough (SN 56:32) 362
(g) The Destruction of the Taints (SN 56:25) 363
5. The Goal of Wisdom
(1) What is Nibbana? (SN 38:1) 364
(2) Thirty-Three Synonyms for Nibbana (SN 43:1–44,
combined) 364
(3) There Is That Base (Ud 8:1) 365
(4) The Unborn (Ud 8:3) 366
(5) The Two Nibbana Elements (It 44) 366
(6) The Fire and the Ocean (from MN 72) 367
X. The Planes of Realization
Introduction 373
1. The Field of Merit for the World
(1) Eight Persons Worthy of Gifts (AN 8:59) 385
(2) Differentiation by Faculties (SN 48:18) 385
(3) In the Dhamma Well Expounded (from MN 22) 386
(4) The Completeness of the Teaching (from MN 73) 386
(5) Seven Kinds of Noble Persons (from MN 70) 390
2. Stream-Entry
(1) The Four Factors Leading to Stream-Entry (SN 55:5) 392
(2) Entering the Fixed Course of Rightness (SN 25:1) 393
(3) The Breakthrough to the Dhamma (SN 13:1) 394
(4) The Four Factors of a Stream-Enterer (SN 55:2) 394
Detailed List of Contents xxiii
(5) Better than Sovereignty over the Earth (SN 55:1) 395
3. Nonreturning
(1) Abandoning the Five Lower Fetters (from MN 64) 396
(2) Four Kinds of Persons (AN 4:169) 398
(3) Six Things that Partake of True Knowledge (SN 55:3) 400
(4) Five Kinds of Nonreturners (SN 46:3) 401
4. The Arahant
(1) Removing the Residual Conceit “I Am” (SN 22:89) 402
(2) The Trainee and the Arahant (SN 48:53) 406
(3) A Monk Whose Crossbar Has Been Lifted (from MN 22) 407
(4) Nine Things an Arahant Cannot Do (from AN 9:7) 408
(5) A Mind Unshaken (from AN 9:26) 408
(6) The Ten Powers of an Arahant Monk (AN 10:90) 409
(7) The Sage at Peace (from MN 140) 410
(8) Happy Indeed Are the Arahants (from SN 22:76) 412
5. The Tathagata
(1) The Buddha and the Arahant (SN 22:58) 413
(2) For the Welfare of Many (It 84) 414
(3) Sariputta’s Lofty Utterance (SN 47:12) 415
(4) The Powers and Grounds of Self-Confidence
(from MN 12) 417
(5) The Manifestation of Great Light (SN 56:38) 419
(6) The Man Desiring Our Good (from MN 19) 420
(7) The Lion (SN 22:78) 420
(8) Why Is He Called the Tathagata? (AN 4:23 = It 112) 421
List of Abbreviations
AN Anguttara Nikaya
Be Burmese-script Chattha Sangayana ed.
Ce Sinhala-script ed.
DN Dıgha Nikaya
Ee Roman-script ed. (PTS)
It Itivuttaka
MN Majjhima Nikaya
Mp Manorathapurani (Anguttara Nikaya Commentary)
Ppn Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga translation)
Ps Papañcasudani (Majjhima Nikaya Commentary)
Ps-pt Papañcasudani-purana-tika (Majjhima Nikaya
Subcommentary)
Skt Sanskrit
SN Samyutta Nikaya
Spk Saratthappakasini (Samyutta Nikaya Commentary)
Spk-pt Saratthappakasinı-purana-tika (Samyutta Nikaya
Subcommentary)
Sv Sumangalavilasini (Dıgha Nikaya Commentary)
Ud Udana
Vibh Vibhanga
Vin Vinaya
Vism Visuddhimagga
All page references to Pali texts are to the page numbers of the Pali
Text Society’s editions.
Preface ix
List of Abbreviations xiv
Key to the Pronunciation of Pali xv
Detailed List of Contents xvii
General Introduction 1
I. The Human Condition 17
II. The Bringer of Light 41
III. Approaching the Dhamma 79
IV. The Happiness Visible in This Present Life 105
V. The Way to a Fortunate Rebirth 143
VI. Deepening One’s Perspective on the World 181
VII. The Path to Liberation 221
VIII. Mastering the Mind 255
IX. Shining the Light of Wisdom 299
X. The Planes of Realization 371
Notes 425
Table of Sources 459
Glossary 469
Bibliography 471
Index of Subjects 475
Index of Proper Names 481
Index of Similes 483
Index of Pali Terms Discussed
Detailed List of Contents
I. The Human Condition
Introduction 19
1. Old Age, Illness, and Death
(1) Aging and Death (SN 3:3) 26
(2) The Simile of the Mountain (SN 3:25) 26
(3) The Divine Messengers (from AN 3:35) 29
2. The Tribulations of Unreflective Living
(1) The Dart of Painful Feeling (SN 36:6) 31
(2) The Vicissitudes of Life (AN 8:6) 32
(3) Anxiety Due to Change (SN 22:7) 33
3. A World in Turmoil
(1) The Origin of Conflict (AN 2: iv, 6, abridged) 35
(2) Why Do Beings Live in Hate? (from DN 21) 35
(3) The Dark Chain of Causation (from DN 15) 36
(4) The Roots of Violence and Oppression (from AN 3:69) 36
4. Without Discoverable Beginning
(1) Grass and Sticks (SN 15:1) 37
(2) Balls of Clay (SN 15:2) 37
(3) The Mountain (SN 15:5) 38
(4) The River Ganges (SN 15:8) 38
(5) Dog on a Leash (SN 22:99) 39
II. The Bringer of Light
Introduction 43
1. One Person (AN 1: xiii, 1, 5, 6) 50
xvii
2. The Buddha’s Conception and Birth (MN 123, abridged) 50
3. The Quest for Enlightenment
(1) Seeking the Supreme State of Sublime Peace
(from MN 26) 54
(2) The Realization of the Three True Knowledges
(from MN 36) 59
(3) The Ancient City (SN 12:65) 67
4. The Decision to Teach (from MN 26) 69
5. The First Discourse (SN 56:11) 75
III. Approaching the Dhamma
Introduction 81
1. Not a Secret Doctrine (AN 3:129) 88
2. No Dogmas or Blind Belief (AN 3:65) 88
3. The Visible Origin and Passing Away of Suffering (SN 42:11) 91
4. Investigate the Teacher Himself (MN 47) 93
5. Steps toward the Realization of Truth (from MN 95) 96
IV. The Happiness Visible in This Present Life
Introduction 107
1. Upholding the Dhamma in Society
(1) The King of the Dhamma (AN 3:14) 115
(2) Worshipping the Six Directions (from DN 31) 116
2. The Family
(1) Parents and Children
(a) Respect for Parents (AN 4:63) 118
(b) Repaying One’s Parents (AN 2: iv, 2) 119
(2) Husbands and Wives
(a) Different Kinds of Marriages (AN 4:53) 119
(b) How to Be United in Future Lives (AN 4:55) 121
(c) Seven Kinds of Wives (AN 7:59) 122
xviii In the Buddha’s Words
3. Present Welfare, Future Welfare (AN 8:54) 124
4. Right Livelihood
(1) Avoiding Wrong Livelihood (AN 5:177) 126
(2) The Proper Use of Wealth (AN 4:61) 126
(3) A Family Man’s Happiness (AN 4:62) 127
5. The Woman of the Home (AN 8:49) 128
6. The Community
(1) Six Roots of Dispute (from MN 104) 130
(2) Six Principles of Cordiality (from MN 104) 131
(3) Purification Is for All Four Castes (MN 93, abridged) 132
(4) Seven Principles of Social Stability (from DN 16) 137
(5) The Wheel-Turning Monarch (from DN 26) 139
(6) Bringing Tranquillity to the Land (from DN 5) 141
V. The Way to a Fortunate Rebirth
Introduction 145
1. The Law of Kamma
(1) Four Kinds of Kamma (AN 4:232) 155
(2) Why Beings Fare as They Do after Death (MN 41) 156
(3) Kamma and Its Fruits (MN 135) 161
2. Merit: The Key to Good Fortune
(1) Meritorious Deeds (It 22) 166
(2) Three Bases of Merit (AN 8:36) 167
(3) The Best Kinds of Confidence (AN 4:34) 168
3. Giving
(1) If People Knew the Result of Giving (It 26) 169
(2) Reasons for Giving (AN 8:33) 169
(3) The Gift of Food (AN 4:57) 170
(4) A Superior Person’s Gifts (AN 5:148) 170
(5) Mutual Support (It 107) 171
Detailed List of Contents xix
(6) Rebirth on Account of Giving (AN 8:35) 171
4. Moral Discipline
(1) The Five Precepts (AN 8:39) 172
(2) The Uposatha Observance (AN 8:41) 174
5. Meditation
(1) The Development of Loving-Kindness (It 27) 176
(2) The Four Divine Abodes (from MN 99) 177
(3) Insight Surpasses All (AN 9:20, abridged) 178
VI. Deepening One’s Perspective on the World
Introduction 183
1. Four Wonderful Things (AN 4:128) 191
2. Gratification, Danger, and Escape
(1) Before My Enlightenment (AN 3:101 §§1–2) 192
(2) I Set Out Seeking (AN 3:101 §3) 192
(3) If There Were No Gratification (AN 3:102) 193
3. Properly Appraising Objects of Attachment (MN 13) 193
4. The Pitfalls in Sensual Pleasures
(1) Cutting Off All Affairs (from MN 54) 199
(2) The Fever of Sensual Pleasures (from MN 75) 202
5. Life Is Short and Fleeting (AN 7:70) 206
6. Four Summaries of the Dhamma (from MN 82) 207
7. The Danger in Views
(1) A Miscellany on Wrong View (AN 1: xvii, 1, 3, 7, 9) 213
(2) The Blind Men and the Elephant (Ud 6:4) 214
(3) Held by Two Kinds of Views (It 49) 215
8. From the Divine Realms to the Infernal (AN 4:125) 216
9. The Perils of Samsara
(1) The Stream of Tears (SN 15:3) 218
(2) The Stream of Blood (SN 15:13) 219
xx In the Buddha’s Words
VII. The Path to Liberation
Introduction 223
1. Why Does One Enter the Path?
(1) The Arrow of Birth, Aging, and Death (MN 63) 230
(2) The Heartwood of the Spiritual Life (MN 29) 233
(3) The Fading Away of Lust (SN 45:41–48, combined) 238
2. Analysis of the Eightfold Path (SN 45:8) 239
3. Good Friendship (SN 45:2) 240
4. The Graduated Training (MN 27) 241
5. The Higher Stages of Training with Similes (from MN 39) 250
VIII. Mastering the Mind
Introduction 257
1. The Mind Is the Key (AN 1: iii, 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10) 267
2. Developing a Pair of Skills
(1) Serenity and Insight (AN 2: iii, 10) 267
(2) Four Ways to Arahantship (AN 4:170) 268
(3) Four Kinds of Persons (AN 4:94) 269
3. The Hindrances to Mental Development (SN 46:55, abridged) 270
4. The Refinement of the Mind (AN 3:100 §§1–10) 273
5. The Removal of Distracting Thoughts (MN 20) 275
6. The Mind of Loving-Kindness (from MN 21) 278
7. The Six Recollections (AN 6:10) 279
8. The Four Establishments of Mindfulness (MN 10) 281
9. Mindfulness of Breathing (SN 54:13) 290
10. The Achievement of Mastery (SN 28:1–9, combined) 296
IX. Shining the Light of Wisdom
Introduction 301
1. Images of Wisdom
Detailed List of Contents xxi
(1) Wisdom as a Light (AN 4:143) 321
(2) Wisdom as a Knife (from MN 146) 321
2. The Conditions for Wisdom (AN 8:2, abridged) 322
3. A Discourse on Right View (MN 9) 323
4. The Domain of Wisdom
(1) By Way of the Five Aggregates
(a) Phases of the Aggregates (SN 22:56) 335
(b) A Catechism on the Aggregates (SN 22:82 =
MN 109, abridged) 338
(c) The Characteristic of Nonself (SN 22:59) 341
(d) Impermanent, Suffering, Nonself (SN 22:45) 342
(e) A Lump of Foam (SN 22:95) 343
(2) By Way of the Six Sense Bases
(a) Full Understanding (SN 35:26) 345
(b) Burning (SN 35:28) 346
(c) Suitable for Attaining Nibbana (SN 35:147–49,
combined) 346
(d) Empty Is the World (SN 35:85) 347
(e) Consciousness Too Is Nonself (SN 35:234) 348
(3) By Way of the Elements
(a) The Eighteen Elements (SN 14:1) 349
(b) The Four Elements (SN 14:37–39, combined) 349
(c) The Six Elements (from MN 140) 350
(4) By Way of Dependent Origination
(a) What Is Dependent Origination? (SN 12:1) 353
(b) The Stableness of the Dhamma (SN 12:20) 353
(c) Forty-Four Cases of Knowledge (SN 12:33) 355
(d) A Teaching by the Middle (SN 12:15) 356
(e) The Continuance of Consciousness (SN 12:38) 357
(f) The Origin and Passing of the World (SN 12:44) 358
xxii In the Buddha’s Words
(5) By Way of the Four Noble Truths
(a) The Truths of All Buddhas (SN 56:24) 359
(b) These Four Truths Are Actual (SN 56:20) 359
(c) A Handful of Leaves (SN 56:31) 360
(d) Because of Not Understanding (SN 56:21) 361
(e) The Precipice (SN 56:42) 361
(f) Making the Breakthrough (SN 56:32) 362
(g) The Destruction of the Taints (SN 56:25) 363
5. The Goal of Wisdom
(1) What is Nibbana? (SN 38:1) 364
(2) Thirty-Three Synonyms for Nibbana (SN 43:1–44,
combined) 364
(3) There Is That Base (Ud 8:1) 365
(4) The Unborn (Ud 8:3) 366
(5) The Two Nibbana Elements (It 44) 366
(6) The Fire and the Ocean (from MN 72) 367
X. The Planes of Realization
Introduction 373
1. The Field of Merit for the World
(1) Eight Persons Worthy of Gifts (AN 8:59) 385
(2) Differentiation by Faculties (SN 48:18) 385
(3) In the Dhamma Well Expounded (from MN 22) 386
(4) The Completeness of the Teaching (from MN 73) 386
(5) Seven Kinds of Noble Persons (from MN 70) 390
2. Stream-Entry
(1) The Four Factors Leading to Stream-Entry (SN 55:5) 392
(2) Entering the Fixed Course of Rightness (SN 25:1) 393
(3) The Breakthrough to the Dhamma (SN 13:1) 394
(4) The Four Factors of a Stream-Enterer (SN 55:2) 394
Detailed List of Contents xxiii
(5) Better than Sovereignty over the Earth (SN 55:1) 395
3. Nonreturning
(1) Abandoning the Five Lower Fetters (from MN 64) 396
(2) Four Kinds of Persons (AN 4:169) 398
(3) Six Things that Partake of True Knowledge (SN 55:3) 400
(4) Five Kinds of Nonreturners (SN 46:3) 401
4. The Arahant
(1) Removing the Residual Conceit “I Am” (SN 22:89) 402
(2) The Trainee and the Arahant (SN 48:53) 406
(3) A Monk Whose Crossbar Has Been Lifted (from MN 22) 407
(4) Nine Things an Arahant Cannot Do (from AN 9:7) 408
(5) A Mind Unshaken (from AN 9:26) 408
(6) The Ten Powers of an Arahant Monk (AN 10:90) 409
(7) The Sage at Peace (from MN 140) 410
(8) Happy Indeed Are the Arahants (from SN 22:76) 412
5. The Tathagata
(1) The Buddha and the Arahant (SN 22:58) 413
(2) For the Welfare of Many (It 84) 414
(3) Sariputta’s Lofty Utterance (SN 47:12) 415
(4) The Powers and Grounds of Self-Confidence
(from MN 12) 417
(5) The Manifestation of Great Light (SN 56:38) 419
(6) The Man Desiring Our Good (from MN 19) 420
(7) The Lion (SN 22:78) 420
(8) Why Is He Called the Tathagata? (AN 4:23 = It 112) 421
List of Abbreviations
AN Anguttara Nikaya
Be Burmese-script Chattha Sangayana ed.
Ce Sinhala-script ed.
DN Dıgha Nikaya
Ee Roman-script ed. (PTS)
It Itivuttaka
MN Majjhima Nikaya
Mp Manorathapurani (Anguttara Nikaya Commentary)
Ppn Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga translation)
Ps Papañcasudani (Majjhima Nikaya Commentary)
Ps-pt Papañcasudani-purana-tika (Majjhima Nikaya
Subcommentary)
Skt Sanskrit
SN Samyutta Nikaya
Spk Saratthappakasini (Samyutta Nikaya Commentary)
Spk-pt Saratthappakasinı-purana-tika (Samyutta Nikaya
Subcommentary)
Sv Sumangalavilasini (Dıgha Nikaya Commentary)
Ud Udana
Vibh Vibhanga
Vin Vinaya
Vism Visuddhimagga
All page references to Pali texts are to the page numbers of the Pali
Text Society’s editions.
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