In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon
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- Author：Bhikkhu Bodhi
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Summary
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。
Reviews
Ben Rogers
，
I didn't enjoy this too much。 Didn't really get much out of the read。 Thought it might be interesting， as it was highly recommended。 1。8/5 I didn't enjoy this too much。 Didn't really get much out of the read。 Thought it might be interesting， as it was highly recommended。 1。8/5 。。。more
Jon Stout
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This “Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon” contains the earliest versions of the teachings of the Buddha， the Buddhist scriptures so to speak。 It is somewhat repetitive and formulaic， as one would expect from what was originally an oral tradition。 It does not contain the complexity or sophistication of later Buddhist thinking （nor of contemporary Buddhist commentators）， but the basic concepts of Buddhism are clearly presented， often with a striking allegory or figure of speech。 I will no This “Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon” contains the earliest versions of the teachings of the Buddha， the Buddhist scriptures so to speak。 It is somewhat repetitive and formulaic， as one would expect from what was originally an oral tradition。 It does not contain the complexity or sophistication of later Buddhist thinking （nor of contemporary Buddhist commentators）， but the basic concepts of Buddhism are clearly presented， often with a striking allegory or figure of speech。 I will not summarize， but rather present my own impressions。The basic fact of life which the Buddha’s teachings address is suffering。 The Four Noble Truths are suffering， its origin， its cessation， and the way leading to its cessation。 While not everyone is suffering at any particular moment， anyone aware of the world knows that people are suffering。 And human nature is such that when we reflect upon ourselves and have regrets we suffer as well。 Early on the Buddha presents eight worldly conditions， “gain and loss， fame and disrepute， praise and blame， pleasure and pain，” from which he urges his followers to detach， recognizing that they are “impermanent， bound up with suffering， and subject to change。” One can stand apart from suffering。 “What is suffering is non-self。 What is non-self should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom thus: ‘This is not mine， this I am not， this is not my self。’” As conscious beings， we can set ourselves apart from the objects of our consciousness and thus not be caught up in the attachments， the strivings and the suffering of the world。The self， on this view， is simply awareness。 It may be a kind of nothingness， in a Humean or Sartrean sense， or it may be the universe conscious of itself。 In any event， the individual personality is ephemeral and transient， and the discourses are pretty clear that the individual does not survive after death。 But if one has understood oneself as pure awareness of the world， at-oneness with the universe， attaining Nirvana， then one has escaped the cycle of birth and death。I am not sure that I have presented the Buddha’s views accurately， but this is my understanding。 I admire this view of the world， and I think there is much to be gained by detaching oneself emotionally from （but not ignoring） the trials and tribulations of the world。 At the same time a part of me feels that one cannot be fully human （including being compassionate） without feeling some of the joy and suffering of others。 So I am not sure I want to detach myself completely from the world。I see many similarities and points of comparison to Christianity。 To mention one striking example， the Buddha says， “Monks， even if bandits were to sever you savagely limb by limb with a two-handled saw， he who gave rise to a mind of hate toward them would not be carrying out my teaching。” If this is not a recipe for being Christ-like， I don’t know what is。The Buddha’s Discourses give me a perspective on the world which I value and which is an important part of the world cultural heritage。 The editing and commentary by Bhikkhu Bodhi is helpful， and offers a way of pursuing further study。 It is not hard to imagine incorporating many of the Buddhist practices and perspectives into my life。 。。。more
Brian Van Cleave
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Took several months on and off to complete this large anthology， but I think worth the effort。 A thorough review of some of Buddhism's most referenced canonical texts with excellent commentary throughout。 A worthwhile but slow read。。。 Could usually only get through a dozen pages at a time because of the sheer density of information included herein。 Highly recommend for anyone who has already some introductory books and is looking for an "advanced beginner" study of Buddhist philosophy。 Took several months on and off to complete this large anthology， but I think worth the effort。 A thorough review of some of Buddhism's most referenced canonical texts with excellent commentary throughout。 A worthwhile but slow read。。。 Could usually only get through a dozen pages at a time because of the sheer density of information included herein。 Highly recommend for anyone who has already some introductory books and is looking for an "advanced beginner" study of Buddhist philosophy。 。。。more
Lucio Mellace
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This book is both good and bad， there are some elements I agree with some I don’t and others I am still trying to work out with。The Pali Canon is the standard book of Theravada Buddhism。There are some comments of about the subject of truth。 What is true？ I hold that what is true is subjective to the individual。 There are other comments about craving which I don’t agree with and at one point it says that desire is the root of all suffering。 Now there are some desires to help people， to meditate， This book is both good and bad， there are some elements I agree with some I don’t and others I am still trying to work out with。The Pali Canon is the standard book of Theravada Buddhism。There are some comments of about the subject of truth。 What is true？ I hold that what is true is subjective to the individual。 There are other comments about craving which I don’t agree with and at one point it says that desire is the root of all suffering。 Now there are some desires to help people， to meditate， practice music would these be bad as well？ I have heard of the saying attachment is the root of all suffering and I am unsure about the statement。If you are interested in Eastern Philosophy this is a must read， otherwise the amount of repetition might annoy you to death。 。。。more
Ben Smitthimedhin
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Such a valuable anthology of the Buddha's teachings， extending beyond the Buddhism-lite found in the West。 Here， there are lectures from the Buddha encouraging life in community， moral fortitude， right thinking， and almsgiving， among other things。 It is， however， not stylistically palatable: very boring and repetitive， good for when you're trying to fall asleep。 Took me a year （of deliberate effort） to finish。 Such a valuable anthology of the Buddha's teachings， extending beyond the Buddhism-lite found in the West。 Here， there are lectures from the Buddha encouraging life in community， moral fortitude， right thinking， and almsgiving， among other things。 It is， however， not stylistically palatable: very boring and repetitive， good for when you're trying to fall asleep。 Took me a year （of deliberate effort） to finish。 。。。more
Carra S
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This is a valuable and skillfully crafted collection of Buddhist teachings offers translation of the original Pali language suttas to layout a framework of Theravada Buddhism， the Buddha's life， the the Buddha's teachings。 Teachings like the Noble Eight-Fold Path， the Four Noble Truths， the Three Aggregates， and much more。This book was a powerful foundation for my understanding of Buddhism and its origins without as much Western retelling or misinterpretation。 Absolutely recommended reading for This is a valuable and skillfully crafted collection of Buddhist teachings offers translation of the original Pali language suttas to layout a framework of Theravada Buddhism， the Buddha's life， the the Buddha's teachings。 Teachings like the Noble Eight-Fold Path， the Four Noble Truths， the Three Aggregates， and much more。This book was a powerful foundation for my understanding of Buddhism and its origins without as much Western retelling or misinterpretation。 Absolutely recommended reading for those who are inspired by the teachings and wanting to understand the source texts。I often tire of footnotes / endnotes， but for this book it was not the case。 I found Bhikku Bodhi's notes to be fascinating additions to the primary text， almost made me wish they were within the pages。This is not a light read， in any way。 Much depth and complexity。 Good to take time and be willing to come back to and re-read things。 I read a great deal of this book while on retreat， that quite container offered great opportunity to sink into the Dhamma。 Thank you， Bhikku Bodhi， for your inspired and tireless English-language translations of this and so many important， foundational Pali texts。 。。。more
s
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the exposition is very clear and systematic and the material is fascinating。 seems to be a pretty popular "buddhist scripture for beginners" book and i can see why。 one thing to note is that it's presented and explained as a body of religious text here and not as a historical document， which often means there's the implicit assertion that the pali canon represents the earliest teachings prior to the formation of distinct schools， when it is in fact a heterogeneous body of texts compiled and stan the exposition is very clear and systematic and the material is fascinating。 seems to be a pretty popular "buddhist scripture for beginners" book and i can see why。 one thing to note is that it's presented and explained as a body of religious text here and not as a historical document， which often means there's the implicit assertion that the pali canon represents the earliest teachings prior to the formation of distinct schools， when it is in fact a heterogeneous body of texts compiled and standardized by the theravada school and there seem to be a lot of debates about the historicity and authorship of many of the individual suttas。 still， it seems to be the most fleshed out body of scripture from the early period so you could do worse。 。。。more
John Lescano
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goat
James
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A good overview of the teachings of Buddishm。
Noah White
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*Note: A selection of much better and less biased books are included at the end of this reviewEssentially， this book serves as a palatable free sample of Buddhism， fit into a snug 10-chapter appetizer for newcomers; the only problem， which is inevitable in constricting 5 entire books down to a greatest-hits quote selection， is that it doesn't present a very complete or unbiased summation of the Buddha's actual ideas on many subjects; with this condensed version of the text， you don't get to see *Note: A selection of much better and less biased books are included at the end of this reviewEssentially， this book serves as a palatable free sample of Buddhism， fit into a snug 10-chapter appetizer for newcomers; the only problem， which is inevitable in constricting 5 entire books down to a greatest-hits quote selection， is that it doesn't present a very complete or unbiased summation of the Buddha's actual ideas on many subjects; with this condensed version of the text， you don't get to see his gradual transformation and evolution in his ideas and worldview， which reflect his open-mindedness and willingness to consider and validate alternate or even contradictory points of view。 So in this shortened version， due to said character-growth being chopped out， it appears less like a person evolving over time， and more takes on the appearance of someone who is just a blatant hypocrite with contradictory stances on everything。 This risks being very off-putting to curious newcomers to the religion， and to any of them reading this。。。 don't worry if you disagree with a lot of what the Buddha says in this book。 He himself states many times he doesn't just want you to take his worldview verbatim， and challenges you to hold it to scrutiny and adapt to a different view if knowledge and facts suggest something different。 This book is less indicative of the open-minded figure found in the Nikayas， and more indicative of the figure this book's compiler imagined when HE read them; it certainly didn't help that the selections he picked from them are presented totally out of order， rendering the chronology of the Buddha's views and the evolution of his philosophy totally incomprehensible in places。The slight flaw in this book's framework， as I observed it， was that Bodhi's introductions more or less preemptively hijack the reader's interpretations of the actual Suttas being presented。 The entire idea behind Buddhism is that there's no inherently correct or incorrect interpretation of it， in accordance with the Blessed One's teaching that there is no worldview that is inherently right or wrong。 So Bodhi beginning each chapter TELLING YOU how to interpret it causes the experience of reading the book to feel rather contradictory to Buddhism。 I eventually found myself skipping the introductions altogether。In fact， that is a symptom of the somewhat larger problem; Bodhi is really just taking a few selections of the Niyakas out of context and framing them in a way as to make the Suttas support his interpretation as the "correct" one。 It is abundantly clear that he just cherry-picked which Suttas that agreed with him then left out the ones that didn't。 As a consequence， I don't think this book serves as nearly an objective or open-minded introduction to Buddhism as it intends to be。 Considering open-mindedness and willingness to consider alternate points-of-view is one of the most important values in Buddhism， I find this aspect of the book highly problematic; that being said， the Buddha's dissertations regarding open-mindedness are included in the book， intact， and thus it appears Bodhi does attempt to consciously counteract his own biases。。。 to an extent。In the end， this book serves as an excellent appetizer of Buddhism， presenting broad generalizations of many of its philosophical subtexts。 That being said， it's not a very COMPLETE introduction to Buddhism， and it's this flaw that I fear could inadvertently discourage several people from entering Buddhism who might actually find peace and understanding in it。 For anybody wanting to delve into a more objective unbiased view of Buddhism， here are the books I'd recommend:--> The Long Discourses - Complete Translation--> The Middle Length Discourses - Complete Translation--> The Connected Discourses - Complete Translation--> The Numerical Discourses - Complete Translation 。。。more
Manoel Narciso
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eu fico chocado vey como um homem pode ser tão lendário
Josh
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Writing and even responding to Buddhist thought can be challenging and intimidating: it is a vast system of knowledge， spanning many languages that I am almost entirely unfamiliar with， and the veritable depth of the teachings is somehow surpassed by the discourse and commentaries which have grown around them。 Unlike the Abrahamic traditions， Buddhism seems to have this almost nebulous aura because of how diversely its expression varies while still deriving from the same root texts （no doubt thi Writing and even responding to Buddhist thought can be challenging and intimidating: it is a vast system of knowledge， spanning many languages that I am almost entirely unfamiliar with， and the veritable depth of the teachings is somehow surpassed by the discourse and commentaries which have grown around them。 Unlike the Abrahamic traditions， Buddhism seems to have this almost nebulous aura because of how diversely its expression varies while still deriving from the same root texts （no doubt this is in part because of the Buddhist imperative to experience and understand the teachings for yourself， and to reject that which does not hold true for you; and perhaps also because of the Buddha's injunction to not restrict the teachings to the metered verse of Vedic Sanskrit， but instead for one to "learn the speech of the Awakened One according to his own dialect。" （https://suttacentral。net/pli-tv-kd15/。。。）One might be surprised， then， to pick up this book and to discover what the historical Buddha （Siddhartha Gotama） really said—or， rather， our best approximation of what he said。- no mythological common ground， nor tools for interpreting how to understand mythological aspects- no organization- no dialectic （contrast w/ greek）- oddly dogmatic- heavily laden with theology 。。。more
Ross
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Honestly one of the best books I read
Anmol
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This is a fantastic introduction to Early Buddhist Sutras， but not to Buddhism itself。 I also really like how the 10 chapters are almost like 10 levels of Buddhism， from basic lay practice to galaxy-brain metaphysics （which is still built on the 4 Noble Truths）。 Some things that I appreciate are how agnostic the Buddha was: maybe agnostic isn't the right term， but what I mean is that he didn't talk about a lot of the things people expect from systems of belief。 He limited his teaching， in his ow This is a fantastic introduction to Early Buddhist Sutras， but not to Buddhism itself。 I also really like how the 10 chapters are almost like 10 levels of Buddhism， from basic lay practice to galaxy-brain metaphysics （which is still built on the 4 Noble Truths）。 Some things that I appreciate are how agnostic the Buddha was: maybe agnostic isn't the right term， but what I mean is that he didn't talk about a lot of the things people expect from systems of belief。 He limited his teaching， in his own words， to the origin and cessation of suffering and other empirical concerns:So too， monks， the things I have directly known but have not taught you are numerous， while the things I have taught you are few。 And why， monks， have I not taught those many things？ Because they are without benefit， irrelevant to the fundamentals of the spiritual life， and do not lead to disenchantment， to dispassion， to cessation， to peace， to direct knowledge， to enlightenment， to Nibbāna。 Therefore I have not taught themAnother aspect that I really appreciated was this idea of Buddhist logic which is built on dependent origination: "if X， then Y; if no X， then no Y"。 This is used by the Buddha to argue that truths are only established based on the assumptions on which they rest:If a person has faith， Bhāradvāja， he preserves truth when he says: ‘My faith is thus’; but he does not yet come to the definite conclusion: ‘Only this is true， anything else is wrong。’ In this way， Bhāradvāja， there is the preservation of truth; in this way he preserves truth; in this way we describe the preservation of truth。 But as yet there is no discovery of truthFrom this book， I also finally got a glimpse into the Buddha's refutation of Vedantic eternalism （the belief in an eternal soul as opposed to contingent maya）。 But not just that， the Buddha， again in a determinedly agnostic fashion， negates both materialism and eternalism as obstructing the empirical practice of Buddhism， ie。 the observance of the inherent suffering in existence:Māluṅkyāputta， if there is the view ‘the world is eternal，’ the spiritual life cannot be lived; and if there is the view ‘the world is not eternal， ’ the spiritual life cannot be lived。 Whether there is the view ‘the world is eternal’ or the view ‘the world is not eternal，’ there is birth， there is aging， there is death， there are sorrow， lamentation， pain， dejection， and despair， the destruction of which I prescribe here and now。This is continued by the Buddhist doctrine of sunyata（nothingness）， which I found very interesting， though I'm not completely convinced by it as of now:“The four great elements， monk， are the cause and condition for the manifestation of the form aggregate。 Contact is the cause and condition for the manifestation of the feeling aggregate， the perception aggregate， and the volitional formations aggregate。 Name-and-form is the cause and condition for the manifestation of the consciousness aggregateTo me， the last sentence ^ seems to turn the logic of consciousness （which I hitherto believed） upside down。 While Advaita （and most other nondualism I’m familiar with）， says that consciousness is pure without names and forms （it is being-consciousness-bliss when consciousness is not adulterated by names and forms）， the Buddha maintains that consciousness without names and forms ceases to exist。 But if this is so， what does the meditator experience when his mind is stilled？ It appears to me that that is consciousness without names and forms。 But then who experiences it？ There is no “I” in that state。 Perhaps the Buddha is right。 None the less， this debate on the nature of consciousness between Buddhism and Vedanta is central to contemporary questions on the philosophy of mind。 。。。more
RDC
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It's a great book if you want to know a little bit more about the Buddha's teachings and Buddhism。However， I found the commentary to be harder to read than several of the suttas。 I understand that when translating the suttas， there's only so much you can do， but when it come to commentary， Bhikkhu Bodhi could have made it easier to read。Overall， I think it's a great book and you can take aways a lot of good things into your life from the Buddha's teachings。 It's a great book if you want to know a little bit more about the Buddha's teachings and Buddhism。However， I found the commentary to be harder to read than several of the suttas。 I understand that when translating the suttas， there's only so much you can do， but when it come to commentary， Bhikkhu Bodhi could have made it easier to read。Overall， I think it's a great book and you can take aways a lot of good things into your life from the Buddha's teachings。 。。。more
Austin Green
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This is the definitive book for English speakers looking to study Buddhism。 While containing essential knowledge on the practice， I found the entire collection wordy and repetitive， making certain sections harder to concentrate on than others。 However， the key take-aways of Buddhism were invaluable and I'll be referring back to this anthology over the course of my life， because the lessons taught here are eternal and will be applicable in this life and beyond。 This is the definitive book for English speakers looking to study Buddhism。 While containing essential knowledge on the practice， I found the entire collection wordy and repetitive， making certain sections harder to concentrate on than others。 However， the key take-aways of Buddhism were invaluable and I'll be referring back to this anthology over the course of my life， because the lessons taught here are eternal and will be applicable in this life and beyond。 。。。more
Readingfaithfullyorg
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This is without a doubt the best book to gwt started with reading the suttas。 The translations are clear and organized by topic。 Each chapter has an intro to explain core Buddhist concepts found in the suttas。
Yupinto
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Thank you Bikkhu Boddhi for providing a framework for the Buddha's teachings。 It was unbelievably helpful for me。 Thank you Bikkhu Boddhi for providing a framework for the Buddha's teachings。 It was unbelievably helpful for me。 。。。more
Jeffrey
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A collection of pieces of the tipitaka， Buddhist Scriptures。 Bodhi lays out the life and message of the Buddha using his own translations of the Nikayas。 The translation is very good。 The words of the Buddha are beyond good or bad。 They outline the path toward an extinction of polarities。
dp
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I really love ancient texts， especially spiritual ones。 The Pali Canon is nothing short of spiritually liberating and enjoyable to read。 Bhikkhu Bodhi's chapter introductions and notes are vital。 I found the Mahāsaccaka Sutta in particular to be amazing and absolutely hilarious: https://suttacentral。net/mn36/en/bodhi。 Shouts out to my son the Buddha for getting right ！！ I really love ancient texts， especially spiritual ones。 The Pali Canon is nothing short of spiritually liberating and enjoyable to read。 Bhikkhu Bodhi's chapter introductions and notes are vital。 I found the Mahāsaccaka Sutta in particular to be amazing and absolutely hilarious: https://suttacentral。net/mn36/en/bodhi。 Shouts out to my son the Buddha for getting right ！！ 。。。more
Prophe Mangwa
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WELCOMEFATHER AMON & MAMA SPIRITUAL HEALER。With Spiritual healing and the ability to heal， read and provide spiritual prayers” +27718273254 love spells， bring back lover based in Sandton ，Gauteng visit us https;//www。mamaandfatheramon。co。za WELCOMEFATHER AMON & MAMA SPIRITUAL HEALER。With Spiritual healing and the ability to heal， read and provide spiritual prayers” +27718273254 love spells， bring back lover based in Sandton ，Gauteng visit us https;//www。mamaandfatheramon。co。za 。。。more
Samuel Saul Richardson
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I've had this book on my shelf forever but I don't even remember how I got it。 I know that I quoted this book a few times but overall I am not a fan。 Each chapter started out with a great introduction of the ideas and gave citations to where it was grabbing these ideas from but from there the rest of the chapter was long， drawn out， got away from the point， and repeated itself so many times。 As an additional negative point I was looking for an introduction to Buddhism whereas this was more of a I've had this book on my shelf forever but I don't even remember how I got it。 I know that I quoted this book a few times but overall I am not a fan。 Each chapter started out with a great introduction of the ideas and gave citations to where it was grabbing these ideas from but from there the rest of the chapter was long， drawn out， got away from the point， and repeated itself so many times。 As an additional negative point I was looking for an introduction to Buddhism whereas this was more of a heavy doctrinal book that also didn't help with the translation to English of certain keywords。 I do not recommend。 #SelfTaughtReligion #Buddhism 。。。more
Aki Ranin
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This is a complete manual for anyone seeking to follow The Buddha’s path。 Having said that， it is quite long and procedural， and perhaps Easwaran’s The Dhammapada is a better place to start。 However， as a complete manual of The Eightfold Path， this book is irreplaceable。
Monica
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This was recommended by a friend from the Buddhist Society that I visit。 It is a very good introduction to those new to the scriptures as it gives a clear framework of Buddhist doctrine。 The corpus of Buddhist literature is large as includes scriptures by different schools and traditions which were added on the the early Buddhist texts which have remained largely in intact and consistent。 This work refers mainly to the texts in the Sutta Pitika namely the Nikayas and is a good reference book。I s This was recommended by a friend from the Buddhist Society that I visit。 It is a very good introduction to those new to the scriptures as it gives a clear framework of Buddhist doctrine。 The corpus of Buddhist literature is large as includes scriptures by different schools and traditions which were added on the the early Buddhist texts which have remained largely in intact and consistent。 This work refers mainly to the texts in the Sutta Pitika namely the Nikayas and is a good reference book。I started reading this book a few years ago。 I read the first few chapters over a few times because I took breaks and then forgot what I read and had to start all over。 I finally read the last chapter today。 There is quite a lot to digest as the last quarter of the book deals with higher levels of development and I am not quite sure if I understood them。 So I would go back to it again and again。Bhikku Bodhi is a such a good scholar and teacher who is able to elucidate the teachings to us in a succinct way that is still comprehensible to the layman。 Love the many references and notes that he provided to aid understanding。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Dylan
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Amazing anthology on the discourses of the Buddha。 My main take-aways stem from the Buddha's words on ethics and merit in the present life （which surprised me because of view on Buddhism as philosophy of transcendence of worldy matters） and on the concrete and pragmatic instructions on meditation， covering many different objects， from breath to body to mental phenomena。A dense book， best used as a reference or in a slow methodical study process。 Amazing anthology on the discourses of the Buddha。 My main take-aways stem from the Buddha's words on ethics and merit in the present life （which surprised me because of view on Buddhism as philosophy of transcendence of worldy matters） and on the concrete and pragmatic instructions on meditation， covering many different objects， from breath to body to mental phenomena。A dense book， best used as a reference or in a slow methodical study process。 。。。more
Sin'Iti Yamaguti
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編者が10の章に分けて、それぞれのテーマに即した経典を抜粋し、解説を付したアンソロジー。解説がやや難解。
Nick Orvis
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This is not a book you just sit down to read。 It took me several years to work my way through it—slowly， patiently， one discourse at a time。 （The core content—not counting indices etc—is a little over 400 pages。） This is， however， a masterful translation of passages from several of the core Pali texts。 Though I can’t speak to the accuracy of the translation per se， it is lucid， readable， and thoroughly researched; you should NOT attempt to skip the endnotes， which are extremely helpful in illumi This is not a book you just sit down to read。 It took me several years to work my way through it—slowly， patiently， one discourse at a time。 （The core content—not counting indices etc—is a little over 400 pages。） This is， however， a masterful translation of passages from several of the core Pali texts。 Though I can’t speak to the accuracy of the translation per se， it is lucid， readable， and thoroughly researched; you should NOT attempt to skip the endnotes， which are extremely helpful in illuminating the passages themselves。 The excerpts in the book are arranged thematically， in an order that mirrors the way many people experience the process of approaching Buddhism。 It begins with discourses on the human condition and the state of the world， then moves into discourses on increasingly esoteric subjects of Buddhist philosophy， then concludes with a group of excerpts about the nature of Buddhist practice for various practitioners。 In all， it’s an indispensable book for someone like me who’s taking their first serious steps into the religion—though I suspect it might be too dense for someone who has no background information at all （such a reader might benefit more from Walpola Rahula’s WHAT THE BUDDHA TAUGHT or a similar book）。 。。。more
David McDonald
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It’s hard to give a well rounded review of this book as I approached it as an informative work， without much interest in applying any of The Buddha’s teachings into my own life。 I did to my surprise however discover much wisdom between the pages， it’s very complicated for a layperson like me to understand， I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone who just wants to understand the tenants of Buddhism， yet I cannot deny the value in some of its teachings， furthermore I can imagine that if someone s It’s hard to give a well rounded review of this book as I approached it as an informative work， without much interest in applying any of The Buddha’s teachings into my own life。 I did to my surprise however discover much wisdom between the pages， it’s very complicated for a layperson like me to understand， I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone who just wants to understand the tenants of Buddhism， yet I cannot deny the value in some of its teachings， furthermore I can imagine that if someone subscribed to the ideas of reincarnation or valued “spirituality” that there would be considerably more value in reading this work for that person。 As someone who doesn’t subscribe to many of the ideas presented in this book， I still came away feeling better informed and with a few wise parables at the back of my mind。 Most of the moral insights attributed to The Buddha in this book predate the moral teachings of Jesus and early Christianity and yet are almost identical in prescription， this to me speaks more to the unity of humanity as we subconsciously and collectively build our ideas of right and wrong than it does for any underlying spiritual force guiding humanity to a brighter tomorrow。。。 I enjoyed this book， and value the weight and complexity of the tenets it communicates。 。。。more
Phil Calandra
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"In The Buddha's Words。。。" is an erudite and scholarly exposition of the philosophy and practice of Buddhism; however， the explanation of the suttas can be tedious and extremely repetitive and a slog to complete。 In my opinion， this book is not for the casual reader but more for the scholars and those interested in establishing a practice。 "In The Buddha's Words。。。" is an erudite and scholarly exposition of the philosophy and practice of Buddhism; however， the explanation of the suttas can be tedious and extremely repetitive and a slog to complete。 In my opinion， this book is not for the casual reader but more for the scholars and those interested in establishing a practice。 。。。more
Rossdavidh
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