The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: A Complete Translation of the Anguttara Nikaya (The Teachings of the Buddha) by Bhikkhu Bodhi (PDF)

Description

Discover with the original teachings of the Buddha in this thorough translation of some of the oldest Buddhist texts in the world. Like the River Ganges flowing down from the Himalayas, the entire Buddhist tradition flows down to us from the teachings and deeds of the historical Buddha, who lived and taught in India during the fifth century B.C.E. To ensure that his legacy would survive the ravages of time, his direct disciples compiled records of the Buddha’s teachings soon after his passing. In the Theravada Buddhist tradition, which prevails in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, these records are regarded as the definitive “word of the Buddha.” Preserved in Pali, an ancient Indian language closely related to the language that the Buddha spoke, this full compilation of texts is known as the Pali Canon. At the heart of the Buddha’s teaching were the suttas (Sanskrit sutras), his discourses and dialogues. If we want to find out what the Buddha himself actually said, these are the most ancient sources available to us. The suttas were compiled into collections called “Nikayas,” of which there are four, each organized according to a different principle. The Digha Nikaya consists of longer discourses; the Majjhima Nikaya of middle-length discourses; the Samyutta Nikaya of thematically connected discourses; and the Anguttara Nikaya of numerically patterned discourses. The Numerical Discourses contains a full translation of the Anguttara Nikaya. The Anguttara arranges the Buddha’s discourses in accordance with a numerical scheme intended to promote retention and easy comprehension. In an age when writing was still in its infancy, this proved to be the most effective way to ensure that the disciples could grasp and replicate the structure of a teaching. Here’s what makes the Numerical Discourses special: Insightful commentary from eminent scholar-monk Bhikkhu BodhiIts comprehensive translation of the Anguttara Nikaya, part of the Pali CanonTeachings specifically for lay people and familiesThemes including family life, right livelihood, friendship, and meditation techniques laid out in a carefully organized thematic guide In 2013, Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi was awarded the 2013 Khyentse Foundation Prize for Outstanding Translation. Bhikkhu Bodhi’s translation and compilation also includes a useful thematic guide to the Anguttara Nikaya, so that readers can browse the volume by topic. Find the teachings to further your practice and bring clarity to your life today by diving into this rich treasure of the Buddhist literary tradition. With this volume, readers can learn about the life of the Buddha, instructions for maintaining a harmonious household, monastic practice and lifestyle, meditation practice, and the Sangha (Buddhist community).

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “A triumph.” ― The Middle Way”As close as we’ll get to the original teachings and account of the life of the Buddha.” ― Tricycle”A book to be kept close at hand for a lifetime–it will long endure as a classic of scholarship and render the teachings of the historical Buddha accessible to any who have eyes to see and the interest to look.” ― Inquiring Mind”An amazing work that speaks to us across 2500 years [to] open up new and precious insights into the depths of Buddhist history and thought.” ― Mountain Record”A priceless gift.” — Joseph Goldstein, author of A Heart Full of Peace and One Dharma”Bhikkhu Bodhi is a brilliant translator.” — Jack Kornfield, author of After the Ecstasy, the Laundry About the Author Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi is an American Buddhist monk from New York City, born in 1944. He obtained a BA in philosophy from Brooklyn College and a PhD in philosophy from Claremont Graduate School. After completing his university studies he traveled to Sri Lanka, where he received novice ordination in 1972 and full ordination in 1973, both under the leading Sri Lankan scholar-monk, Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya (1896-1998). From 1984 to 2002 he was the editor for the Buddhist Publication Society in Kandy, where he lived for ten years with the senior German monk, Ven. Nyanaponika Thera (1901-1994), at the Forest Hermitage. He returned to the U.S. in 2002. He currently lives and teaches at Chuang Yen Monastery in Carmel, New York. Ven. Bodhi has many important publications to his credit, either as author, translator, or editor. These include The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha (Majjhima Nikaya, 1995), The Connected Discourses of the Buddha (Samyutta Nikaya, 2000), and The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha (Anguttara Nikaya, 2012). In 2008, together with several of his students, Ven. Bodhi founded Buddhist Global Relief, a nonprofit supporting hunger relief, sustainable agriculture, and education in countries suffering from chronic poverty and malnutrition.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐The Anguttara Nikaya is one of the five Nikayas (collections) that make up the Buddhist Pali canon. These discourses – almost all of which were spoken by the Buddha – have been carefully transmitted from generation to generation primarily by Buddhist monks. Buddhism is an oral tradition – like Hinduism – and one of the most important functions of the Buddhist monastic community was the memorization and transmission of the canonical literature. Indeed Buddhism – again like Hinduism – has a very systematic way of orchestrating the memorization of texts, somewhat akin to the way opera choruses learn their parts.Fortunately for us it is no longer necessary to enter an Asian monastery, learn the Pali language, and memorize the many thousands of pages of the Pali canon. We are blessed to have these translations – which were done mainly by Bhante (Bhikkhu) Bodhi – a remarkable Buddhist monk. Bhikkhu Bodhi is an American who at a relatively young age went to Sri Lanka. He has a most remarkable mind, one that has an affinity for languages, but also a deep understanding of the teachings of the Buddha. It takes someone with both of these abilities to do justice to English translations.Having said that, of the Nikayas, if you are only going to read one of them I recommend the Majjhima Nikaya – the Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha. The Anguttara Nikaya should probably be read last. I would call it supplementary material to the main teachings as provided in the Middle Length Discourses. Still, I was somewhat surprised to find new material here, material that I had not read (to the best of my recollection) in the Long Discourses, the Middle Length Discourses, or the Connected Discourses. This gave me in some cases a rather different understanding of the Buddha’s teaching, which – of course – is quite vast and extremely subtle.One thing that I particularly enjoy about this collection, however, is that we see the completely mature ability of Bikkhu Bodhi as a translator and scholar at work here. He includes, for examples, comments on differences between the Pali versions and the Chinese versions of some of the discourses. (Imagine for a moment what it takes to do this. Step 1, learn Pali. Step 2, learn Chinese. Step 3, read both canons. Rinse, repeat, compare. It’s like trying to understand what Mozart did.) Bhikkhu Bodhi is also incredibly adept at pointing out obvious discrepancies, possible mis-translations and understandings, and so on. This is not like the Bible where it is often considered blasphemous to question literal translations. The aim in Buddhism – indeed the first step in the 8-fold path of Buddhism – is “right understanding”, and Bhikkhu Bodhi is meticulous in his attempt to make our understanding as correct as possible. Also note that he is not afraid in the least to say he doesn’t know, or to point out something that he thinks is false. He is never telling us what to think, only what the texts say and occasionally what his opinion of something might be.While admittedly reading the Pali canon is not for the faint of heart, I think it is a necessity for anyone who is a serious student of Buddhism, either as a scholar or a practitioner. My personal experience was that upon reading the Majjhima Nikaya, my entire view of what I had been taught as a meditator changed. In fact I would say that a great deal of what is taught as Buddhism is a misrepresentation of what the Buddha taught. That doesn’t mean that you have to agree with it, only that you are doing yourself a disservice by not reading the original teachings.It is also worth mentioning that people in the Mahayana traditions often look down on the canonical literature, especially the Pali canon which comes from the Theravadan tradition. However, this is based on a historical misunderstanding. During the 1st millennium when India was a mainly Buddhist country, and when Buddhism was still largely based in India, monks and nuns from what later became all three major traditions – Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana – all studied, lived and practiced in the same monasteries. To be sure, this is a little less true of Vajrayana Buddhism, but nonetheless it is still true that they all studied the same basic texts. The differences came in their interpretations and understandings of these texts, not that they used different texts. Today the canonical literature survives in three sets, the Pali canon, the Chinese canon (the “Agamas”), and two partial Tibetan sets, the Kangyur and the Tengyur. Indeed the Dalai Lama himself ordered that the Pali canon be translated into Tibetan because of its importance. (Just as a minor note, in general the Pali canon is considered to be the oldest source, while the Chinese canon is generally considered to have somewhat more accurate translations from the original Sanskrit. The Sanskrit texts were largely destroyed when the Muslims invaded India at the end of the 1st millennium.)This literature has survived since the Buddha died around 2400 B.C.E. It is a remarkable treasure. We are very blessed to have it, and just as blessed to have these remarkable translations by Bhante Bodhi.

⭐Great on Kindle. Such books were preserved since 2500 years ago. Direct Buddha’s words. No opportunity to hear Dharma missed. I bought it.

⭐Which nikaya should you start with?Four of the five nikayas are now available in English in their entirety from Wisdom Publications: Digha, Majjhima, Samyutta, and Anguttara. Of these four, I own the last three. When I began researching which nikaya to buy, my goals were—and still are—to gain a deeper understanding of the teachings, and sharpen my practice. For the first goal, the Majjhima was the obvious choice. It’s not as focused on proselytization as the Digha; it’s arguably more accessible than the Samyutta; and it includes the principle suttas on Right View, restraining defilements (asavas), and meditation instruction.Unfortunately, the Majjhima has a heavy emphasis on the supramundane (renunciant) path, and doesn’t include as much general life advice for a lay follower. This is where the Anguttara comes in. Through his research, scholar and translator John L. Kelly discovered that the Anguttara contains 161 suttas—more than any other nikaya—that either directly or indirectly address the needs of a lay follower. It covers a wide range of topics including cultivating a harmonious household, interpersonal relationships, and even business management.As with the other nikayas, the Anguttara is ripe with repetition as these texts were originally chanted before they were transcribed. I’ve found that reading them with a still mind, not allowing myself to get hung up on the phrasing, and calmly watching the text as it evolves over the course of a sutta can itself act as a meditation.So, which nikaya should you start with? I’d recommend the following order: Majjhima, Anguttara, Samyutta, and Digha. I also recommend using John L. Kelly’s paper, ‘The Buddha’s Teachings to Lay People’, as a guide for finding relevant teachings on lay practice. The PDF can be found online.Good luck attaining stream-entry!

⭐Reading for knowledge.

⭐This is part of a series of beautiful translations of the Pāli Canon of the Sutta Pitaka (Basket of Discourse) by Wisdom Publications. These are all the more valuable an experience to read and study for the wonderfully insightful introductions and commentary by the translators.Sadly, internet searches burry the publisher’s store, where ALL of these titles are available NEW for $50 plus inexpensive, media mail shipping. See wisdomexperience dot org. These sellers on Amazon are either unaware of this, or they are CROOKS!

⭐This is a good starting point. Of the Nikayas I have read, I found this one the most enjoyable. The Buddha’s more bite sized discourses are often more accessible and applicable even without experience in more detailed and advanced Buddhist philosophy. I found the Middle Length Discourses quite difficult for a newcomer at the time. I recommend reading The Path of Individual Liberation by Chogyam Trungpa before reading other Nikayas as it gives some philosophical basics that are entirely unclear otherwise, leaving you perplexed after many discourses.

⭐I respect that a digital edition must still cost money – after all, the translators have to live off something and a book like this can not expect a large audience. Still, for nearly $50 I would expect a digital edition that (at the very least) has all characters visible and preferably finds a way to show diacritical signs as well. This book does neither.BTW – the book DOES have proper formatting in the Kindle app for iOS (tested on an iPad original). So this can be charted up to an android limitation (can we shame Google into improving this?). I wonder about the kindle reader: does it have all those fonts installed?

⭐Must to have for serious Buddhist scholars and practioners! Good introductions and if you are ready to use some time and effort with the extensive notes section you will find it very useful. Not easy reading though, but this is not meant for quick-fix of things but slow and lifelong reflections. If you like Buddhist lists, here them are in their fullest glory!

⭐I’ve had the original hard back copy for a long time and read different stories from it quite often but it is ideal to have it in Kindle format too so I can take it away with me and have some of the Pali canon with me when I travel. It is a heavy book otherwise. I only know Bhikkhu Bodhi’s translation but am very grateful to him for having bought out the Middle Length Sayings in one volume.

⭐Awesome book containing some lesser known but important teachings

⭐Voluminous to say the least.

⭐Quarto volume del Sutta Pitaka appartenente al Canone Pàli, quello più vasto per numero di Sutta. Suddiviso in undici libri, racchiude i discorsi in maniera pedagogica con uno schema numerico, quindi nel primo libro si trovano i discorsi singoli, nel secondo le coppie, nel terzo le triadi e cosi salendo fino all’undicesimo. Un testo vigoroso che aiuta nell’approfondimento della Dottrina, che fornisce un ulteriore appoggio teorico utile per la pratica meditativa. Curato da Bhikkhu Bodhi in maniera magistrale, ha forse il proprio culmine nelle innumerevoli note esplicative, che aiutano il lettore inesperto e anche lo studioso, ad addentrarsi lungo il sentiero della Liberazione. La versione, integralmente in inglese, richiede una certa padronanza della lingua, però con l’ausilio di un Tablet/Smartphone fornito di traduttore, credo che anche i neofiti bramosi di conoscenza possano intraprendere serenamente questa lettura, che sempre porta al conseguimento di beneficio spirituale e armonia interiore.

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