Reading the Buddha's Discourses in Pali

A Practical Guide to the Language of the Ancient Buddhist Canon

Bhikkhu Bodhi

• Publisher: Wisdom Publications
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781614296973
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Buddhism

Renowned scholar-monk and bestselling translator Bhikkhu Bodhi's definitive, practical guide on how to read ancient Buddhist texts in the original language. Bhikkhu Bodhi's sophisticated and practical instructions on how to read the Pali of the Buddha's discourses will acquaint students of Early Buddhism with the language and idiom of these sacred texts. Here the renowned English translator of the Pali Canon opens a window into key suttas from the Sa?yutta Nikaya, giving a literal translation of each sentence followed by a more natural English rendering, then explaining the grammatical forms involved. In this way, students can determine the meaning of each word and phrase and gain an intimate familiarity with the distinctive style of the Pali suttas—with the words, and world, of the earliest Buddhist texts.Ven. Bodhi's meticulously selected anthology of suttas provides a systematic overview of the Buddha's teachings, mirroring the four noble truths, the most concise formulation of the Buddha's guide to liberation. Reading the Buddha's Discourses in Pali shares with readers not only exceptional language instruction but also a nuanced study of the substance, style, and method of the early Buddhist discourses.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Publisher’s Acknowledgment
• Title Page
• Contents
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Detailed Contents
• General Introduction
• A Very Brief Overview of Pāli Grammar
• Common Sentence Patterns in the Nikāyas
• Key to Grammatical Terms Used in This Book
• 1. The Four Noble Truths: The Matrix of the Teaching
• 2. The Five Aggregates: The Meaning of Suffering in Brief
• 3. The Six Sense Bases: The Channels through which Suffering Originates
• 4. Dependent Origination: The Origination and Cessation of Suffering
• 5. The Path and the Way: The Practices Leading to the End of Suffering
• 6. The Unconditioned: The Goal
• Pāli-English Glossary
• Bibliography
• About the Author
• Copyright