Good book to read about the Sutras?

[Unveiled Artist]

I don't know if this is the right place. I was wondering if you guys read

In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon
by Bhikkhu Bodhi?

What did you guys think? I'm thinking of buying it, but not soon since it's $51.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

I don't know if this is the right place. I was wondering if you guys read
In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon
by Bhikkhu Bodhi?
What did you guys think? I'm thinking of buying it, but not soon since it's $51.

Yes, that's pretty good. It depends what you're looking for really.

You can read the suttas on-line, for example here: SuttaCentral: Early Buddhist texts, translations, and parallels
Or here: Tipitaka: The Pali Canon

On the other hand if you're looking for a good introduction to Theravada then a book like "What the Buddha taught" is worth a look ( it has some suttas in the back ).

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Hmm. Thank you. I'll look those up.

Yes, that's pretty good. It depends what you're looking for really.

You can read the suttas on-line, for example here: SuttaCentral: Early Buddhist texts, translations, and parallels
Or here: Tipitaka: The Pali Canon

On the other hand if you're looking for a good introduction to Theravada then a book like "What the Buddha taught" is worth a look ( it has some suttas in the back ).

 

[von bek]

The Bhikkhu Bodhi anthology of the Pali discourses is a great book. He presents a good selection of suttas and writes excellent introductions to each section of the anthology where he groups discourses in a type of graduated scheme. I strongly recommend checking out Bhikkhu Bodhi's full translations of the Nikayas. I have all four that he has done, the Digha Nikaya, Majjhima Nikaya, Samyutta Nikaya, and the Anguttara Nikaya. These are the four main divisions of the Sutta Pitaka. There is a fifth collection, the Khuddaka Nikaya, which is where the Dhammapada comes from. As far as I know, there is no complete English translation of the Khuddaka Nikaya.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

I strongly recommend checking out Bhikkhu Bodhi's full translations of the Nikayas. I have all four that he has done, the Digha Nikaya, Majjhima Nikaya, Samyutta Nikaya, and the Anguttara Nikaya.

It's all good stuff but it can get quite expensive buying them. I have the MN and SN translations by Bhikkhu Bodhi, an AN anthology and a DN translation by Walshe.

 

[von bek]

It's all good stuff but it can get quite expensive buying them. I have the MN and SN translations by Bhikkhu Bodhi, an AN anthology and a DN translation by Walshe.

Yeah, both the SN and AN are pricey. I work in a bookstore, so I am able to get a nice discount. That is how I was able to complete the collection!