The Connected Discourses of the Buddha

Rating:
Summary: Incredible gold of true Dhamma by the Honorific Bhikku Bodhi
Review: having called the publisher every day until the very moment the ink on the books was dry i awaited another gemstone from Bhikkhu Bodhi. Im glad to say that his writtings have converted me from (2 years ago) a wishy washy Zennist to a staunch Theravadan holding against the light these translations from Bhikkhu Bodhi including the Majjhima and others from the BPS. Unlike other reviews on Amazon which are homogeneously 5 star reviews i can say of the 20 plus one star reviews ive given this book is only among 2 or 3 five star reviews that actualy deserves this rating. This new translation (very much needed from the old Rhys Davids PTS stuff)is fair and equitable in that myself and a few other monks have noted either two extremes in Sutta Translation. Either an staunch Anatta anihilationist point of view is taken of the translation and the flowing grace and beauty of the Original Pali is MORE lost than would have necessarily have been the case OR the translation is so esoteric and flowery that it is hard to follow. Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi has so lucently and gracefull done this masterfull and Profound translation the best justice that any Pali-English translation can be done! Having myself a Library of 600+ books on Buddhism acquired through a decade of scrounging this among his other works in Translation and commentary hold the highest regard in my Buddhist Library. Unlike his other works (another great great plus for this set)is that the layout and referencing of subject in both Pali and English combined with indexing of masterfull forethought in this collection is so very well put together unlike any other voluminous work of its kind that anywhere within the 2060 pages detailed specifics can be located with amazing ease and accurateness.For Buddhologists and laypersons of Buddhist inclinations the incredible attention to layout/notes/and indexing is nothing if but second to none!I hate to seem to rave about this collection but of the 600+ titles i own on Buddhism i say not lightly at all that this collection is underpriced considering content and profundity of the materials not only in relation to what this Section of the Sutta Pitaka means to the Buddhist interested in uncovering the gems of sublime Dhamma found withing the covers BUT ALSO the manner of the translators equinimity in true to context and content translation so hard to find in Pali translations coupled with the masterfull skill and attention to detail that this work has been done more than full due justice. I bow humbly before Bhikkhu Bodhi for what he has done and has just accomplished in this Grand work of Buddhist Canonical literature that points the way to genuine salvation from Samsara that the Honorific Enlightening Tathagata pointed out to us. Taking the Buddhas ancient warning that the true Dhamma would disintegrate in this degenerate age i find tears of joy and honor for those Venerables like Bhikkhu Bodhi for sustaining this gem.In no other words this book and more specifically this book is a unquestionable must have, in 4 days of having it, Ive found indispensable in more ways than one.More gratitude that can be expressed in any words to you ...in the Dhamma, Buddhist monk: KL

Rating:
Summary: An amazing achievement and a precious gift
Review: I can only express my profound gratitude, joy, and wonder over Bhikku Bodhi's marvelous translation of "The Connected Discourses of the Buddha." What a treasure trove exists here! These texts will provide a lifetime of study, reflection, meditation, and guidance for all serious students of the Buddha's teachings. They are beautifully put together, thoroughly referenced and explicated, and translated with a great depth of understanding and obvious love. This book is not only a classic work of translation but also, for the serious practitioner, a priceless boon. To have access, in this day and age and in English, to the canonical literature that almost certainly most accurately reflects the actual words of the Buddha, and in such a beautiful and authortative version, is a great benefit. Many, many heartfelt thanks to Bhikku Bodhi and Wisdom Publications for this tremendous achievement !

Rating:
Summary: Diligence pays off
Review: I can only express my profound gratitude, joy, and wonder over Bhikku Bodhi's marvelous translation of "The Connected Discourses of the Buddha." What a treasure trove exists here! These texts will provide a lifetime of study, reflection, meditation, and guidance for all serious students of the Buddha's teachings. They are beautifully put together, thoroughly referenced and explicated, and translated with a great depth of understanding and obvious love. This book is not only a classic work of translation but also, for the serious practitioner, a priceless boon. To have access, in this day and age and in English, to the canonical literature that almost certainly most accurately reflects the actual words of the Buddha, and in such a beautiful and authortative version, is a great benefit. Many, many heartfelt thanks to Bhikku Bodhi and Wisdom Publications for this tremendous achievement !

Rating:
Summary: Dense and redundant, but quality
Review: If you're looking to experience as close as possible what it was like to sit in the forest and listen to the Buddha's dharma talks, this will get you there. But did the Buddha really repeat himself so much? It's common to see passages repeated in Buddhist sutras, but boy these really take the cake. This is a huge, rich work, to be in my library for a lifetime.

Rating:
Summary: Dense and redundant, but quality
Review: If you're looking to experience as close as possible what it was like to sit in the forest and listen to the Buddha's dharma talks, this will get you there. But did the Buddha really repeat himself so much? It's common to see passages repeated in Buddhist sutras, but boy these really take the cake. This is a huge, rich work, to be in my library for a lifetime.

Rating:
Summary: Diligence pays off
Review: It took me some time to understand the lay-out of the book (mainly because of the vast scope, the nature of oral transmission, and my unfamiliarity with Pali terminology) but it has been VERY worth while. There is much here for the serious Buddhist. Thank you to Bhikkhu Bodhi for taking on this massive translation.

Rating:
Summary: A new standard for English translations of Buddhist texts
Review: With the publication of this massive, two-volume text, American born and educated Bikkhu Bhodi presents to the English-speaking world the intellectual equivalent of the Hubble telescope. Peering through the gigantic lens one blinks a time or two in absolute amazement -- and then suddenly sees, with unprecedented clarity and brilliance, formerly unseen reaches of the spiritual cosmos. He beholds nothing less than the Light of Asia.

Virtually all Buddhists agree that the fundamental essence of the Buddha's teaching and doctrine is presented nowhere else as clearly as in the middle section of the Pali Tipitika, consisting primarily of the four great Nikayas. These works, of which the Samyutta Nikaya is the third, contain thousands of suttas in which are preserved the earliest (and probably most authentic) glimpses of the Buddha absorbed in carrying out his ministry. In these suttas we find him talking with anyone who showed real interest, and earnestly and persistently explaining to them his Dhamma. It is by reading these suttas that today's student comes as close as he is ever likely to get to studying that same Dhamma -- and in something like the Buddha's own words.

Efforts to translate Buddhist texts began within decades of the Buddha's death, and have never ended. Differing dialects within India itself necessitated the synthesis of a Buddhist lingua franca, and Pali was the result. Export of the doctrine outside India led to generation after generation of translators producing versions which could be comprehended in Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Tibet, Thailand, etc. However serious attempts to create texts for English-speaking persons began only about 125 years ago, and though great strides have been made since, much of it has also been shaky or frankly misleading.

This distinguished edition of the Samyutta Nikaya by Bikkhu Bhodi was preceded within the last fifteen years by outstanding translations of two other of the four great Nikayas, the Digha and the Majjhima, both also published by Wisdom. But as fine as each of these other publications certainly were, they are dramatically surpassed by this Samyutta, which sets an entirely new standard for English translations of any Buddhist work from any tradition or school.

Bhodi has relentlessly pursued properly nuanced and finessed English equivalents for the vast complexity of Buddhist doctrinal concepts, occasionally reversing practices he doggedly followed in earlier works. The result is a startling crisp, lucid text which inches us reassuringly closer to what might in time become the basis for a "standard" version of Theravada literature.

The reader is staggered by the Samyutta's encyclopedic scope. It not only covers vast conceptual territory but, as the title "Connected Discourses" suggests, it has a far tighter internal structure than the two preceding Nikayas. Thus large sections tend to be devoted to one after another of its fifty-six major unifying themes, including the chain of causation, the Four Noble Truths, the five aggregates, the six sense bases, the Noble Eightfold Path, etc. Often one main sutta reviews the unifying concept or theme, followed by several shorter suttas in which related topics or themes are presented and elaborated. Like mini-seminars, these groups of suttas are clearly designed to teach in a coherent, graduated way, and the avid reader/student is easily able to navigate between topics according to interest or need.

Supplementing the breadth and richness of the Samyutta's text itself, Bikkhu Bhodi has written an immense number of explanatory notes, and he precedes each major section or division with a lengthy, marvelously informative introduction to the relevant concepts and to the various suttas in which those concepts are presented. He has also devised a number of interesting and highly useful appendices, including some unique concordances (coordinating elements both internal and external to the Samyutta), and systematically identifies numerous "templates" based upon which many of the suttas turn out to have been constructed or designed.

As profound as this work is, it offers much to both the uninitiated as well as to the very advanced student. Bikkhu Bodhi suggests that the original compilers of the Samyutta Nikkaya may have had as one of their fundamental motives that of fashioning something of a "study syllabus," aimed at guiding insight meditators who were intent on achieving direct realization of the ultimate truth. This reflects lofty aims indeed, both on the part of the compilers and of their assumed audience. Because insight meditation remains today the preoccupation of so many, and because direct realization of ultimate truth is still a goal avidly sought by all Buddhists, this wonderful new Samyutta Nikaya could well emerge as the magnet needed to draw together practictioners and students from all orientations and from every level of advancement.

I am convinced, though, that in the end it will be the rare reader indeed, whatever he may be seeking and however acccomplished he may may already be in pursuit of that aim, who fails to be moved simply by the inherent beauty of this ancient text, the elegance of its pristine new translation, and the sheer weight of erudition which has been devoted to its preparation. Students of the Buddha -- and of the humanities in general -- are deeply indebted to Bhikkyu Bodhi for this triumphant work. It challenges us all by giving us so much to live up to.