This landmark volume in the Teachings of the Buddha series
translates the Suttanipata, a text that matches the Dhammapada in
its concise power and its centrality to the Buddhist tradition.
Celebrated translator Bhikkhu Bodhi illuminates this text and its
classical commentaries with elegant renderings and authoritative
annotations.
The Suttanipata, or "Group of Discourses" is a collection of
discourses ascribed to the Buddha that includes some of the most popular
suttas of the Pali Canon, among them the Discourse on Loving-Kindness
Sutta. The suttas are primarily in verse, though several are in mixed
prose and verse. The Suttanipata contains discourses that extol the
figure of the muni, the illumined sage, who wanders homeless
completely detached from the world. Other suttas, such as the Discourse
on Downfall and the Discourse on Blessings, establish the foundations
of Buddhist lay ethics. The last two chapters--the Atthakavagga (Chapter
of Octads) and the Parayanavagga (The Way to the Beyond)--are considered
to be among the most ancient parts of the Pali Canon. The Atthakavagga
advocates a critical attitude toward views and doctrines. The
Parayanavagga is a beautiful poem in which sixteen spiritual seekers
travel across India to meet the Buddha and ask him profound questions
pertaining to the highest goal.
The commentary, the Paramatthajotika, relates the background story to
each sutta and explains each verse in detail. The volume includes
numerous excerpts from the Niddesa, an ancient commentary already
included in the Pali Canon, which offers detailed expositions of each
verse in the Atthakavagga, the Parayanavagga, and the Rhinoceros Horn
Sutta.
Translator Bhikkhu Bodhi provides an insightful, in-depth introduction,
a guide to the individual suttas, extensive notes, a list of parallels
to the discourses of the Suttanipata, and a list of the numerical sets
mentioned in the commentaries.
