The Buddha before Buddhism: Wisdom from the Early Teachings

by Gil Fronsdal

Overview

This easy-to-understand translation of one of the earliest surviving Buddhist texts offers a pathway to awakening that is simple, straightforward, and free of religious doctrine

One of the earliest of all Buddhist texts, the Atthakavagga, or “Book of Eights,” is a remarkable document, not only because it comes from the earliest strain of the literature—before the Buddha, as the title suggests, came to be thought of as a “Buddhist”—but also because its approach to awakening is so simple and free of adherence to any kind of ideology. Instead the Atthakavagga points to a direct and simple approach for attaining peace without requiring the adherence to doctrine.

The value of the teachings it contains is not in the profundity of their philosophy or in their authority as scripture; rather, the value is found in the results they bring to those who live by them. Instead of doctrines to be believed, the “Book of Eights” describes means or practices for realizing peace. Gil Fronsdal’s rigorous translation with commentary reveals the text to be of interest not only to Buddhists, but also to the ever-growing demographic of spiritual-but-not-religious, who seek a spiritual life outside the structures of religion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611803242
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	11/29/2016
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	379,705
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Gil Fronsdal is co-teacher at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California. He has practiced Buddhism in both the Zen and Vipassana traditions for over forty years. He received his Ph.D. in religious studies from Stanford University. He has published a highly praised translation of the Dhammapada, as well as two other books: the author of The Issue at Hand: Essays on Mindfulness Practice and A Monastery Within: Tales from the Buddhist Path

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

1 The Discourse on Desire 39

2 The Eightfold Discourse on the Hiding Place 43

3 The Eightfold Discourse on the Corrupt 48

4 The Eightfold Discourse on the Pure 52

5 The Eightfold Discourse on the Ultimate 57

6 The Discourse on Old Age 62

7 The Discourse to Tissa Metteyya 66

8 The Discourse to Pasura 70

9 The Discourse to Magandiya 74

10 The Discourse on Before Breaking Apart 81

11 The Discourse on Quarrels and Disputes 87

12 The Shorter Discourse on the Dead End 99

13 The Greater Discourse of the Dead End 107

14 The Discourse on Being Quick 115

15 The Discourse on Being Violent 122

16 The Discourse to Sariputta 129

Afterword 137

Appendix: Knowing and Seeing in the Book of Eights 149

Notes 155

Select Bibliography 178

Editorial Reviews

Provocative, unsettling, and inspirational, this extraordinary collection of early Buddhist poems reveals a radical vision of human freedom grounded in the non-reactive peace of nirvana. Gil Fronsdal’s fine translation allows us to hear how the Dharma may originally have been uttered as poetry in the solitude of forests.  In challenging some of the received wisdom of Buddhist orthodoxy, these teachings invite the reader to question deep-seated beliefs about truth itself.”
—Stephen Batchelor, author of After Buddhism

“Widely acknowledged as one of the oldest texts in the Buddhist canon, the Aṭṭhakavagga is intriguingly different from other Buddhist scriptures, lacking many of the doctrinal propositions that have come to be associated with Buddhism. Gil Fronsdal’s fresh new translation, together with illuminating commentaries to each section of the text drawn both from scholarly research and from his many years of meditation practice, will make this classic text come alive for a new generation of readers.”
—Jan Nattier, author of A Few Good Men: The Bodhisattva Path according to The Inquiry of Ugra

From the Publisher