[Buddha-l] Early Buddhist Discourses

[Piya Tan]

Dear Buddha-Lites,

Holder's Early Buddhist Discourses (Hackett 2006) certainly has a
smooth flow of modern English, with helpful introductions. However, as
regards annotations, I think Bodhi is still the best. (I'm told he is
working on the Anguttara right now.)

I try to put it as much annotations in my own near-literal
translations http://dharmafarer.googlepages.com) so that important
concepts, tricky words, sentences or passages are explained. I try to
retain the repetitions wherever they help so as not to omit any
nuances when reading them as a spiritual exercise.

I find Thanissaro bewildering: for example, he translates nibbaana as
"the unbinding" which is more of an explanation than a translation.

The Pali texts as we know them are oral transmission: they are meant
to be "heard" (suta), rather than "read". Here Holder has done us a
favour in abridging his translations into modern English idiom. And
also he provides us with helpful questions and discussion topics.

For academic study, such an approach as Holder's is excellent.
However, for mindful reflection, the repetitions have a purpose. The
rub is in the reflective listening that keeps linking up the teachings
(more and more Dharma neurons get connected). Certainly such readings
are a great support for mindfulness meditation.

What often amazes me is that the Pali Sutta system of repetitions has
an interesting internal system, which is best recognized and explained
by say a specialist  in computer programming (I am not one). They have
nestings, recursive cycles, concatenations, etc. I wonder if any such
study of the Sutta structure has been studied and published?

Piya Tan


On 2/24/07, Richard Hayes <rhayes at unm.edu> wrote:
> Dear denizens,
>
> As those of you who have followed my tirades and diatribes over the years will
> know, I am a great fan of the Pali canon. At the same time, I seem never to
> be able to find a translation that I really like. When it comes to reading
> for my own personal inspiration, I am not very fussy, but when it comes to
> putting a translation into the hands of students, I have somewhat higher
> standards. I want them to find the Pali canon interesting.
>
> This year I am using yet another anthology of canonical texts, having used the
> translations of bhikkhus Thanissaro and Bodhi in the past, and lots of other
> things from www.accesstoinsight.org over the years. Each of them left me
> experiencing a bit of dissatisfaction (dukkha, as the folks in Magadha called
> it lo these many years ago).
>
> The anthology I am using this semester is John J. Holder's Early Buddhist
> Discourses (Hackett 2006). The more I use this text, the more I like it. The
> translations are accessible and accurate, and each one has a very nice
> introductory essay. I recommend it highly, both for those of you who teach
> the Pali canon in translation from time to time and for those of you who like
> reading and rereading what the samana Gotama said to his friends on various
> occasions.
>
> --
> Richard P. Hayes
> Department of Philosophy
> University of New Mexico
> http://www.unm.edu/~rhayes
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