The Buddha before Buddhism

Wisdom from the Early Teachings

Gil Fronsdal

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English

Shambhala Publications Inc
15 December 2016

Religion & beliefs; History of religion; Buddhist sacred texts; Mind, Body, Spirit: thought & practice

In the tradition of the best-selling Dhammapada- a translation with commentary of one of the earliest of the surviving Buddhist texts, which reveals the teachings to be remarkably simple and free of religious trappings.

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, theAtthakavagga, 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 theAtthakavaggapoints 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. GilFronsdal'srigorous 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.

By: Gil Fronsdal
Imprint: Shambhala Publications Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 196mm, Width: 127mm, Spine: 13mm
Weight: 193g
ISBN: 9781611803242
ISBN 10: 1611803241
Pages: 160
Publication Date: 15 December 2016
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

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 PhD 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

Reviews for The Buddha before Buddhism: Wisdom from the Early Teachings

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