Buddhism: In Translations (Forgotten Books) Book

Book Description: "This book was translated and edited by Henry Clarke Warren (1854-1899), and published in 1896 as Volume III of the Harvard Oriental Series. As such, it (like The Sacred Books of the East) suffers from some of the deficiencies of Victorian-era translations, mainly: intentionally archaic phrasing (although not as much as is found in many books), versification that today strikes us as stilted (if not downright bad), and translations of some Buddhist technical terms that may show a lack of understanding for the subtleties of Buddhist thought (very notably, the use of the word 'priest' instead of 'monk' to translate 'bhikku', which is not at all a subtle distinction) and have been superceded in more modern translations. Also, it is an anthology of excerpts from various Pâli sources, and as such, it subjects us to Warren's judgment as to what is important to read.All that being said, however, it is still a quite worthwhile book, and a fine introduction to the vast range of Pâli Buddhist literature. The translations are of a high quality given their time period, and many of the excerpts are of good size, including a number of complete texts. While it may not be suitable for use as devotional text or scholarly reference, it does have value in its own right. Some of the material included (especially the excerpts from the Visudddhi Magga) is not available in any other public domain sources, and at a mere 496 pp. it is concise introduction to the major ideas of Theravada Buddhism. A second table of contents for the book has also been provided, reorganizing the material according to the original sources." (Quote from sacred-texts.com)Table of Contents: Publisher's Preface; Abbreviations.; General Introduction.; The Buddha.; Introductory Discourse.; The Story Of Sumedha.; A List Of Former Buddhas.; The Characteristics Of A Future Buddha.; The Birth Of The Buddha.; The Young Gotamid Prince.; The Great Retirement.; The Great Struggle.; The Attainment Of Buddhaship.; First Events After The Attainment Of Buddhaship.; The Conversion Of SÂriputta And MoggallÂna.; The Buddha's Daily Habits.; The Death Of The Buddha.; Sentient Existence.; Introductory Discourse.; Questions Which Tend Not To Edification.; King Milinda And NÂgasena Come To An Understanding.; There Is No Ego.; All Signs Of An Ego Are Absent.; No Continuous Personal Identity.; The Mind Less Permanent Than The Body.; What Is Unity Or One?; Analysis Of The Human Being.; The Composition Of The Body.; On Getting Angry.; The Origin And Cessation Of The Human Being.; Inanimate Nature.; The Middle Doctrine.; Ignorance.; Karma.; Consciousness.; Name And Form.; The Six Organs Of Sense.; Contact.; Sensation.; Desire.; Attachment.; Existence.; Birth Etc.; Discussion Of Dependent Origination.; Karma And Rebirth.; Introductory Discourse.; Be A Friend To Yourself.; The Cause Of Inequality In The World.; Fruitful And Barren Karma.; The Death Of MoggallÂna.; Good And Bad Karma.; How To Obtain Wealth, Beauty, And Social Position.; The Round Of Existence.; Cause Of Rebirth.; Is This To Be My Last Existence?; Rebirth Is Not Transmigration.; Reflections On Existence.; Different Kinds Of Death.; How Existence In Hell Is Possible.; Death's Messengers.; The Ass In The Lion's Skin.; The Devoted Wife.; Friendship.; virtue Is Its Own Reward.; The Hare-mark In The Moon.; Meditation And Nirvana.; Introductory Discourse.; The Way Of Purity.; Concentration.; The Thirty-one Grades Of Being.; The Forty Subjects Of Meditation.; The Earth-kasina.; Beauty Is But Skin-deep.; The Conversion Of Animals.; Love For Animals.; The Six High Powers.; Spiritual Law In The Natural World.; Going Further And Faring Worse.; SÂriputta And The Two Demons.; World-cycles.; Wisdom.; The Summum Bonum.; MÂra As Plowman.; The Fire-sermon.; The Four Intent Contemplations.; The Attainment Of The Paths.; Nirvana TRead More