Favourites from Sutta Nipata

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
Post Reply
User avatar
phil
Posts: 874
Joined: Tue Mar 03, 2009 5:08 am
Location: Tokyo

Favourites from Sutta Nipata

Post by phil »

Hi all

Retro posted a link to a sutta from Sutta Nipata in another thread, and it reminded me how many wonderful suttas there are in there. It seems a corner of the Canon that I am really unfamiliar with, so I would appreciate hearing some of your favourites so I could look them up.

My personal favourite is the Mangala Sutta, which is available in several translation at ATI. Here's one.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think it really provides a complete plan for approach Dhamma, a great framework of reference for lay followers. There is a very good series of talks on it by Bhikkhu Bodhi here:

http://www.bodhimonastery.net/bm/about- ... ipata.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also, there is a wonderful recitation of it by Sayadaw U Silananda in Pali and English here:

http://www.buddhanet.net/audio-chant.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Please scroll down to "Paritta Chanting, Burmese style" and click track 2.

The "mangalas" are translated as blessings, 38 of them, but the wonderful thing is that they are blessing that we earn or fail to earn through our own actions. Towards the end of the sutta there are very refined attainments, I usually don't get that far in my reflections on it - but early on there are many wonderful sources of reflection for lay followers working with undeveloped minds. A very helpful sutta for moral guidance, the most helpful I've found, personally.

Metta,

Phil
Kammalakkhano , bhikkhave, bālo, kammalakkhano pandito, apadānasobhanī paññāti
(The fool is characterized by his/her actions/the wise one is characterized by his/her actions/Wisdom shines forth in behaviour.)
(AN 3.2 Lakkhana Sutta)
User avatar
Bhikkhu Pesala
Posts: 4646
Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:17 pm

Re: Favourites from Sutta Nipata

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

BlogPāli FontsIn This Very LifeBuddhist ChroniclesSoftware (Upasampadā: 24th June, 1979)
User avatar
DNS
Site Admin
Posts: 17190
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 4:15 am
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, Estados Unidos de América
Contact:

Re: Favourites from Sutta Nipata

Post by DNS »

Definitely the Metta Sutta.

The Dhammika Sutta is pretty good too:

"He should not kill a living being, nor cause it to be killed, nor should he incite another to kill. Do not injure any being, either strong or weak, in the world.”

Dhammika Sutta, Sutta Nipata, Khuddaka Nikaya
User avatar
phil
Posts: 874
Joined: Tue Mar 03, 2009 5:08 am
Location: Tokyo

Re: Favourites from Sutta Nipata

Post by phil »

phil wrote:Hi all

Retro posted a link to a sutta from Sutta Nipata in another thread, and it reminded me how many wonderful suttas there are in there. It seems a corner of the Canon that I am really unfamiliar with, so I would appreciate hearing some of your favourites so I could look them up.

My personal favourite is the Mangala Sutta, which is available in several translation at ATI. Here's one.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think it really provides a complete plan for approach Dhamma, a great framework of reference for lay followers. There is a very good series of talks on it by Bhikkhu Bodhi here:

http://www.bodhimonastery.net/bm/about- ... ipata.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also, there is a wonderful recitation of it by Sayadaw U Silananda in Pali and English here:

http://www.buddhanet.net/audio-chant.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Please scroll down to "Paritta Chanting, Burmese style" and click track 2.

The "mangalas" are translated as blessings, 38 of them, but the wonderful thing is that they are blessing that we earn or fail to earn through our own actions. Towards the end of the sutta there are very refined attainments, I usually don't get that far in my reflections on it - but early on there are many wonderful sources of reflection for lay followers working with undeveloped minds. A very helpful sutta for moral guidance, the most helpful I've found, personally.

Metta,

Phil
Hi all

Looking through the Sutta Nipata at ATI, found this sutta that is described as a companion to the Mangala in that it lays out the ways one falls away from the path while the former lays out ways that lead to happiness and progress.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .nara.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Metta,
Phil

p.s thank you Bhikkhu and David (?) for your recommendations.
Kammalakkhano , bhikkhave, bālo, kammalakkhano pandito, apadānasobhanī paññāti
(The fool is characterized by his/her actions/the wise one is characterized by his/her actions/Wisdom shines forth in behaviour.)
(AN 3.2 Lakkhana Sutta)
User avatar
phil
Posts: 874
Joined: Tue Mar 03, 2009 5:08 am
Location: Tokyo

Re: Favourites from Sutta Nipata

Post by phil »

Hi all

.

Here is a good sutta for reflection on unattractiveness of the body for those of us who need constant help in that area.


http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It ends with this succinct reminder:


"This two-footed, filthy, evil-smelling,
filled-with-various-carcasses,
oozing-out-here-&-there body:
Whoever would think,
on the basis of a body like this,
to exalt himself or disparage another:
What is that
if not blindness?"

Metta,

Phil

p.s In my first reaction on reading this there was a hint of resentment. "Hey! my body's not filthy! speak for yourself" We have very thick layers of delusion about the body to cut through!
Kammalakkhano , bhikkhave, bālo, kammalakkhano pandito, apadānasobhanī paññāti
(The fool is characterized by his/her actions/the wise one is characterized by his/her actions/Wisdom shines forth in behaviour.)
(AN 3.2 Lakkhana Sutta)
User avatar
retrofuturist
Posts: 27848
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 9:52 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:

Re: Favourites from Sutta Nipata

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings,

Does anyone have any recommendations on particular translations of the Sutta Nipata?

Venerable Dhammanando has once said...
Woven Cadences is a very old translation by E.M. Hare and quite outstanding from a literary point of view (possibly the most beautiful translation ever of a Buddhist text), but unfortunately it's too free a rendering to be relied on for learning Dhamma.

The only accurate translation is Group of Discourses by K.R. Norman.
What about H. Saddhatissa's translation ( http://www.amazon.com/Sutta-Nipata-New- ... 0700701818" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )?

Image

I've seen a Youtube video of Bhikkhu Bodhi reading from it, so I assume he considers it to be a reasonable version. Has anyone seen this one, or any other works from this translator?

Metta,
Retro. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
User avatar
DNS
Site Admin
Posts: 17190
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 4:15 am
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, Estados Unidos de América
Contact:

Re: Favourites from Sutta Nipata

Post by DNS »

retrofuturist wrote: Does anyone have any recommendations on particular translations of the Sutta Nipata?
I have the http://www.palitext.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; PTS translations of the Sutta Nipata and the other texts of the Canon (and what Wisdom pubs. has done so far).

The translation I have is from K. R. Norman, which seems to be good, but you're right, I've seen Bhikkhu Bodhi reading and studying from the other translation, so I would guess that one is better.
User avatar
Dhammanando
Posts: 6492
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 10:44 pm
Location: Mae Wang Huai Rin, Li District, Lamphun

Re: Favourites from Sutta Nipata

Post by Dhammanando »

Hi Retro,
retrofuturist wrote:What about H. Saddhatissa's translation ( http://www.amazon.com/Sutta-Nipata-New- ... 0700701818" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )?

Image

I've seen a Youtube video of Bhikkhu Bodhi reading from it, so I assume he considers it to be a reasonable version. Has anyone seen this one, or any other works from this translator?
It's a fairly free rendering, and not a very good one, imo. I remember at E-sangha expressing surprise upon hearing that Bhikkhu Bodhi had chosen to use this translation rather than Norman's. But it turned out that the focus of his talks was chiefly suttas of a moralistic or devotional sort, whose contents can survive even in a poorish translation. Also, I was told by one of the posters that Bodhi often gives up on Saddhatissa's translation and supplies his own during the talks.

Best wishes,
Dhammanando Bhikkhu
Yena yena hi maññanti,
tato taṃ hoti aññathā.


In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
(Sn. 588)
User avatar
mikenz66
Posts: 19943
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 7:37 am
Location: Aotearoa, New Zealand

Re: Favourites from Sutta Nipata

Post by mikenz66 »

Dhammanando wrote: It's a fairly free rendering, and not a very good one, imo. I remember at E-sangha expressing surprise upon hearing that Bhikkhu Bodhi had chosen to use this translation rather than Norman's. But it turned out that the focus of his talks was chiefly suttas of a moralistic or devotional sort, whose contents can survive even in a poorish translation. Also, I was told by one of the posters that Bodhi often gives up on Saddhatissa's translation and supplies his own during the talks.
I think I said that... Certainly in the lectures here http://www.bodhimonastery.net/courses/Sn/Sn_course.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Bhikkhu Bodhi often provides his own rendering of the Suttas.

Those lectures are well worth listening to, in my opinion, especially the first 12:
The Paritta (Protective) Suttas (Ratana, Mahāmaṅgala, Mettā).
They make a nice contrast to his talks on the Majjhima Nikaya, which has a more "analytical" focus, precisely because they are more "devotional".

Metta
Mike
User avatar
sherubtse
Posts: 89
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:10 pm
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: Favourites from Sutta Nipata

Post by sherubtse »

mikenz66 wrote:
I think I said that... Certainly in the lectures here http://www.bodhimonastery.net/courses/Sn/Sn_course.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Bhikkhu Bodhi often provides his own rendering of the Suttas.

Those lectures are well worth listening to, in my opinion, especially the first 12:
The Paritta (Protective) Suttas (Ratana, Mahāmaṅgala, Mettā).
They make a nice contrast to his talks on the Majjhima Nikaya, which has a more "analytical" focus, precisely because they are more "devotional".

Metta
Mike
Yes he does provide his own rendering, and not infrequently takes the Ven Saddhatissa to task for his less than faithful rendering of the text.

I agree that they are more devotional than his talks from the MN. They are also more concerned with practical matters of ethics and conduct. IMO, they are wonderful talks!

Best wishes,
Sherubtse
User avatar
mikenz66
Posts: 19943
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 7:37 am
Location: Aotearoa, New Zealand

Re: Favourites from Sutta Nipata

Post by mikenz66 »

sherubtse wrote: I agree that they are more devotional than his talks from the MN. They are also more concerned with practical matters of ethics and conduct. IMO, they are wonderful talks!
I agree. Perhaps my post wasn't clear. I had spent a lot of time reading "In the Buddh'a words" and the MN and listening to Bhikkhu Bodhi's talks before I listened to the Sn talks. Those first few Sn talks give a wonderful insight into what lay Buddhists in Asia are exposed to and therefore what might be particularly important (though often overlooked) for Western beginners...

Metta
Mike
User avatar
phil
Posts: 874
Joined: Tue Mar 03, 2009 5:08 am
Location: Tokyo

Re: Favourites from Sutta Nipata

Post by phil »

mikenz66 wrote:
sherubtse wrote: I agree that they are more devotional than his talks from the MN. They are also more concerned with practical matters of ethics and conduct. IMO, they are wonderful talks!
I agree. Perhaps my post wasn't clear. I had spent a lot of time reading "In the Buddh'a words" and the MN and listening to Bhikkhu Bodhi's talks before I listened to the Sn talks. Those first few Sn talks give a wonderful insight into what lay Buddhists in Asia are exposed to and therefore what might be particularly important (though often overlooked) for Western beginners...

Metta
Mike
This is really important. I have some good Dhamma friends who insist that every sutta should be seen in terms of the deeper implications, in Abhidhamma terms. For example, the Mangala sutta. I think they fail to appreciate the way suttas can motivate wholesome behaviour in very conventional ways that are not unique to Buddhism but still essential in setting up conditions for the deeper understanding. I think some of us in the West get very attracted to the deep teachings because a) we are impatient and b) there is a reluctance to be satisfied with conventional morality because of dissatisfactory connotations from other religions. The devotional aspect of Buddhism is underappreciated, I feel.

Metta,

Phil
Kammalakkhano , bhikkhave, bālo, kammalakkhano pandito, apadānasobhanī paññāti
(The fool is characterized by his/her actions/the wise one is characterized by his/her actions/Wisdom shines forth in behaviour.)
(AN 3.2 Lakkhana Sutta)
User avatar
Nicholas Weeks
Posts: 4210
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 11:26 pm
Location: USA West Coast

Re: Favourites from Sutta Nipata

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

Bumping up this old thread on the wonderful Sutta Nipata. The poetic version by the late Kantipalo is a favorite. The suttas 1.6 & 7 on Disasters & Outcastes (among others) are much needed in this era of lovely, comforting spiritual pablum.
Good and evil have no fixed form. It's as easy to turn from doing bad to doing good as it is to flip over the hand from the back to the palm. It's simply up to us to do it. Master Hsuan Hua.
User avatar
Bhikkhu Pesala
Posts: 4646
Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:17 pm

Re: Favourites from Sutta Nipata

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

Since this topic was started, I have published my translation of Selected Discourses from the Suttanipāta.
BlogPāli FontsIn This Very LifeBuddhist ChroniclesSoftware (Upasampadā: 24th June, 1979)
User avatar
Nicholas Weeks
Posts: 4210
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 11:26 pm
Location: USA West Coast

Re: Favourites from Sutta Nipata

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

Powerful truths from Buddha:
2 The Octad on the Cave (Guhaṭṭhaka Sutta)

772. Stuck in the cave, densely covered over,
dwelling immersed in bewilderment, [152]
a person such as this is far from seclusion,
for in the world sensual pleasures
are not easily abandoned.

773. Based upon desire, bound to enjoyment of existence,
they let go with difficulty, for there is no release through others.
Concerned, too, with the future or the past,
they hanker for these sensual pleasures or earlier ones.

774. Those greedy for sensual pleasures, intent on them,
are confused, stingy, settled in the unrighteous.
When they come upon suffering they lament:
“What will we be after we pass away here?”

775. Therefore a person should train right here:
whatever in the world one might know as unrighteous,
one should not on its account act unrighteously,
for the wise say this life is short.

776. I see in the world this population trembling all over,
addicted to craving for states of existence;
inferior people prattle in the mouth of death,
not devoid of craving for various states of existence.

777. See them trembling over things taken as “mine”
like fish in a depleted stream with little water.
Having seen this too, one should take nothing as “mine,”
not forming attachment to states of existence.

778. Having removed desire for both ends,
having fully understood contact, without greed,
not doing anything for which one might blame oneself,
the wise person is not tainted by things seen or heard.[153]

779. Having fully understood perception,
one can cross the flood.
The muni, untainted by possessions,
with the dart extracted, living heedfully,
does not desire this world or another
Good and evil have no fixed form. It's as easy to turn from doing bad to doing good as it is to flip over the hand from the back to the palm. It's simply up to us to do it. Master Hsuan Hua.
Post Reply