The parable of the blind men and the elephant, from Udana 6.4
For those interested in Buddhism, the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pali Canon is often overlooked, but contains some really important texts, including the Khuddakapatha or "Short Passages." According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu (one of the translators of the text), the Khuddakapatha was probably originally used as an introduction to Buddhism for novice monks and nuns.
It is surprising how different the Khuddakapatha is from contemporary introductions to Buddhism. Among other things, the Khuddakapatha emphasizes the importance of making merit, includes a list of the 32 parts of the body, and includes instructions for metta ("loving-kindness" or "goodwill") meditation, but not for mindfulness of breathing (which nowadays is commonly the first meditation technique taught to novice meditators).
In addition to the Khuddakapatha, other important but often-overlooked texts from the Khuddaka Nikaya include the Udana, Itivuttaka, and Sutta Nipatha. In terms of their importance for understanding early Buddhism, these should probably be among the first texts one reads, but I am just now getting around to them.
The Khuddaka Nikaya does contain one text which is very popular and widely-read the Dhammapada. Indeed, the Dhammapada is probably the most frequently translated Pali text. Given the popularity of the Dhammapada, and to a lesser extent of the Jataka or birth tales of the Buddha, it is somewhat strange that the other texts of the Khuddaka Nikaya are but seldom translated, read, or discussed. Credit must go to Thanissaro and to the Thai Forest Tradition generally for helping to put the spotlight on these relatively neglected parts of the Pali Canon.
3 comments:
Reading about the Buddha is very interesting. I just read the introduction to the Dhammapada but I think I will try to read the actual text because I love stuff like this.
I recently found this website about The Ultimate Truth. It is a very interesting read and from the web address it would appear that it was a contest entry. It is very enlightened.
If you're interested in Buddhism, I highly recommend Thanissaro Bhikkhu's personal website, dhammatalks.org. He is the abbot of a Thai Forest Monastery in rural San Diego county, and is both a fine scholar and an engaging essayist and speaker.
The Thai Forest Tradition is a deliberate attempt to reconstruct early Buddhism; you will find that their teachings and practices vary significantly (sometimes startlingly) from what passes as the "commonsense" or received version of Buddhism, especially as it has been filtered through Western popular culture. This makes what they have to say even more interesting!
Also, while I am not a scholar of Buddhism per se, their views do seem to be a more faithful embodiment of early Buddhism, based on my studies of the Pali Canon and works by Buddhologists such as Richard Gombrich and Rupert Gethin. Also, while Thanissaro is an abbot, not an academic, his work is taken seriously by professional scholars; I have seen him cited by philosophers and Buddhologists with increasing frequency. All this is just to say that I have great respect for his work, and for his message.
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