no exaggeration. i wasted YEARS on other new forms of buddhism: vajrayana developed up to 1,200 years after buddhas death, zen developed up to 900 years after buddhas death, and others (pure land doesn't even count as it's not about awakening, but going to a very late invented buddhist realm AFTER death based on faith in a very late invented "amitabha buddha"). do these other forms work? not for me! maybe they do for others. but the bottom line is that the original teachings are just that: the original. they are laid out in a step by step frame to lead one to awakening. bodhi has compiled many here to make them very simple and straightforward (otherwise one must read hundreds of pages to get the step by step feel as they are recorded in massive volumes, very spread out. totally worth it though, i have all of his translations). whereas zen is totally reliant on teachings of individual zen masters and the same goes for vajrayana (ie. the practice is not recorded in full in their respective scriptures for said schools). if you try to just read all the mahayana scriptures (all written after the original scriptures were recorded) without reading any works by teachers of those sects or having an actual teacher, you will be lost in a mass of contradictions and confusion.
for example if you read the lankavatara sutra you will learn vague ideas about meditating, then read the infinite life sutras and you will think you should be praying to amitabha, then read vajrayana stuff and you will think you should be praying to tibetan gods, practicing dream yoga, and spinning prayer wheels. the original teachings are reliant on THE BUDDHA'S teachings which are internally consistent and not confusing. they are about morality, meditation to still and gladden the mind (culminating in equanimity and higher states), and finally reflection on reality in order to see through it's constructs. they do not teach any other practices or worship of any "buddhas" or "gods", and there is no conflict from one sutta (sanskrit: sutra) to another. sounds like the right choice to me!
i didn't even know this was the original teachings. this is a collection of texts from the oldest known record of the buddha's teachings (other than the agamas which are preserved in chinese and are of numerous schools and therefore less consistent, some as old as this, some newer, some of unknown origin, and so on), without these, there would be no buddhism. this is from the pali canon or pali tipitaka from the oldest surviving school the theravada.
years and years i spent practicing versions of buddhism with little fruit.
then i discovered the original and had rapid progress. it's a tried and true system. i have seen through reality on multiple occasions now.
this book is indispensable. with this and some supplementary commentaries and maybe some web reading on jhana practice and insight reflection one could easily start to have great progress.
final note: if you dedicate your life to some other tradition under a competent teacher, you MIGHT have some success. like go ordain in a zen monastery or at the very least spend a LOT of time with a zen teacher. i really don't know and i don't want to totally knock other traditions as supposedly they work if you take it that far. but if you are practicing mostly alone like most westerners, go with the original works by the buddha himself and commentaries and supplementary teachings on those works.
this isn't just me talking either, 99% of zen and vajrayana teachers will tell you that you MUST have a teacher to progress. most theravada will say the same, but using the scriptures as your teacher is a viable and realistic option as long as you are diligent! whereas you cannot simply read mahayana/vajrayana scriptures and walk away with any kind of consistent or complete practice methodology.
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Reviews with images
Fantastic to learn Buddhism
I bought this book to learn about Buddhism from the Buddha himself and not some secondary source or a commentary or a modern person's view. I wanted to study what he taught from the old writings and what The Buddha said himself. This book is a great introduction to understanding the original Buddha, his teaching and wisdom. Highly recommend.
Top reviews from other countries
Prahlad A.
Great presentation authored by Honorable Bhikkhu
Reviewed in India on March 8, 2023
J. R. Curtis
A Delightful Book, with Exceptional Commentaries
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 3, 2022