Gil Fronsdal - The Buddha before Buddhism: Wisdom from the Early Teachings

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The Buddha

before

Buddhism

Wisdom from the Early Teachings

Gil Fronsdal

SHAMBHALA

Boulder

2016

Shambhala Publications, Inc.

4720 Walnut Street

Boulder, Colorado 80301

www.shambhala.com

2016 by Egil Fronsdal

Cover design by Katrina Noble

Frontispiece: Bodhi leaf photograph used by permission of Allan Baillie.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Names: Fronsdal, Gil, translator, editor.

Title: The Buddha before Buddhism: wisdom from the early teachings / Gil Fronsdal.

Other titles: Tipiaka. Suttapiaka. Khuddakanikya.

Suttanipta. Ahakavagga. English

Description: First edition. | Boulder: Shambhala, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016003248 | EISBN 9780834840423 | ISBN 9781611803242 (paperback)

Subjects: | BISAC: RELIGION / Buddhism / General (see also PHILOSOPHY / Buddhist). | RELIGION / Buddhism / Sacred Writings.

Classification: LCCBQ1419.5.A8622 E5 2016 | DDC 294.3/8232DC23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016003248

THIS BOOK is a translation of a collection of ancient Buddhist poems often considered to be among the Buddhas first teachings. The anthologys original title, the Book of Eights, suggests something about the format of the poems, but it gives no hint that the text contains a radical message that differs significantly from standard presentations of Buddhism. Nor does the traditional title indicate that the books teachings offer people a provocative challenge to live a life of deep, abiding peace. The peace that this text holds at its center is one to be experienced here and now, without any reference to the ultimate metaphysical and religious realities often taught as fundamental to Buddhism. In this text, reality is not divided into a conditioned, worldly realm and an unconditioned, transcendent realm far removed from the contingent world of ordinary human life. Instead, the teachings point to a peace that can be found in this life in this world. References to rarefied states of mental attainmentsusually associated with meditation adeptsare also absent from this text, except perhaps in one enigmatic statement (verse 874).

As a longtime Buddhist practitioner, I am inspired by the directness, simplicity, and immediacy of the vision pointed to by these poems. Some Buddhist teachers have suggested that what is presented here is the view of the world as seen by someone who is already enlightened and that the Book of Eights represents the perspectives of those furthest along the Buddhist path. Whether this is the case or not, I believe the text teaches a possibility that is available to anyone. I hope this translation helps open up this possibility.

In translating the text, I attempted to understand its teachings as intended by its author(s), trying to be as aware as possible of the biases and modern ideas I naturally carry with me. The purpose for doing this translation work was intensely personal in that I wanted to be challenged by these ancient teachings. I also hoped my own understanding of Buddhist teachings would improve through a closer look at some of its earliest texts.

To arouse interest in a translation of one of the oldest surviving Buddhist texts, I decided to call this book The Buddha before Buddhism. I hoped this title would raise a number of questionsmost prominently, what might the Buddha have taught after his awakening but before he and others organized and systematized his teachings into what is now identified as Buddhism? Here, in an incipient stage in the development of early Buddhism, can we identify the Buddhas most essential message?

IN THE YEARS that I have studied and translated the Book of Eights, I have been inspired and supported by many people. I thank David Chappell, who introduced me to this text in my first graduate course in Buddhist studies. Jan Nattiers translation of a few of the discourses from the anthology gave me my first orientation for studying the text in Pali. Jans ongoing encouragement and guidance throughout the project have been invaluable. I am also grateful to Grace G. Burford for her book Desire, Death, and Goodness: The Conflict of Ultimate Values in Theravada Buddhism. Her study on the Book of Eights inspired me with new perspectives for reading the text.

I am very grateful to Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Andrew Olendzki, and Diana Clark for checking my translation against the Pali original. I thank Bhikkhu Bodhi for his comments on my translation of The Eightfold Discourse on the Ultimate. The suggestions and corrections from these scholars have been as humbling as they have been invaluable.

Diana Clark and Carol Ghigliari both provided expert editing of the entire book. Without their generous help, the text wouldnt be as readable as it has become. Andrea Fella provided important editorial suggestions on the translation of the poems. I am very grateful for their contributions and their warmhearted support.

I am also grateful to the pioneering scholarship of those who previously translated the text into English. Their careful work at deciphering some of the difficult passages made it possible for me to make my own translation. In particular, I wish to thank K. R. Norman and Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

I would like to reassure all those who have supported me in this project that any errors in the translation are my own.

THE BOOK OF EIGHTS, or Ahakavagga, is a relatively small anthology of sixteen poems tucked away in a larger anthology that is itself relegated to yet another anthology, the canonical group of texts known as the Minor Collection (Khuddaka Nikya). Perhaps because of this inconspicuous placement, the Book of Eights has not received the attention it deserves for containing a unique and, for some, a very inspiring presentation of important Buddhist teachings. Here we find the Buddhas teachings pared down to their most essential elements, free of the more complex doctrines often associated with Buddhism. The Book of Eights gives the impression of containing the seeds that grew into the fully developed early Buddhist teachings in India.

What may be perplexing to many is that the Book of Eights does not espouse a religious doctrine that exists in opposition to other doctrines. Nor does it put forth a teaching that is meant to be seen as superior to other teachings. In a manner that challenges the religious beliefs of many peopleincluding many Buddhiststhe text explicitly denies the role of ultimate religious truth and knowledge in attaining personal peace.

Instead, the text points to a direct and simple approach for attaining peace without requiring an adherence to any specific ideology. The possibility of this peace is what guides the teachings and practices in the text. The value of these teachings is not the profundity of their philosophy or their authority as scripture; rather, they are valuable for the results they bring to those who live by them. Instead of doctrines to be believed, the