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… realized this profound teaching and others who are already on the path , how do such people live? Once again, the Buddha responds with a summary of the whole path of practice: not greedy, unclouded in mind, always doing what is skillful, a mendicant would wander, mindful.

Tissametteyya’s questions concern the nature of the individual who is regarded as perfected (Snp 5.3). Most ancient Indian philosophies posited that our flawed humanity was not doomed …

… right flower, from a heap of available flowers (see 53), to fit into a particular spot in the arrangement. “The learner-on-the- path ”: A person who has attained any of the first three of the four stages of Awakening (see note 22).

48: According to DhpA, the End-maker is death. According to another ancient commentary, the End-maker is Mara.

53: The last line of the Pali here can be read in two ways, either “even so, many a skillful …

… is connected with rebirth (yāyaṁ taṇhā ponobbhavikā). The practice of the noble eightfold path is the only thing that enables one to let go of that craving and be free of suffering. This is what the Buddha called “extinguishment” or “quenching” (Pali: nibbāna; Sanskrit nirvāṇa).

Theravāda Buddhist texts are written in Pali. This ancient Indic language can be thought of as a simplified cousin of Sanskrit. Here are some well-known …

… and on modern Buddhism as potential. These voices have foregrounded the Therīgāthā in new ways, opening a new chapter in Buddhism, one that better represents the full spectrum of Buddhist practitioners both in ancient times and the present. Yet academic feminist studies are hampered by a lack of familiarity with the source material, which leaves them riddled with factual errors and mistaken assumptions. On such shaky ground, they …

… “giver of a pavilion”. Late texts like the Apadānas often invent names to frame a pious story of making merit. Since there never was anyone called Maṇḍapadāyikā, the name is conveniently available for identification with our unknown nun of the Therīgāthā. Once that is done, the commentary can trace her spiritual path to an act of merit in a far distant age of a past Buddha: a woman’s journey must begin with an act of service to a man.

… appear.

My involvement with this began with my jotting down a variety of sutta quotes which I had come across in my readings which I found inspiring and which also, for me, helped to clarify the direct and immediate path of the Buddha. Mostly they were things that I found helpful in my own practice and it was good to have them in one place for me to read from time to time. There was also a question in my own mind about the interest in …

… Sanskrit, Sinhalese, Burmese, Thai, Roman). Thus the Roman lettering used here is pronounced just as one would expect, with the following clarifications.

Vowels are of two types:

Short Long

a as in about ā as in far

i as in hit ī as in machine

u as in put ū as in true

e as in whey

o as in more

Consonants are mostly as one would expect, with a few additional rules:

c as in ancient (like ch but unaspirated) ñ as ny in canyon

… principles of the brahmins are exhibited these days among hounds, but not among brahmins. What five?

In the past brahmins had sex only with brahmin women, not with others. These days brahmins have sex with both brahmin women and others. But these days hounds have sex only with female hounds, not with other species. This is the first ancient principle of the brahmins exhibited these days among hounds, but not among brahmins.

… Buddha!

Homage to him, the blessed one, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha!

Excellent, worthy Piṅgiyānī! Excellent! As if he were righting the overturned, or revealing the hidden, or pointing out the path to the lost, or lighting a lamp in the dark so people with clear eyes can see what’s there, the worthy Piṅgiyānī has made the teaching clear in many ways. I go for refuge to the worthy Gotama, to the teaching, and to …

… chapter ends with the word tādi, a “poised one”, one who is “such”, unaffected by likes and dislikes.

The fourth chapter deals with the harm caused by an undisciplined mind, which affects even those who follow his path . It starts with the story of the truculent Meghiya. He was the Buddha’s attendant before Ānanda, so this must still be set fairly early in the Buddha’s career. Meghiya’s impulsive personality means he is benefited by …

… Inspired Utterances in 2022 with Dhamma Publishers. This is part of his much longer series of translations and is based on the digital text of the Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana Tipiṭaka (VRI). It is a literal translation, intended to help the student reading the Pali.

I respect and honor all of these editors and translators who have done so much to bring this ancient scripture to modern light, and without whose work my own would not be possible.