BODHI MONASTERY

A Sixty-Year Spiritual Voyage on the Ocean of Dharma is a personal retrospect of Ven. Yinshun's long career of meticulous and wide-ranging scholarship. There was hardly a phase of Indian Buddhist literature that Yinshun did not explore and discuss in depth. His scholarly work, which is embodied in close to fifty volumes, extends from studies in the most ancient Buddhist canons to expositions of Madhyamaka and Mind-Only philosophy. These scholarly studies did not serve a merely academic purpose but contributed to his lifelong project of devising a truly contemporary expression of the Dharma. Sixty-Year Spiritual Voyage, which the Master wrote on the eve of his eightieth year, gives us a telescopic view of the momentous work of this prolific scholar as well as a concise statement of the conclusions he reached about the correct understanding of Buddhism in theory and practice.
 

By Ven. Jen-chun

Download PDF book

This booklet consists of talks given by Ven. Jen-chun as preparation fro the study of Ven. Yin-shun’s The Way to Buddhahood, a monumental treatise by the foremost Chinese scholar-monk of modern times. Ven. Jen-chun gave lectures on this work for over two years and this booklet contains the opening lectures to that series. Ven. Jen-chun wanted to point out the basic concepts that anyone studying Buddhism should understand before he began his lectures on The Way to Buddhahood. He offers the reader invaluable instructions on the orientation needed to successfully enter the gateway of the Buddha Dharma. His concern is not with theory but with attitudes and actions. He points out that our purpose in studying the Dharma should not be the mere acquiring of information, but the transformation and purification of our minds. Though he ultimately steers us towards the broad bodhisattva path, he does not let us escape the “narrow path” with its hard tasks of self-scrutiny, self-rectification, and self-cultivation. (Book available for free distribution at Bodhi Monastery.)

A Collection of Dharma Talks

By Ven. Jen-chun

Download PDF book

Most of the Dharma talks included in this collection were given at Bodhi Monastery on Saturdays to the Chinese-American and American community. These talks were then transcribed and edited for the Bodhi Monastery newsletter to be read by the Monastery’s extended Dharma community. The shortest lecture “Dispel All Pretenses and Smile” at the beginning of this collection was given at the end of a ten-day Vipassana retreat. Two of the lectures were formal lectures given in Taiwan. (Book will be available for free distribution at Bodhi Monastery in late spring 2008.)

A New Translation from the Pali Canon

Translated by Ven. Dr. H. Saddhatissa
Publisher: RoutledgeCurzon; 1 edition (January 17, 1995)

The Sutta-Nipata contains some of the oldest discourses in the Pali Canon. It is a rich source of texts offering guidance to lay Buddhists and also abounds in suttas that extol the contemplative ideals of early Buddhism. Though the Sutta-Nipata as a collection exists only in the Theravada tradition, some of the individual suttas are found in other traditions.

Read this book online... or Buy this book

Instructions from a Modern Chinese Master

By Ven. Master Yin-shun
Publisher: Wisdom Publications (January 25, 1998)

The Way to Buddhahood is a monumental treatise by the foremost Chinese scholar-monk of modern time, In this book the Master synthesized all the “vehicles” of Buddhism in accordance with a comprehensive scheme that unifies all the different Buddhist teachings into a single graded path. This book is available in English translation (Wisdom Publications).

Read this book online or Buy this book

 

An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (Teachings of the Buddha)

Translated, edited, and compiled by Bhikkhu Bodhi
Publisher: Wisdom Publications (July 28, 2005)

In the Buddha's Words is an anthology of selected discourses from the Pali Canon, the earliest record of what the Buddha taught. This collection is divided into ten thematic chapters in a systematic presentation that reveals the full scope of the Buddha’s discourses, from family life and marriage to renunciation and the path of insight. In the Buddha’s Words allows even readers unacquainted with Buddhism to grasp the significance of the Buddha’s contributions to our world heritage.

Read this book online... or Buy this book

The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya

Translated by Bhikkhu Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi
Publisher: Wisdom Publications; Subsequent edition (March 25, 1995)

The Majjhima Nikaya, or “Middle-length Discourses" of the Buddha, is the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali Tipitaka. This nikaya consists of 152 discourses by the Buddha and his chief disciples, which together constitute a comprehensive body of teaching concerning all aspects of the Buddha Dharma.

More about this book contents.

Read this book online (limited preview) or Buy this book

An Anthology of Suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya (Sacred Literature Series)

translated and edited by Nyanaponika Thera & Bhikkhu Bodhi
Publisher: AltaMira Press (June 25, 2000)

The Pali Text Society's translations of the four main Nikayas, or divisions of the oldest Buddhist scriptures, began in 1899 with TW Rhys Davids' translation of the Digha Nikaya. These works have performed a great service to Buddhists around the world, but they are now in need of replacement. This began in 1978 with Maurice Walshe's translation of the Digha Nikaya, entitled Thus Have I Heard, and published by Wisdom Publications. Wisdom has continued its excellent work with further translations of the Majjhima Nikaya, or The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, published in 1995, and the Samyutta Nikaya, or The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, published last year.