The Life of the Buddha

Here are my notes for our first evening study:  Siddhartha Gautama:  his birth, early life, up to his renunciation    LTB1 January 10 2019

Here are my notes for our second evening study:   Shakyamuni Buddha:  his enlightenment and his first teachings   LTB2 January 17 2019

Here are my notes for our third evening study:  Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings to the lay sangha.    LTB3 January 24 2019    as well as links the two sutras we explored in class: the Sigalovada Sutra and the Kalama Sutra.   We also discussed a recent Tricycle article:   When Swearing is Skillful.

The Sugalovada Sutra (Buddha Net)

The Sugalovada Sutra (Narada Thera)

Kalama Sutra (Buddha Net)

A Look at the Kalama Sutta (Bhikkhu Bodhi)

Here are my notes for our fourth evening study: Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings to the monastic sangha.     LTB4 January 31 2019. as well as links the two sutras we explored in class Angulimala Sutra  and . The Monk with Dysentery Sutra (the Kacchuvikara-vatthu Sutra).  We also discussed the history of the women’s monastic sangha   The History of the Bhikkhuni Sangha

Here are links for our fifth evening study:  Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings on social justice:   An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics:. Foundations, Values and Issues  (pdf) by Peter Harvey will be referred to in our class tonight as will  The Buddha’s Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony (pdf) edited by Bhikku Bodhi.

Here are links for our sixth evening study:  Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings on the environment as well as links to materials references in class:
Gary Snyder  The Smokey Bear Sutra  (pdf)
John Stanley et al Editors.   A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency  pdf.   
Susan Murcott  The First Buddhist Women  (Tricycle Review)
Peter Harvey. An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics:  Foundations, Values and Issues. pdf.

Here are links for our seventh evening study: Shakyamuni Buddha:  his last teachings and his death:   The Scripture of the Buddha’s Last Teachings translated by Rev. Master Hubert Nearman.  An alternative translation – from the Pali by Sister Vajira & Francis Story – is. Maha-parinibbana Sutta: Last Days of the Buddha .

In our final class we watched PBS documentary,  THE BUDDHA. My hope is that our classes and discussions will prompt you to explore the life of the Buddha in more detail.  Below are resources that you might find of interest in your study.  I will continue to add resources in the coming days.

Ven. Piyadassi, Thera. The Buddha:  His Life and Teachings. http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/lifebuddha.pdf

Ven. Narrada, Mahathera  The Buddha and His Teachings http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/buddha-teachingsurw6.pdf

Ven. Nanamoli, Bhikkhu, trans., The Life of the Buddha.

Walpola Rahula, What the Buddha Taught.

Sir Edwin Arnold  Light of Asia . http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/lightasia.pdf

Hajime Nakamura  Gotama Buddha  Volume 1 
  A Biography Based on the Most Reliable Texts
Hajime Nakamura  Gotama Buddha  Volume 2 
A Biography Based on the Most Reliable Texts

Bhikkhu Bodhi     In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon.  http://urbandharma.org/pdf2/InTheBuddhasWordsBookPreview.pdf

Bhikkhu Bodhi trans., The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya

Rewata Dhamma,  The First Discourse of the Buddha.

Elizabeth Wray et al. Ten Lives of the Buddha

Karen Armstrong   Buddha

Deepak Chopra.  The Buddha, a Story of Enlightenment

Thich Nhat Hanh  Living Buddha. Living Christ

Herman Hesse   Siddharta

Ven. Kusala Bhikkhu’s website, Urban Dharma. https://www.urbandharma.org, is a rich resourceful information about the Buddha and Buddhist scriptures, as well as reflections on living the Buddhist life in 2019.  In particular may I recommend:

A Sketch of the Buddha’s Life  https://www.urbandharma.org/udharma2/sketch.html

PBS Documentary  The Buddha