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

Amazon Customer: How lucky we are to have the collection of the sermons Buddha gave during his time on earth. This is a wonderful translation.

United States on Jun 27, 2023

Jayant Jain: The words of Buddha being given to readers like us from the most authentic Pali Canon and it's translation is a tremendous and wonderful job done by authors. Sutras compilation seems very authoritative in terms of translation and compilation and also the descriptions given for some rare words is commendable.
This Majjhima Nikaya is one of the most truthful and sacred texts on Planet as these are the words of fully enlightened one, the Samyak Sambuddha

India on Mar 26, 2023

A: Great translation. Thank you Bhikkhu Bodhi.

United Kingdom on Mar 20, 2023

Leonard LimLeonard Lim: My preliminary text in Buddhist studies is "The Buddha and His Teachings" by the late Ven. Narada Maha Thera, which is still my beloved book today. But I had also begun to look into studying the "actual content" of the Sutta Pitaka. There are now many available English translations of the Nikayas from the Sutta Pitaka, including many free sources on the Internet, e.g. Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu's dhammatalks.org, which I refer to frequently with gratitude.

However, reading a book offline has its advantages. Apart from having some "screen-off" times, which shields me from the computer screen glares and blue light, it gives a different reading experience. Reading a book, especially a text such as a translation of the Nikayas can serve the purpose of quiet contemplation and even meditation. The ability to flip to the footnotes to check out the commentaries on difficult terms after each Sutta's first read also helps me quite a bit.

The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, with its structured but manageable length of each Sutta, is a near perfect book for daily Sutta reading and practice; for busy people, it can fill the role of "A-Sutta-A-Day" to prevent us from falling...

Singapore on Dec 16, 2021

sukhi: Das MajjhimaNikāya ist mit seinen wiederholungen und den verschiedenen Betrachtungsweisen, des Erhabenen, als "meditative Geistesschulung" zu verstehen.

Wer darin nach etwas verborgenen sucht, weilt noch in Begierde und Unwissenheit.

Wer jedoch alles loslassen will und kann, wer bereit ist, die Lehre des Erhabenen anzunehmen, von der ersten Sutta bis zur letzten, wieder und wieder.
Wer nicht darauf hört, was der eigene Geist sagt, wenn die nächste Wiederholung (scheinbar uninteressant) gelesen wird.
Sondern, wer einfach weiterleiten und dabei den Geistsinn betrachtet;
Wer, die letzte Seite des Buches nicht als Ende sieht, sondern wieder von vorne beginnt, uneingenommen, grenzenlos, allem fern;
Wer bereit ist sein Leben gemäß dem Dhamma zu leben, uneingeschränkt, kompromisslos dem Glück und Wohl aller Wesen denkt;
Wer Begierde, Hass, Unwissenheit hat abgelgt;
* Wer weiß, dass es hier nichts zu erreichen gibt, nur das Loslassen aller Weltlichkeit es gilt.
Wer immerzu, gemäß dem Dhamma, dem Frieden im eigenen Herzen entgegenstrebt,
dem wird dieses Buch der beste Lehrer sein.

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,Man sollte Weisheit nicht...

Germany on Apr 22, 2021

Andrew F. Lee: The Middle Length Discourses are an essential and expansive part of the Pali Canon -- the oldest extant writing of early Buddhism. These discourses cover a broad range of topics from the Four Noble Truth and Eightfold Path to the nature of craving, the importance of generosity, the value of honesty, dealing with fear, the foundations of mindfulness and mindfulness of the breath. It is said that one can learn all of the Buddha's teaching from this one group of discourses.

Beautifully bound, this book is a gift to the English speaking world from Bhikkhus Nanamoli and Bodhi. I plan to enjoy it for years to come.

United States on Apr 10, 2021

Doc Wood: Not being fluent in Pali, I am not the best person to ask about the translation itself, but it seems excellent to me. I've read some of these suttas in other translations and passages that made no sense to me at all then are crystal clear in this one. When there are uncertainties or disputes about a word or a phrase, this is clearly explained in the footnotes--which, by the way, are voluminous. The footnotes are so numerous and detailed that you almost have a commentary here along with the suttas. The book is of excellent quality physically and it's well-edited (I don't think I've found two errors in over 1,000 pages).

If you are thinking of working your way through the entire canon, I'd actually suggest you start with this volume. I couldn't find any direction on that and so began with the DN kind of on the toss of a coin, but find the MN stuffed with practical advice on meditation, on living ethically, and more. I really think it's easier and more useful for a beginner.

United States on Feb 29, 2020

MJ Smith: This is a powerful collection of Buddhist Suttas, (also referred to as Suttras in some traditions). Whether you are a practicing Buddhist of any tradition or a student wanting to learn more about Buddhism these Suttas are treasures of Buddhism. There are 152 Suttas in this volume that cover a broad range of teachings. These Suttas are all translated from the Pali Cannon.

I initially purchased this because I wanted translations of specific Suttas to help me study better how to meditate and to deepen my concentration. There are several key Suttas here which give great instructions and enlightening guidance on these topics. One of the most important Suttas in the Theravada tradition, and also written about by Thich Nhat Hahn is the Satipatthana Sutta, on the Foundations of Mindfulness. This is a powerful Sutta on establishing mindfulness. Another important one is Anapanasati Sutta on the Mindfulness of Breathing. There is a Sutta on the Mindfulness of the Body, called the Kayagatasati Sutta. A Sutta on the Removal of Distracting Thoughts, called the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, and one on Right View called the Sammaditthi Sutta, and others on concentration, as well as many other...

United States on Apr 04, 2019

Eric Van Horn: When I first started to practice, I was told that the Buddha's discourses were repetitive and boring, and that I should not bother with them. For years I followed that advice, but eventually I got frustrated at being told what the Buddha said. I really didn't want to hear about it second hand. One year I bought a copy of the Majjhima Nikaya. Life has never been the same since. What I found was that a great deal of what I was being told was wrong, and a great deal was being omitted.

The Majjhima Nikaya is my answer to "the book you would want to have if stranded on a desert island". Of all the Nikayas, this is the one to read (although lately I know that many people start with "In the Buddha's Words", which is Bhikkhu Bodhi's version of "The Buddha's Greatest Hits").

I admit that the canonical literature is not exactly a quick read (!). But I strongly suggest to anyone who is seriously interested in the Buddha's teachings that they take the time and effort and read it for themselves. It is the closest thing we have to the true words of the Buddha, and whatever its faults the canon has been quite carefully preserved for over 2400 years. I took a year to read the...

United States on Mar 05, 2013

"june9876": this book contains all the middle-length discourses of the buddha. very practical to everyday life. if you are a practicing buddhist, you should get this. books that others have written about buddhism are too many out there and it is very easy to get confused. but this book is the original (well, the translation is sound, but if you really want to get the essence in its pure form many have suggested studying pali, the original language of the discourses of the buddha). the book deals directly with what the buddha taught. after reading this, you can form your own commentaries about buddhism. although some discourses may sound mystical at first, you may find that you can come back to reread it later to find that they make sense after all!

Japan on Sep 05, 2003