The Buddha’s Teachings: An Introduction

by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

The Buddha’s Teachings: An Introduction. A short introduction to the basic concepts and values underlying Buddhist practice, with special attention to clearing up common misinterpretations about what the Buddha taught.

Freely available at dhammatalks.org

Genres: Buddhism, Religion, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Philosophy

33 pages, ebook

Published March 21, 2016

About the author

Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, also known as Ajaan Geoff (born Geoffrey DeGraff, 1949), is an American Theravada Buddhist monk of the Dhammayut Order (Dhammayutika Nikaya), Thai forest kammatthana tradition. He is currently the abbot of Metta Forest Monastery in San Diego County. Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu is a translator of the Pāli Canon as well as more modern Buddhist works and the author of many articles and books on Dhamma.

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an ebook. The author, a Buddhist monk, has been a pioneer in presenting Buddhist teachings in new formats since the 1990s when he first started putting his translations of Buddhist texts on the then new world wide web. This book is available in all of the ebook formats, including PDF, at dhammatalks.org. On the inside of the book are instructions for obtaining printed copies.

Whenever people ask me to recommend an introduction to Buddhism, I never feel fine with the choice I make. I can't think of any introduction that has a human face on it, an inspiring face, and that gets Buddhism completely right.

It is hard to write good introductory material, as it involves pulling yourself out of a subject you are steeped in and getting inside of the mind of someone unacquainted with the subject. Doing it well enough to inform and inspire takes talent.

I was surprised how well Venerable Thanisarro Bhikkhu did. I usually find his style to be dry, academic, and uninspiring.

I was very pleased that he started the book with 3 questions:

1. Is there such a thing as a deathless happiness that can bring suffering and stress to a total end?

2. If there is, can this happiness be found through human effort?

3. If so, can it be found in a harmless and blameless way?

In other words, Buddhism is all about happiness.

All too often with Buddhism ( particularly this author ) it is easy to forget that.

The other thing the author did well was in limiting the size of the book to just 33 pages. Too many introductions to Buddhism are too long winded. Someone who is new to Buddhism and who just wants to get an overview isn't going to have the patience for a tome.

I felt the author went wrong in trying to summarize the steps of in the discourse on mindfulness of breathing ( anapanasati sutta ). An introductory book is just not the place for that. I felt he could have done better by simply stating that the dominant meditation technique in Buddhism is being aware of your breathing. I think his description will leave his intended audience ( people completely new to Buddhism ) just scratching their heads.

I also didn't like his analogy, his use of the words "food" and "feeding" to describe how desire creates suffering and leads to multiple lives. No disrespect to the author, that wording just made Buddhism seem silly.

The author is an excellent and seasoned scholar of Buddhism. He is an excellent analyzer of text. He can point out things that you may have read many times, but have never articulated clearly in your mind.

While I don't like this book as an introduction to Buddhism, I do think it is an excellent introduction to what Thanisarro Bhikkhu has to say about Buddhism.

In that regard I am enthusiastic about the book and recommend to people familiar with his work and deeper writings about Buddhism.

[Ahmad A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good basic and quick introduction to _some_ of the basic concepts and tenets of Theravada Buddhism. Even though the book is short, it still could have covered the Noble Eightfold Path in a bit more detail rather than just listing them for the reader to be informed about their existence. In general, it is a good summary but the book could have used a bit more explanation and/or examples for a beginner reader to make sense of the content more.

[Josiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not the clearest introduction to Buddhism, but is a helpful text nevertheless. It is short enough for those new to the philosophy, but in depth enough for those who are more well versed. Its metaphysical passages are not as well explained as they could be, and the information is rather dry and list-heavy, but overall (and especially considering it is free) this is a good read.

[Leira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Provided a concise yet complete picture of the Buddha's Teachings. It is great entry level book to form an understanding of the high level framework. It is so short, and easy to read. I recommend it as the first book to read about Buddhism.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a great deal of respect for Thanissaro Bhikkhu - His books and translations have served as my primary source for Buddhist teachings for years. Unfortunately, I would hesitate to recommend this book as an introduction to Buddhism, largely due to the density of the writing style, which can be difficult to follow at times, even if one is already familiar with the concepts and material.

To some extent, this is due to the nature of the teachings themselves. Buddhist teachings are often presented as numbered lists; and these lists are often nested and interrelated in complex ways. In the long run, this is actually very helpful in terms of memorization – but, when you're first learning, all of these lists can be daunting. This is where the text falls short as an introduction in my view – many of the lists are presented, but the way in which they are presented is quite rapid fire. Furthermore, while going through one list, it's often the case that another list is opened, so that it can be difficult to maintain the overall context of what is being talked about at certain points.

I think his meditation book, With Each and Every Breath serves as a more effective and accessible introduction to Buddhism. His longer treatises are also great, as they go into each teaching in more depth, giving the reader more time to dwell on and consider the various relationships and implications in the teachings. I also highly recommend his translations of the Pali Canon, and of the talks and works of many Thai Ajahns.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a book so much as a blog post, but very informative. Clocks in around 35 pages of condensed introduction on a broad range of Buddhist concepts. Instead of aiming to give a usable intro to a few concepts, this aims to sketch out the bones of Buddhism so that the reader can do further reading into the specifics and know what other topics they may still need to learn.

Thanissaro Bhikku provides a large number of translations and original works on Buddhism FOR FREE at his website dhammatalks.org. This book acts as a sort of intro/table of contents for the rest of the works available there. This includes manuals on meditation, much of the translated Pali canon, and collected essays from a variety of authors. If you are interested in diving into Buddhist works, this seems like an excellent place to start.

I am still new to Buddhist literature, but this seems to be a very effective introduction for those interested in learning more about Buddhism. 5/5

[John Lescano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Provides a really good and brief overview with appropriate detail, but would not give this to somebody totally new because I think they would struggle with it (e.g. Anapanasati's tetrads + everything else regarding meditation would totally fly over my head as a beginner). However, I definitely would give this to somebody who is already somewhat familiar and but did not know how to structurally think about the teachings. It makes a good study aid and review material. Maybe this was Venerable T's intent.
Although Ven. T. and Bhikkhu Bodhi are known for disagreeing on some definitions(which sometimes ripples to a disagreement on views relating to those definitions), for somebody totally new, I would recommend the latter's "In The Buddha's Words".

[Dakota · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read and short enough to finish in one sitting, this is a good overview of the basic Theravada tradition. It strikes a good balance of practical application, history, and theory. The writing is very accessible and this is an excellent introductory text, though it obviously lacks depth due its short length.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction. Very dense, but worth reading and referencing back to.

[Meli · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, short overview of Buddhism.

[Jaime T · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good and short book to introduce the Buddha's teachings based on the Pali canon.

[Benjamin Fasching-Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it at this website: https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/Bud...
Easy to understand. Reading this helped calm me down.

[Nyashia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it was a nice beginner's book for me but I do believe certain concepts could've been broken down into simpler terms