Theravada: What the Buddha Taught

[Ego (buddhism podcast)] Theravada Buddhism: Here's what the historical Buddha actually taught

• Buddhist canons: Tipitaka ("Three Baskets")
• Pali canon: Pali language collection of texts
• Theravada Abhidhamma ("Higher Doctrine")

What the Buddha Taught

What the Buddha Taught

This comprehensive, compact, lucid, and very faithful account of the Buddha’s Teachings (Dhamma) persistently enjoys great popularity in colleges, universities, and theological schools both in America and abroad.

“An exposition of Buddhism conceived in a resolutely modern spirit.”—from the Foreword.

“For years,” says the Journal of the Buddhist Society, “the newcomer to Buddhism has lacked a simple and reliable introduction to the complexities of the subject. Dr. Rahula’s What the Buddha Taught fills the need as only could be done by one having a firm grasp of the vast material to be sifted. It is a model of what a book should be that is addressed first of all to ‘the educated and intelligent reader.’ Authoritative and clear, logical and sober, this study is as comprehensive as it is masterly.”

A classic introductory book to Buddhism, What the Buddha Taught, contains a selection of illustrative texts from the original Pali canon texts, including the suttas (discourses, sutras) and the Dhammapada ("Imprint of the Dhamma," specially translated by the author), 16 illustrations, and a bibliography, glossary, and index. More

• What the Buddha Taught: Revised and Expanded Edition with Texts from Suttas and Dhammapada by Walpola Rahula (author) and Paul Demieville (foreword)