New Guide to the Tipitaka: A Complete Reference to the Pali Buddhist Canon Paperback – June 22, 2013

So first off, I was a little confused as to what to expect. Part of the issue, and you might be the same, is that I had ZERO idea just how MASSIVE the entirety of the Pali Canon (Tipitaka); we're talking TENS OF THOUSANDS of pages. Once you realize that, then you'll understand the purpose and function of this Guide.As the author explains, the guide is meant to be a reference guide that you can use to understand the basic contents of each sutta/part of the Pali Canon. It doesn't so much summarize point for point or paragraph by paragraph, it more tells you what the sutta is about or what it generally discusses. For example, for each sutta the Guide will say something like "On the Buddha's parable of the...." or "On the Four Noble Truths and the path to end suffering" etc. It describes the contents of the particular sutta in very GENERAL terms. This is how it's a reference guide: you can use it to find which suttas in the MASSSIVE body of work that is the Pali Canon which will be relevant to your interests. Because of the size of the Pali Canon, it would be practically impossible for a lay-practitioner to just read all of it word for word; this would be a life-long endeavor. This reference guide can be used to quickly find which sutta will meet your needs, and THEN you can go look at the actual sutta for the exact words. The author of this Guide is very clear about this.So, overall, it's not what I was expecting (a condensed, summarized version of the Pali Canon), but that's because I realized that what I was expecting doesn't really exist precisely because the Pali Canon is so huge. Nevertheless, I realize the critical usefulness of this Guide.It's a big paperback. Nothing special or fancy. The presentation could be better, for sure, but it works. Like the author said, for anyone who is seriously contending with trying to understand the most primary source on the Buddha's teaching (Pali Canon), this Guide is a great place to start and a exceptional tool.

It's what the title says, a guide to the Tipitaka. It also states how monks should live, which was more strict than I originally thought. As a lay person I question how exactly I should be living. It's a good read, I guess, depending on what you're looking for. Unfortunately, other than the last bit of the book, I found it disappointing. To me it was not worth the money, but it may be to some.

This is probably one of the most important books about the Tripitaka and Buddhadhamma any native English speaker of the suttas could purchase. It condenses the 20,000 pages of sutta's into a much more digestible 400 large print pages by describing the main content of each book or chapter. The author, and I, strongly encourage everyone to read the entire texts as they are able, but Cliff Notes version is invaluable for anyone who is serious about Theravada or Buddhist studies.My only suggestion for improvement is that the section of "Buddhism by the Numbers" (which is also sold as a delightful pocket sized book by the author) could have included the Pali vocabulary for each section it describes (excluding the Pali vocabulary forces the student to cross reference the original statements which means it will take more time to study) but that is a relatively minor complaint. The pocket sized book could also use more Pali vocabulary in a future edition.

This is a fantastic book and resource for any Theravadin Buddhist serious about her practice. The Pali Canon is huge and difficult to navigate. Matthew Meghaprasara has written summaries for ALL of the suttas in the Sutta Pitaka--thousands of discourses summarized. It is an amazing feat for which the author has certainly gained great merit. If you want to study the Pali suttas as part of your practice, buy this book.

As described, arrived on time.

I’m a pretty cheap person (and fairly poor also), and initially balked at the price of this book. I also normally buy second-hand and this wasn’t really any cheaper purchased used. If you’re of a similar bent, rest assured - this book is worth it! It’s not expensive because someone put a huge amount of work into it (although clearly they did); it’s just a big book. As in, it’s physically large. Roughly A4 in size and about an inch thick, it’s a veritable tome, and I suspect the price mostly reflects the printing costs.(A note on Buddhist literature: if you’re new to Buddhism, you may not yet know that Buddhism does not have a single ‘holy book’; there is no equivalent of a Bible or Quran or Gita. Instead, there are dozens of holy books, many hundreds of sutras. To buy a full set costs well in excess of £1000. Additionally, every tradition has its own selection of writings which it considers to hold the position of scripture. This means that for most followers of these faiths, reading all of the literature is likely to be impossible, even if they dedicate much time to their practice and live a long life).This book specifically covers the Pali cannon, also called the Tripitaka (or Tipitaka), which is a body of work treasured by most (probably all, though there’s an exception to every rule) Buddhists, and may also sometimes be called the Theravada cannon; it doesn’t cover other texts specific to certain schools of Buddhism. This books isn’t a translation exactly, nor does it comprise extracts from these books. Rather, it tells you what is in each of the suttas in the Tripitaka. An easy way to explain this may be by example. If it covered this review, it might say something like ‘Covers pros and cons of the New Guide to the Tripitaka, and gives a brief overview of its applicability. Also suggests other books about Buddhism which may be helpful for seekers, either in addition to the New Guide, or as an alternative.’ (Except probably the author would do a better job than that! lol).This is particularly fantastic if you’re looking to take a deeper dive into the scriptures, but aren’t sure where to start, or if you’re looking to search for specific things within the scriptures (the book has several comprehensive indices). You can find all of the Buddhist scriptures online for free, but with such a huge body of work out there, it can be tough to know where to start, or where to find teachings on a specific topic. For that, this is the book you need! It also contains a fantastic section at the back, ‘Buddhism by the Numbers’, which is a (just wonderful!) guide to all of the various ‘lists’ in Buddhist teaching. Buddhism has a LOT of these, and I’ve previously longed for a simple summary of them, so this was like a beautiful gift tacked on to the end of the book. What are the 3 intoxicants? How about the 4 streams of happiness? The ten obstacles? The 11 faces of ignorance? The 37 enlightenment dhamma? Running pages 379 through 395, this is easily among the most useful Buddhist teaching material I have ever encountered.Does this not sound like what you’re after?If what you’re looking for is actual Buddhist scriptures, a good place to start is a translation of The Dhammapada (such as the translation by Gil Fronsdal). This is widely accepted amongst different schools of Buddhism, and it makes for enjoyable reading. It’s not overly complicated or involved, and you can get a lot from it without having a broad pre-existing understanding of Buddhism or its terminology. Again, you should be able to find this online fairly easily (try searching ‘dhammapada pdf’ or something similar).There are also books which have translations of lots of bits of different scripture, or other works considered more or less ‘holy’ by different schools: You could try Sayings of the Buddha (translated by Rupert Gethin); Teachings of the Buddha (edited by Jack Kornfield, a pocket-sized book in the Shambhala Pocket Classics series); The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha (E. A. Burtt); A Buddhist Bible (Goddard); or Buddhist Scriptures (in the Penguin Classics series, edited by Donald S. Lopez, Jr - check carefully which version you’re buying, as there is a version in print which is only half as long).If you’re just starting out and want to get to grips with the teachings of Buddhism, it’s probably easier to start with more or a ‘guidebook’, rather than wading into the ancient texts. Far and away the best I’ve ever encountered is called What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula. This contains extracts of holy texts and also comprehensively covers everything you’d need to know about the religion before committing to properly jumping in. It’s not too long or too short, and can be picked up cheaply, or is also available for free online.Overall, I would strongly recommend this book. There are many, many books related to Buddhism out there these days, and whilst many are wonderful, it is a rare few that are so useful as this one. I’m sure that I will treasure my copy for as long as it is in my possession, and I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to the author for their time and effort in producing it.

Nice long list of lists from “the numbers”A good synoptic glossary of the pertinent doctrine which I’m sure the sutras explore in greater detailA very nice book. Succinct and concise. Well laid out with good bibliography/ concordanceGood price/value. I thought...

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Buddha's or Dhamma teachings are vast and classified under a single umbrella "TriPitaka", almost with more than 40 books (DhammaPada is just one among those). A beginner, or even a Dhamma follower, may not know which book to start or read further. This is so the best book, to give an overall introduction to all those approx 40 books in Tripitaka. Go for it. A Must !!!