Caroline Rainsford

If you want an overview of the teachings of Buddhism,then this is the book for you.Written by Dr Walpola Sri Rahula,a Buddhist monk,it discusses the fundamental teachings of the Buddha .These are the doctrines of the Four Noble truths,the Noble Eightfold Path,Karma,Rebirth,Conditioned Genesis,the Five Aggregates and Satipatthana(the setting up of Mindfulness).Chapters Two to Four deal with the Four Noble Truths.The First Noble Truth is Dukkha discussed in Chapter Two, this is generally translated as The Noble Truth of Suffering.In this chapter it says Dukkha has a deeper philosophical meaning that also includes ideas such as imperfection,impermanence and emptiness.The Five Aggregates of Attachment are Dukkha,the Five Aggregates are Aggregates of Matter,Sensations,Perceptions,Mental Formulations and Consciousness.Chapter Three deals with the Second noble truth which is Samudaya this is the arising of Dukkha.The theory of karma is also discussed in this chapter.This is the theory of cause and effect,of action and reaction.Chapter Four discusses the Third noble truth which is Nirodha -the cessation of Dukkha.To do this ,one has to eliminate the main root of Dukkha which is tanha(thirst) .Nirvana is extinction of tanha.It says he who has realised the truth -Nirvana is the happiest being in the world and Nirvana is to be realized by the ‘wise within themselves’.Chapter Five discusses Magga- THE Path.The eight categories of the path are discussed in three categories a) ethical conduct b) mental discipline and c) wisdom.The eight categories or divisions of the path are discussed in more detail on pages 46 – 49.In Chapter 6, the doctrine of Anatta is discussed.According to the teachings of Buddha,the idea of self is an imaginary false belief that is the source of all troubles in the world from personal conflicts to wars.Chapter Seven discusses meditation or mental culture.There are two forms of meditation ,one is the development of mental concentration and the second is Vipassana-Insight meditation.It says that whatever the form of meditation,the essential thing is mindfulness or awareness(sati) and attention or observation(anupassana).It discusses the mindfulness or awareness of in -out- breathing(anapanasati).Page 69 to 74 has an explanation of mindfulness,meditation and breathing.Chapter Eight is “What the Buddha Taught and the World Today” .Finally there are selected texts given from The Suttas and Dhammapada including Universal Love(metta-sutta),The Foundations of Mindfulness(satipatthana sutta) and The Words of tTruth (selections from the Dhammapada).This is an in depth look at the teachings of Buddhism, which could also be used as a reference book ,the translations of selected texts is especially useful. See https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Buddha-Taught-Walpola-Rahula/dp/1851681426