The First Discourse of The Buddha

Ven. Dr. Rewata Dhamma

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness

Ven. U Silananda

The Life of the Buddha

Patricia Herbert

A Wonderland of Burmese Legends

Khin Myo Chit

The First Discourse of The Buddha

Venerable Dr. Rewata Dhamma

    Two months after the Buddha attained I enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, he traveled to Sarnath, India. There he delivered his first discourse to a group of five ascetics in Deer Park. This teaching, known as the "First Turning of the Wheel of Dhamma" or the Dhammacakka Sutta, contains the foundational teachings of all Buddhism. In it the Buddha explains the way to freedom from suffering through the teachings of the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.

    With this new translation and its verse-by- verse commentary, Dr. Rewata Dhamma brings fresh insight to the Dhammacakka Sutta. Drawing on the rich Burmese monastic scholarly tradition and his own experiences as a vipassana practitioner. Dr. Rewata Dhamma makes clear the precise steps necessary for the realization of the teachings contained in the Buddha's first discourse.

    "Venerable Rewata Dhamma is able to speak from scholarly and meditative experience. Therefore, this work is most significant and very much needed. Most of the Pali Canon has been translated by scholars who, though accurate in translation, do not have insight into Buddha dhamma through the practice of vipassana meditation. The Venerable Rewata Dhamma has made his knowledge available in this important translation and commentary."—from the fore word by Ajahn Sumedho, author of The Mind and the Way.

   AUTHOR:The Venerable Dr. Rewata Dhamma was born in Burma. In addition to Theravada Buddhism. Dr. Rewata Dhamma has also studied Indian philosophy and Mahayana Buddhism. He holds advanced degrees in Sanskrit from Benares Hindu University. Author and translator of several books, Dr. Rewata Dhamma resides in England at the Birmingham Buddhist Vihara. He teaches Buddhism and vipassana meditation throughout Europe and the United States.

© Venerable Dr. Rewata Dhamma, 1997

Wisdom Publications, 361 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02115

ISBN 0-86171-104-1

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness

Venerable U Silananda

    Venerdble U Silananda begins his work with these words: "The Great Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness is important for those who practice vipassana meditation because all instructions are directly or indirectly based on the teachings contained in this sutta (discourse). It you are serious about vipassana meditation, you should know this sutta well."

    The Buddha's words are presented here and accompanied by analysis based on this sutta's rich commentarial tradition. This helps to deepen our meditation experience profoundly.

   Experienced vipassana practitioners will find this book useful because of its wealth of doctrinal and practical Dhamma treasures. Practitioners of meditations such as dzog-chen, mahamudra or Zen will find that this work on the oldest form of Buddhist meditation provides new understanding of their own practices. The general reader will find it useful because of its constant reminders of how each day presents us with a wide variety of opportunities for choosing attention over of blindness.

   Cover photograph of Shwe Dagon Pagoda, Rangoon, Burma: Ed Hauben, Cover design: Janice Hauben and Candace Norton.

   AUTHOR:    Venerable U Silananda is the abbot of the Dhammananda Vihara, Daly City, California, and the spiritual director of the Dhammachakka Meditation Center, Berkeley, having been chosen by the renowned Burmese meditation master, the Most Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw, to teach in America and spread the Dhamma in the West.

    U Silananda has been a Buddhist monk for forty years. He holds two Dhammacariya (Master of Dhamma) degrees and has taught at the Atithokdayone Pali University and at the Department of Oriental Studies, The University of Arts and Sciences, Burma. U Silananda was the chief compiler of the comprehensive Pali Burmese Dictionary and one of the final editors of the Pali Texts, Commentaries, and Sub- Commentaries at the Sixth Buddhist Council, held in 1954. He is the author of seven books in Burmese.

    Since coming to America in 1979, U Silananda has been teaching insight meditation and Buddhist psychology, and leading retreats throughout the country and in Japan, Europe and Sri Lanka. He teaches from an extraordinary depth of knowledge, communicating in clear and precise English. He is loved by his students as a skilled, patient and compassionate teacher.

© Venerable U. Silananda, 1997

Wisdom Publications, 361 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02115

ISBN 0-86171-092-4

The Life of the Buddha

Patricia Herbert

    Buddhism, one of the great religions of the world whose followers today are numbered in hundreds of millions, owes its origin to the inspiration and teaching of one man, Prince Siddhattha, who preached in India over 2,500 years ago and became known as the Buddha, 'the enlightened one'. The Buddha's teachings form an important part of the culture of many of the countries of Asia and scenes of events in the Buddha's life are depicted in sculpture and paintings in Buddhist temples and manuscripts.

    In this superbly illustrated book, Patricia Herbert draws on manuscript sources from Burma — one of the most strongly Buddhist countries in the world today — to tell the story of the Buddha's life as it has evolved over the centuries, incorporating legends, miracles and local variations. As the narrative unfolds each episode is shown in double-page colour illustrations which are reproduced from two magnificent Burmese manuscripts, once owned by the l9 th-century British diplomat and orientalist, Herny Burney, British Resident at the Court of Ava from 1830 to 1837, and now among the most prized items in the British Library collections. The book features colour illustrations from other Burmese manuscripts depicting the life of the Buddha, and includes a general introduction to Buddhism and Buddhist art and, in an appendix, notes about each illustration and a glossary of terms.

   AUTHOR: Patricia Herbert is a Burma specialist and Head of the Southeast Asia Section of the British Library's Oriental and India Office Collections. She has co-edited South-East Asian Languages and Literatures: A Select Guide (Kiscadale Publications, 1989) and compiled Burma (Clio Press, World Bibliographical Series vol. 132, 1991). She is currently writing a book on the manuscript art of Burma.

© 1993 The British Library Board,

First published 1993 by the British Library, Great Russel Street, London WC1B 3DG

ISBN 07123 0188 7

" A WONDERLAND OF BURMESE LEGENDS "

THE AUTHOR

    Khin Myo Chit, born 1915, started writing short stories in Burmese in the Dagon Magazine in 1934. She worked on the editorial staff of The Burma Journal during the years when the country seethed with anti-colonial movements for national independence, and after the war, on a Burmese newspaper The Oway.

   She graduated from the University of Rangoon in 1952 and served as Features Editor in The Guardian Daily when she began writing short stories and articles in English. "The 13 Carat Diamond" appeared first in The Guardian Magazine, and was included in "Fifty Great Oriental Stories" published in the United States and Canada. It was also translated into German, Italian, Gujarati and Yugoslav. Another short story, "Her Infinite Variety", won a Horizons Prize in a contest among Asian countries. "The Four Puppets", a folk tale, was published in "Folk Tales of Asia", sponsored by the Asian Cultural Centre for UNESCO.

   Her English publications include Burmese Scenes and Sketches and Colourful Burma, the latter being an enlarged edition of her short stories and articles. "Quest for Peace", which was serialized in The Working People's Daily while she was on the staff of that paper, is largely autobiographical. "Anawrahta of Burma" is a historical novel based on the life of King Anawrahta, the 11th Century founder of the first Burmese Kingdom with its capital Pagan.

    She was awarded the Mawgun (Independence) Medal in 1983 for her pariotic work during Burma's Independence struggle, and continues writing both in Burmese and English.

THE ARTIST

    Paw Oo Thet was born in 1936, at Mandalay, the undisputed seat of Burmese culture. His father was a well known artist. From the age of fifteen, Paw Oo Thet received his training under excellent professional artists of the time. At twenty, he was already working as a designer at a textile printing factory. Later he worked as a full time cartoonist on the staff of a leading newspaper. In 1960 he won an American Scholarship that enabled him to take a correspondence course from F.A.S. (Famous Artists School). He contributed to the UNICEF calendars and diaries of 1965, 1975, 1982, 1983. He is also one of the founders of the Lokanat Art Gallery in Rangoon, established in 1972. Recently he has won one of the special prizes in the B.B.C. Jubilee Art Competition. Paw Oo Thet has had many shows of his works in Mandalay and Rangoon, and is one of the best known and loved artists in contemporary Burma.

Published in 1984; ISBN 974 - 86220 - 6 - 1

The Tamarind Press, GPO Box 1996, Bangkok, Thailand.

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