THE LION'S ROAR
                                          
                      Two Discourses of the Buddha
                                          
                      Translated from the Pali by
                           Bhikkhu Nanamoli

                         Edited and revised by
                            Bhikkhu Bodhi
                                          
                                          
                    The Wheel Publication No. 390/391
                           ISBN 955-24-0115-1
  
  
                      BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
                      KANDY              SRI LANKA
                                          
                                          
              Copyright 1993 Buddhist Publication Society

                                * * *
                                          
                         DharmaNet Edition 1994
                                          
        This electronic edition is offered for free distribution
            via DharmaNet by arrangement with the publisher.
                                          
                        DharmaNet International
                 P.O. Box 4951, Berkeley CA 94704-4951
                                          
                            * * * * * * * *


                                   
                                CONTENTS

       The Shorter Discourse on the Lion's Roar       SHORTER.TXT
       The Great Discourse on the Lion's Roar           GREAT.TXT

       About the BPS                                      BPS.TXT

                            * * * * * * * *

  
                                SUMMARY
  
  
  In the Pali Canon the Buddha often compares himself to the lion, the 
  king of beasts, and one of the epithets the Buddhist tradition 
  ascribes to him is Sakyasiha, the lion of the Sakyan clan. The Buddha 
  describes his proclamation of the Dhamma as his "lion's roar," a 
  designation the commentaries say implies the qualities of supremacy, 
  fearlessness, and unchallengeableness.
  
    The Majjhima Nikaya, the Collection of Middle Length Discourses, 
  contains two suttas which bear this metaphor in their title. The 
  Shorter Discourse on the Lion's Roar (MN 11) deals with the delicate 
  question of whether different spiritual paths all lead to the same 
  ultimate goal. If not, the question arises of defining the critical 
  line that distinguishes them, and it is this question that the Buddha 
  attempts to answer in this sutta. The Great Discourse on the Lion's 
  Roar is a text of awesome scope and power in which the Buddha 
  discloses the greatness and loftiness of his own spiritual endowments. 
  Spoken as a rebuttal to the charges of a renegade disciple, the sutta 
  has had such a powerful impact that in ancient times it was also known 
  as "The Hair-Raising Discourse."
    
    The two suttas were originally translated by the eminent English 
  scholar-monk, Bhikkhu Nanamoli, in his draft translation of the entire 
  Majjhima Nikaya. The translations have been edited and revised by 
  Bhikkhu Bodhi, who has also provided introductions and notes.
  
  
                            * * * * * * * *

                                          
                             EDITOR'S NOTE
  
  
  The original translations of the two suttas included in this booklet 
  were made by Ven. Bhikkhu Nanamoli. They are taken from his complete 
  translation of the Majjhima Nikaya, which I have edited and revised 
  for publication by Wisdom Publications, Boston (forthcoming, 1994/95). 
  The numbers enclosed in square brackets are the page numbers of the 
  Pali Text Society edition of the Pali text.
  
    The introductions and notes are my own. In these the following 
  abbreviations are employed:
  
       DN      Digha Nikaya
       MN      Majjhima Nikaya
       Vbh.    Vibhanga
       Comy.   Commentary
  
                                                    Bhikkhu Bodhi
                                                    
                            * * * * * * * *