Sutta Nipata

The Group of Discourses

By: K. R. Norman - translator

Narrated by: Jinananda

It is widely accepted that the Sutta Nipata contains 'the earliest recorded version' of the Buddha's teaching. It is an anthology of poetry and prose - 70 titled suttas of varied instruction and temperament arranged in five chapters.

At the start are two of its most famous suttas: The Snake, in which the actions of the practising bhikkhu approaching liberation is likened to a snake that 'leaves its old worn-out skin'; and The Rhinoceros Horn, which expounds the virtue of solitude for those with serious spiritual intent.

But this anthology is full of character and characters: the Buddha condemns caste (which still blights Indian society); he engages with a varied host of questioners, from householders and brahmins to spiritual seekers, clarifying their confusions and exhorting them to pursue a path of wisdom and compassion.

Uncompromising and ancient in tone, it offers a flavour of the very early days of the Buddha's teaching and the India of his time. K. R. Norman's authoritative translation ensures clarity and immediacy of comprehension.

©1984 The Pali Text Society (P)2015 Ukemi Productions Ltd

Bring to light that is hidden- synopsis

A psychological tour de force of the path to liberation. This is the esoteric becoming exoteric.

Phenomenol

Great original sourced material for those on the path we all journey. Please develop more of original material such as this.

Great way to learn the suttas

This is a nice audiobook. I just purchased it. Unfortunately, it only says “Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc.” instead of saying “Chapter 1.1 The Snake, Chapter 1.2 Dhaniya, etc.”. Chapter 13, for example, is SN 2.1 The Jewel. The workaround is to use the “Bookmark” feature in Audible. Basically, make a clip of the first 5 seconds, then give the clip a name, such as “2.1 The Jewel”. Then, when using the Audible app, choose the menu (three dots), then “Clips & Bookmarks” and you will see the labelled chapters so you don't need to memorize that chapter 13=SN2.1 . Select “Go to Bookmark” and you will be taken to the chapter. Hopefully, future audiobooks from this publisher will label chapters (there are 73 in this audiobook). Despite this minor limitation, it is very nice to be able to listen to the suttas this way.