Most useful and favorite suttas of the Pali Canon especially in regard to practice and philosophy?

shays860

It seems like a lot of the canon is almost completely useless to the practitioner and one trying to gain an understanding of the philosophy of Buddhism. It seems like avast majority of the canon is just stories... So what are your favorite suttas of the Pali Canon?

shays860

I've been browsing over the Canon on AccesstoInsight.org and it seems my evaluation that most of the canon is just useless stories was mistaken. I guess I just purchased the one volume of the canon that contains the most useless stories (the long discourses). After browsing through it just now I have gained a much greater appreciation for the canon. And now I want all of it Just wanted to share that. The purpose of the thread still stands though as there is so much of the canon to browse through.

ajnast4r

I dont think any of the canon is useless persay... it can, however, be extremely difficult to distill useful meaning for the layperson in my experience... especially when reading blind (by yourself, no teacher, no commentary). I've found it to be much easier and more meaningful to read the canon with commentaries.

I've found this first one to be extremely valuable as far as understanding the Buddhas core principles:

http://www.urbandharma.org/pdf/wings.pdf

The Wings to Awakening / An Anthology from the Pali Canon - Translated and Explained by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Many anthologies of the Buddha's teachings have appeared in English, but this is the first to be organized around the set of teachings that the Buddha himself said formed the heart of his message: the Wings to Awakening (bodhi-pakkhiya-dhamma). The material is arranged in three parts, preceded by a long Introduction. The Introduction tries to define the concept of Awakening so as to give a clear sense of where the Wings to Awakening are headed. It does this by discussing the Buddha's accounts of his own Awakening, with special focus on the way in which the principle of skillful kamma (in Sanskrit, karma) formed both the "how" and the "what" of that Awakening: The Buddha was able to reach Awakening only by developing skillful kamma — this is the "how"; his understanding of the process of developing skillful kamma is what sparked the insights that constituted Awakening — this is the "what."

you may also find these useful:

In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (Teachings of the Buddha) by Bhikkhu Bhodi (this book may be available in fullfor free online)
http://downloads.wisdompubs.org/website_downloads/In the Buddhas Words Preview.pdf


Ten Audio lectures in on the fundamentals of the Buddha's Teaching, by Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi
http://www.buddhanet.net/audio-lectures.htm


A Foundation Course in Buddhism - Bhante Bodhidharma
http://www.satipanya.org.uk/index.php?page=audioLinks/foundation1
http://www.satipanya.org.uk/index.php?page=audioLinks/foundation2