The Buddhist Path to Awakening by Rupert Gethin

A place to discuss casual topics amongst spiritual friends.
User avatar
bodom
Posts: 7216
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 6:18 pm
Location: San Antonio, Texas

Re: The Buddhist Path to Awakening by Rupert Gethin

Post by bodom »

tiltbillings wrote:
bodom wrote:
alan wrote:Amazon! I expect it tomorrow. Always make sure to check the 'used' section.
Im always paranoid to order "used" books because I dont want to get a copy with hi-liter markings and side notes in pen and all that good stuff.
Well, if you order the $10.00 book from ABE it is far less a deal than ordering a $37 used book from Amazon, but most used booksellers on line will indicate if the book is marked up. I have had no problem with the used books I have gotten via ABE's booksellers.
Well my copy of Foundations of Buddhism arrived today containing the pen and highlighting I knew it would. The ad said it was in "great shape!" with no mention of markings. No more used books for me!

:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
User avatar
tiltbillings
Posts: 23046
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 9:25 am

Re: The Buddhist Path to Awakening by Rupert Gethin

Post by tiltbillings »

bodom wrote:
Well my copy of Foundations of Buddhism arrived today containing the pen and highlighting I knew it would. The ad said it was in "great shape!" with no mention of markings. No more used books for me!

:anjali:
If you ordered via ABE can complain, but do make sure you give the bookseller a very poor rating, but at least you did not pay $50.00 for it..
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
User avatar
mikenz66
Posts: 19943
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 7:37 am
Location: Aotearoa, New Zealand

Re: The Buddhist Path to Awakening by Rupert Gethin

Post by mikenz66 »

Cheer up Bodom,

On a radio programme I was listening to yesterday, it was pointed out that marginal notes, etc, used to raise the value of books. Especially marginal translations of Greek and Latin passages... :tongue:

That book is in our library, so after finding Gethin's The Foundations of Buddhism very helpful (thanks Tilt!), which was also in our library, I'll check it out...

Mike
User avatar
tiltbillings
Posts: 23046
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 9:25 am

Re: The Buddhist Path to Awakening by Rupert Gethin

Post by tiltbillings »

One can buy it from the publisher in India for about new (obviuously) for about ten bucks, as I pointed out above, or pay $50.00 on Amazon or take your chance with a used book.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
beeblebrox
Posts: 939
Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2009 10:41 pm

Re: The Buddhist Path to Awakening by Rupert Gethin

Post by beeblebrox »

The underlinings (or highlighting) are definitely annoying... especially when they seem to be irrelevant, compared to the ones that were not underlined. :thinking:
User avatar
bodom
Posts: 7216
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 6:18 pm
Location: San Antonio, Texas

Re: The Buddhist Path to Awakening by Rupert Gethin

Post by bodom »

tiltbillings wrote:
bodom wrote:
Well my copy of Foundations of Buddhism arrived today containing the pen and highlighting I knew it would. The ad said it was in "great shape!" with no mention of markings. No more used books for me!

:anjali:
If you ordered via ABE can complain, but do make sure you give the bookseller a very poor rating, but at least you did not pay $50.00 for it..
I sent the seller an email but haven't heard anything back yet. Doubt I will. You are right though, I got an excellent book for ten bucks so im grateful.

:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
User avatar
bodom
Posts: 7216
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 6:18 pm
Location: San Antonio, Texas

Re: The Buddhist Path to Awakening by Rupert Gethin

Post by bodom »

mikenz66 wrote:Cheer up Bodom,

On a radio programme I was listening to yesterday, it was pointed out that marginal notes, etc, used to raise the value of books. Especially marginal translations of Greek and Latin passages... :tongue:
Haha thanks for the laugh Mike! Too bad my copies in english because with the amount of notes my copy contains it would be worth a fortune!

:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
User avatar
ancientbuddhism
Posts: 887
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 12:53 pm
Location: Cyberia

Re: The Buddhist Path to Awakening by Rupert Gethin

Post by ancientbuddhism »

I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes.” – Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854

Secure your own mask before assisting others. – NORTHWEST AIRLINES (Pre-Flight Instruction)

A Handful of Leaves
User avatar
cooran
Posts: 8503
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2009 11:32 pm
Location: Queensland, Australia

Re: The Buddhist Path to Awakening by Rupert Gethin

Post by cooran »

Many thanks ancientbuddhism ! :group:

with metta
Chris
---The trouble is that you think you have time---
---Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe---
---It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---
User avatar
Nicolas
Posts: 1295
Joined: Wed Jul 02, 2014 8:59 pm
Location: Somerville, MA, USA

Re: The Buddhist Path to Awakening by Rupert Gethin

Post by Nicolas »

I'm thinking of getting a book of Gethin's -- either Foundations of Buddhism, or The Buddhist Path to Awakening. Can someone describe the differences between the two? Thanks!
Spiny Norman
Posts: 10172
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 10:32 am
Location: Andromeda looks nice

Re: The Buddhist Path to Awakening by Rupert Gethin

Post by Spiny Norman »

It says this has been deleted.
Buddha save me from new-agers!
User avatar
Dhammanando
Posts: 6492
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 10:44 pm
Location: Mae Wang Huai Rin, Li District, Lamphun

Re: The Buddhist Path to Awakening by Rupert Gethin

Post by Dhammanando »

Nicolas wrote:I'm thinking of getting a book of Gethin's -- either Foundations of Buddhism, or The Buddhist Path to Awakening. Can someone describe the differences between the two? Thanks!
The first is a general introduction to Buddhism, thoughtful, well-written, and pitched at about the level of university undergrads in comparative religious studies.

The second is a much more specialised and technical work: a scholarly study of the thirty-seven bodhipakkhiya-dhammas as they are expounded in Pali sources, canonical and commentarial. Of the three principal English-language works on this topic (i.e. those of Gethin, Ajahn Thanissaro, and Ledi Sayadaw), I would rate Gethin's as the most demanding, but also the most rewarding.
Yena yena hi maññanti,
tato taṃ hoti aññathā.


In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
(Sn. 588)
User avatar
Nicolas
Posts: 1295
Joined: Wed Jul 02, 2014 8:59 pm
Location: Somerville, MA, USA

Re: The Buddhist Path to Awakening by Rupert Gethin

Post by Nicolas »

Thank you, Bhante. The second it is!
User avatar
tiltbillings
Posts: 23046
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 9:25 am

Re: The Buddhist Path to Awakening by Rupert Gethin

Post by tiltbillings »

Nicolas wrote:Thank you, Bhante. The second it is!
Do get the first, as well. It does not hurt to get a well done overview of the history of Buddhist thought in India.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
User avatar
Mkoll
Posts: 6594
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 6:55 pm
Location: USA

Re: The Buddhist Path to Awakening by Rupert Gethin

Post by Mkoll »

The Foundations of Buddhism is an excellent read and I highly recommend it. Great overview.

He also has another book: an anthology of translations of important suttas called Sayings of the Buddha. I haven't read it yet but I think it's always good to read different translations, especially from someone as exceedingly competent as Gethin.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Post Reply