your favourite suttas from the MN

[Sekha]

Hello friends,

I am currently working on some kind of French version of access to insight (whose link you will find below), and for this I am translating suttas from English to French. Now I would be glad if you could help me choose which suttas from MN I should work on (not necessarily restricted to the ones found on ATI), with a brief explanation why you chose that particular sutta.

Knowing that I have already published:

MN 2 ; MN 9 ; MN 12 ; MN 13 ; MN 14 ; MN 19 ; MN 22 ; MN 27 ; MN 36 ; MN 54 ; MN 63 ; MN 74 ; MN 75 ; MN 82 ; MN 86 ; MN 107 ; MN 140

Thank you

_/\_

[Reductor]

I suggest MN 117, 62 and 121. Those are pretty good.

MN 117, the great forty, speaks of how each factor in the eight fold path supports the others, in the ideal development. I have always found it informative.

62 describes useful attitudes for a meditator to deal with agreeable and disagreeable things, along with a summary of the meditations that should be developed. It broadens the scope of meditative practice.

121 illustrates the narrowing of the perception process which brings a meditator right to cessation. The description of the theme less concentration of mind is interesting in that it still mentions the six sense spheres.

[Cittasanto]

MN10 satipatthana sutta a couple of reasons

1 - it will save you time when it comes to translating DN22 which is almost identical except for the section on the FNT.

2 - it is one of the cornerstone texts on the practice of mindfulness.

[Sekha]

MN10 satipatthana sutta a couple of reasons

1 - it will save you time when it comes to translating DN22 which is almost identical except for the section on the FNT.

2 - it is one of the cornerstone texts on the practice of mindfulness.

Actually I did a very long job I was proud of translating DN 22 from the VRI version, with the Pali version on the side and all commentariesby VRI, which I find very interesting, but they did not allow me to publish it

So I will have to re-translate it entirely from another source and discard all commentaries.

[Cittasanto]

Try ancient Buddhist texts, Anandajoti has a pali and english translation done line by line and I am sure he wont mind you using it as a basis, he has loads of information there and comparison/only pali/only english text, I havn't looked at the copyright in a while but he did alow me to use one of his maps and info in the poor attempt at a exploration of the sutta in question.

[bodom]

Im fond of MN 131: Bhaddekaratta Sutta
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .nana.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Let one not trace back the past
Or yearn for the future-yet-to-come.
That which is past is left behind
Unattained is the "yet-to-come."
But that which is present he discerns —
With insight as and when it comes.
The Immovable — the-non-irritable.
In that state should the wise one grow
Today itself should one bestir
Tomorrow death may come — who knows?
For no bargain can we strike With Death
who has his mighty hosts.
But one who dwells thus ardently
By day, by night, untiringly
Him the Tranquil Sage has called
The Ideal Lover of Solitude.

[Cittasanto]

Im fond of MN 131: Bhaddekaratta Sutta
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .nana.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Let one not trace back the past
Or yearn for the future-yet-to-come.
That which is past is left behind
Unattained is the "yet-to-come."
But that which is present he discerns —
With insight as and when it comes.
The Immovable — the-non-irritable.
In that state should the wise one grow
Today itself should one bestir
Tomorrow death may come — who knows?
For no bargain can we strike With Death
who has his mighty hosts.
But one who dwells thus ardently
By day, by night, untiringly
Him the Tranquil Sage has called
The Ideal Lover of Solitude.

you really don't know how good that passage is to see right now!

[BlackBird]

MN 18 is a good one. However I disagree with Venerable Thanissaro's rendering of the word papanca as 'complication.'

metta
Jack

[adosa]

For me it's the Simile of the Saw (MN 21). Personally, in my view, the practice of loving-kindness is of utmost importance and something I lose sight of from time to time in "my" quest for insight. When I focus on the greater good, harmlessness, and blamelessness, a funny thing happens....I forget all my deluded notions of "my" struggles. At the very least, if I practice with a mind imbued with kindness, I become a better human being. What ever happens after that, I try to leave to the "Gods".....so to speak. If insight arises, it arises.



http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Monks, even if bandits were to carve you up savagely, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, he among you who let his heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding. Even then you should train yourselves: 'Our minds will be unaffected and we will say no evil words. We will remain sympathetic, with a mind of good will, and with no inner hate. We will keep pervading these people with an awareness imbued with good will and, beginning with them, we will keep pervading the all-encompassing world with an awareness imbued with good will — abundant, expansive, immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill will.' That's how you should train yourselves.

adosa

[Sekha]

thanx for your replies.

I would have appreciated a wider participation, since I don't have to the time to read them all before deciding which ones I should translate chiefly

[Moggalana]

I don't know that many suttas but one of the most important suttas (for me at least) is definitely MN118 - Anapanasati Sutta. However, there is probably already a french version?!

[Chula]

Some of my favorites from a quick compilation:

• MN 2 (Sabbāsavasutta): Shows how to deal with different challenges skillfully. For example, when it comes to dealing with the cold, tolerate it, and also know when to find shelter. Good advice to stop one from going to extremes.
• MN 14 (Cūḷadukkhakkhandhasutta): Confirmed my early suspicion that kāmāsava (sensual fermentation) could not be overcome without jhāna ("Even though a disciple... has clearly seen... that sensuality is of much stress... if he has not attained a rapture & pleasure apart from sensuality... he can be tempted by sensuality.").
• MN 20 (Vitakkasaṇṭhānasutta): Great step-by-step method to deal with unskillful thought. The similes made an imprint on the mind.
• MN 28 (Mahāhatthipadopamasutta): I like Sāriputta suttas in general and this one especially where he breaks down the noble truths in terms of the form aggregate (earth, water, fire, wind, space).
• MN 58 (Abhayarājakumārasutta): Amazing sutta on how the Buddha has mastered Right Speech. Blew me away the first time I read it on realizing that just keeping the precepts when it comes to speech was child's play compared to this. The simile at the end was the icing on the cake.
• MN 107 (Gaṇakamoggallānasutta): One of many suttas in the Majjhima where the gradual training is explained. Helped in prioritizing strategies to fight defilements.
• MN 119 (Kāyagatāsatisutta): One of the first suttas I read in Majjhima and since it focuses on my main meditation theme (dhātu), instantly developed a liking.

This list would probably be longer if I spent some more time on it, and I think all suttas are useful in different ways, but these would definitely be in my favorite Majjhima list.