Penguin Classics Buddhist Scriptures [Paperback]

This was a very good collection of scriptures, and my own personal sort of "Buddhist Bible" - but there is one slight problem with it; it only contains scriptures from certain sects; it has none of the major (come to think of it, I do not believe any at all) texts from the Theravada sect. It does not even have the Dhammapada, one of the most important Buddhist scriptures out there.
If you have an interest in any sort of buddhism, this is an excellent book. But remember that it is not the only perspective out there.

It has been almost five decades since the Penguin Classics series last launched an anthology of Buddhist texts onto the market, during which time interest in the religion throughout the English-speaking world has grown to more than justify a new anthology well over twice the size of the original. That first volume was largely the work of E. Conze, working from Sanskrit, with heterogeneous scraps of translation from other languages, provided by E. M. Hare, David Snellgrove, Trevor Leggett and D. T. Suzuki, mixed in here and there.

In this new work the editor has made less of a personal contribution through translation, but has done a far superior job of orchestrating a much more balanced whole and equipping it with a reflective and highly readable introduction, which in itself provides a succinct commentary (pp. xiv-xviii) on the history of such anthologies over the years--including in its final paragraph some delightfully (and justifiably) acerbic comments on the codswallop that in all too recent times past was excerpted to represent his own area, Tibetan Buddhism. The generous list of books for further reading on pp. xlii-xlix also deserves commendation.

Inevitably the need to include translations reflecting the current state of Buddhist textual studies has all but wiped out the contribution of United Kingdom-based scholars to the enterprise, though for example the translations of K. R. Norman represent a standard of work unlikely to be matched elsewhere for some time to come, and so still find a place amongst a much longer roster of translations mostly carried out specifically for this anthology and largely undertaken on the other side of the Atlantic. One or two sacrifices have clearly been made in order to find room for such a wealth of materials, notably the exclusion of any of the finding lists cross-referencing the contents by language or by contributor that formed such a useful feature of the editor's earlier anthologies for Princeton University Press, but by and large there is very little here to complain about.

That is not the same, however, as declaring this anthology perfect. Such an ambitious enterprise is bound to entail errors, though mostly (one hopes) errors of the trivial sort that can be readily corrected in future printings.[...]

[...]drawing attention to these lapses is by no means intended to discourage any would-be purchaser: at under ten pounds a copy, one certainly gets a remarkable quantity of good, accurate translation and up-to-date introductory remarks for one's money. No one at all interested in Buddhism should hesitate for a second to make the investment.
T. H. BARRETT

The book was great. Enjoyed it. this book is great for the new buddhist to get into this religion. This book is not like a bible, but selective scriptures and stories. Stories such as buddha's past lifes( all have a meaning to them of genorosity) and the idea of the six realms, what you have to be if you want to be reborn in this or that realm. i suggest you should get this book if you want to know about boddhistava( sorry if i cant spell), teachings of buddha here and there, and the the history of how it spread and who spread them to keep this faith going.
really interesting.

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