Wikipedia article on the Diamond Sutra (Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra) :-
Daniel Ingram’s MASTERING THE CORE TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA is available as a printed book through Amazon, or can be downloaded in various formats here :-
Various links to the book text, via Ingram’s own website
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I have recently been reading the work of Richard GOMBRICH and his student Sue HAMILTON (sometimes Hamilton-Blyth). They both write in a clear and common-sense way about the historical context of the teachings outlined in the Pali Canon, and illuminate in many cases why the Buddha put his teachings in the ideas-context that he did. They are conscious also of how the original teachings have been interfered with retrospectively by Buddhaghosa and those of his ilk beyond the Second Council some 70 years later. How for example the whole problematic episode of Mahapajapati and the ordination of women is probably a later interpolation, because there are women ordained in the simple way of ‘Come, Baddha!’ in the Therigatha; and so forth. Also below is a reference to the article by JUREWICZ that Gombrich refers to frequently, about the Brahminical ideas that were such an important context for the Buddha’s teaching. I have found them all illuminating essential reading.
‘What the Buddha Thought’ — Richard GOMBRICH — Equinox, 2009
‘How Buddhism Began’ — Richard GOMBRICH — SOAS, 1996
‘Playing with Fire: the pratityasamutpada from the perspective of Vedic Thought’ — Joanna JUREWICZ — Journal of the PTS, 26 (2000), pp. 77-103
‘Identity and Experience’ — Sue HAMILTON — Luzac, 1996
‘Early Buddhism: A New Approach’ — Sue HAMILTON — Curzon, 2000
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Jnanananda‘s work on translating and interpreting key aspects of the teachings of Nikayas is the most profound exposition of the Dhamma that I have come across in the West. His great work ‘Nibbana: the mind stilled’ is a seminal set of 33 talks on the theme of the nature of nibbana, given in the late 80s, and they are without parallel. He has something of the common-sense persistence of Gombrich, though he is obviously more steeped in Insight and buddhist praxis. ‘Concept & Reality’ is a shorter but still very important text, and a good place to start. He writes in English, and was born in Sri Lanka. All his works are available free to download.
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