Songs of the Sons and Daughters of Buddha: Enlightenment Poems from the Theragatha and Therigatha

by Andrew Schelling (Translator), Anne Waldman (Translator)

Overview

A lyrical translation of an inspired selection of verses from the earliest Buddhist monks and nuns.

More than two thousand years ago, the earliest disciples of the Buddha put into verse their experiences on the spiritual journey—from their daily struggles to their spiritual realizations. Over time the verses were collected to form the Theragatha and Therigatha, the "Verses of Elder Monks" and "Verses of Elder Nuns" respectively. In Songs of the Sons and Daughters of the Buddha, renowned poets Andrew Schelling and Anne Waldman have translated the most poignant poems in these collections, bringing forth the visceral, immediate qualities that are often lost in more scholarly renditions. These selections reveal the fears, loves, mishaps, expectations, and joys of the early monks and nuns, when, struck by wild insight, they cried out the anguish or solace they knew in their lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611808223
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	07/07/2020
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.02(w) x 7.25(h) x 0.51(d)

About the Author

ANDREW SCHELLING is a poet and translator. Author of twenty-odd books, his poetry is founded on studies in ecology, linguistics, and folklore, and includes A Possible Bag. Recent translations include Some Unquenchable Desire: Sanskrit Poems of the Buddhist Hermit Bhartrihari and Erotic Love Poems from India. Schelling lives in the Southern Rocky Mountain Eco-Zone; he teaches poetry and Sanskrit at Naropa University.

ANNE WALDMAN is a poet, performer, professor, editor, activist, and founder with Allen Ginsberg of The Jack Kerouac School at Naropa University. Author of over 50 books of poetry, her most recent books include Voice's Daughter of a Heart Yet To Be Born, and Trickster Feminism. Her epic The Iovis Trilogy: Colors in the Mechanism of Concealment won the PEN Center USA Award for Poetry. She has received the Shelley Award, a Guggenheim, the Before Columbus Foundation Award for lifetime achievement, and the Houtian Prize from China. Waldman is a Chancellor Emeritus of the Academy of American Poetry. She has been a student of Buddhism for many decades. She makes frequent trips to India and was a keynote speaker at the Jaipur Literary Festival.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

Part 1 Songs of the Sons of Buddha

Mahakala Speaks 3

Vanavaccha 4

Gangatiriya Speaks 5

Jambuka 6

Matangaputta Speaks 8

Bhaddaji 9

Kottitha 10

Mahanama 11

Nandaka Meets His Wife 12

Belatthakani Observes 14

Yasoja 15

Candana Speaks 16

Sundara-Samudda Resists 17

Ratthapala Rebukes the Women and Instructs a King 19

The Monk Kulla 15

Nagasamala 27

Gotama 28

Sirivaddha 29

Migasira and the Oracle of Skulls 30

Songs of the Little Hut 32

Sivaka Speaks 35

The Monk Cittaka 36

Khandasumana Remembers 37

Anupama 38

Rajadatta the Merchant 39

Kassapa the Great 42

One of Moggallana's Songs 44

Usabha 47

Yasadatta 48

Bharata Speaks 49

Sona Potiriyaputta 50

Kankharevata 51

Part 2 Songs of the Daughters of Buddha

Citta Speaks 55

Addhakasi 56

Uppalavanna 57

Mutta Speaks 59

Another Mutta 60

Sumangala's Mother 61

Vimala, the Former Courtesan 62

Ambapali Speaks 63

Patacara Speaks 67

Thirty Sisters 69

Sangha Speaks 73

Tissa 74

Punnika the Slave 75

Ubbiri's Lament 77

Siha 79

Vasitthi 80

Kisa-Gotami and the Mustard Seed 81

Nanduttara 84

Subha Speaks: Moon as Toy 85

Sukka 89

The Ballad of Isidasi 91

Buddha Speaks to Therika 101

Buddha Speaks to Punna 102

The Second Tissa 103

Sela 104

Mittakali 106

Sakula Speaks 108

Subha the Metalworker's Daughter 110

Rohini Emerges from Girlhood 114

Uttama Speaks 118

An Anonymous Sister Speaks 120

Dantika (Little Tamed Woman) 121

Bhadda Kundalakesa, Called "the Curly Haired," the Ex-Jain 122

Sisupacala Speaks with Mara 126

Afterword: On the Tradition audits Translators 129

Glossary 141

Bibliography 147

About the Translators 149

Editorial Reviews

How is it these songs are getting better, stronger, more alive than ever, more necessary than ever... or is it because I just need to hear them more than ever?”—Red Pine

“What a wonderful difference it makes when real poets translate poetry! Schelling’s renderings read like those of an old, wise Zen vagabond. Waldman’s sparkle, crisp and sharp. These verses soar, traversing the expansive reaches of human experience and triumph. Truly, in these two poets’ hands, these songs of the sons and daughters of the Buddha sing.”—Jan Willis, author of Dreaming Me

“These enlightenment songs of the earliest disciples of the Buddha are vibrant, celebratory, and very human. I see my own path reflected in their search, my own highest aspirations reflected in their awakening. This wonderful translation brings these people to life in a way that reminds us that freedom is truly possible.”—Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness
 
“These are earthy, courageous translations of the most ancient Buddhist poems. How honest the struggle of these practitioners with death and lust and self-doubt (just like us); how beautiful their moments of release.”—Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart

“Songs of the Sons and Daughters of Buddha are songs of enlightenment, and some of them are very well known; but these translations are especially fresh, ballsy, spontaneous, and timeless, and they capture people working genuinely on themselves. I’m so enjoying reading it.”—Richard Gere

From the Publisher