The Atthakavagga, or "Book of Eights," is believed by scholars to be among the earliest of written Buddhist texts, and in it we find the Buddha's teaching pared down to its most uncomplicated essence. Gil Fronsdal's translation and commentary reveals the text's central concern to be the joy that comes from recognizing and letting go of attachment to the illusory views that create suffering. It's simple medicine that works for us today as well as it did for the Buddha's first listeners.

The Buddha before Buddhism: Wisdom from the Early Teachings, Gil Fronsdal, Shambhala, Paperback, 2016, 192 pages, $18.95

Gil Fronsdal has practiced Zen and Insight Meditation since 1975 and has a PhD in Buddhist Studies from Stanford University. He has trained in both the Japanese Soto Zen tradition (San Francisco Zen Center with Suzuki Roshi) and the Insight Meditation school of Theravada Buddhism from Southeast Asia. Gil was trained as a Vipassana teacher by Jack Kornfield and is part of the Vipassana teachers' collective at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. He was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He has been the primary teacher for the Insight Meditation Center, in Redwood City, California, since 1990. He is a husband and father of two boys.

Preface	vii
Acknowledgements	ix
Introduction	1
1. The Discourse on Desire	39
2. The Eightfold Discourse on the Hiding Place	43
3.The Eightfold Discourse on the Corrupt	48
4. The Eightfold Discourse on the Pure	52
5. The Eightfold Discourse on the Ultimate	57
6. The Discourse on Old Age	62
7. The Discourse Tissa Metteyya	66
8. The Discourse to Pasura	70
9. The Discourse to Magandiya	74
10. The Discourse on Before Breaking Apart	81
11. The Discourse on Quarrels and Disputes	87
12. The Shorter Discourse on the Dead End	99
13. The Greater Discourse on the Dead End	107
14. The Discourse on Being Quick	115
15. The Discourse on Being Violent	122
16. The Discourse to Sariputta	129
Afterword	137
Appendix: Knowing and Seeing in the Book of Eights	149
Notes	155
Select Bibliography	178