Introduction to Early Buddhism
Nancy Acord and Mary Grant began working on the English translation of Introduction to Early Buddhism by Bhikkhu Kakmuk of South Korea in September 2015. The English title was published in October 2017 and is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook at Amazon, Kindle, and Audible.
This introductory book contains a systematic and clear explanation of the core teaching of Early Buddhism. Bhikkhu Kakmuk, a faculty member of the Center for Early Buddhist Studies, explains that to understand Buddhism, one must know the five aggregates, the 12 sense bases, the 18 elements, the Four Noble Truths, the 12 links of dependent origination, the 37 requisites of enlightenment, samatha, vipassana, and the threefold training of morality, concentration, and wisdom. Here these subjects are organized into a useful guide in learning Early Buddhism.
NBEF provides complimentary copies of paperbacks in Korean and English while supplies last. NBEF has a limited supply of paperbacks [Korean and English versions] for donation purposes. Please send your request to NBEF.Education@gmail.com. NBEF donates the entire sales proceeds [net of Kindle and Audible charges] of the paperback, eBook, and audiobook to the Center for Early Buddhist Studies.
Excerpts from the book…
“Early Buddhism that contains the historical Sākyamuni Buddha’s direct teaching is the Buddha’s authentic voice and the root of Buddhism.”
“Early Buddhism, which recorded the Buddha’s authentic voice, intact, is the starting point of Buddhism. As all trees have roots, Buddhism’s 2,600-years of development has its roots in Early Buddhism.”
“The object of mindfulness is ‘I.’ Being mindful of phenomena unfolding within ‘I’ is important because deliverance·Nibbāna is something ‘I’ achieve from within.”
“The mindfulness of in-and-out breathing practice has a special place in the Buddhism practice. The Buddha became enlightened through this practice”
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About the Author Bhikkhu Kakmuk
Bhikkhu Kakmuk was born in the City of Mil-Yang, South Korea, in 1957. While attending the Busan National University and majoring in mathematics education, he became a monastic. He received Novice ordination as a student of Bhikkhu Dogwang of Hwa-um-sha in 1979. He received Bhikkhu ordination from Bhikkhu Jaun in 1982.
After seven years of meditation at various traditional Seon centers in Korea, he hoped to translate Pāli Tipiṭaka into Korean and left for India to study. For the next ten years, he learned Sanskrit, Pāli, and the Prakrits languages, and completed a master’s degree and PhD in the Sanskrit language at Pune University, India. Currently, he is an instructor at the Center for Early Buddhist Studies and is also a professor at the Education Center of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism.
The publications he translated or authored are the Translation of the Diamond Sutra with Explanatory Notes, 2001-2017, 9th printing, the Translation of the Abhidhammattha Sangaha, Guidance to the Abhidhamma Manual, Vol.1-2, 2002-2015, 12th printing, revised edition, 2017, co-translated with Bhikkhuni Daerim, Four Kinds of Mindfulness Training, 2003-2013, revised edition, 4th printing, Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya, Vol. 1-3, 2006-2014, 4th printing, Translation of the Saṁyutta Nikāya, Vol. 1-6, 2009-2016, 3rd printing, Understanding Early Buddhism, 2010-2015, 5th printing, the Collection of Selected Suttas from Nikāyas, Vol. 1-2, 2013-2015, 3rd printing, the Translation of the Dhammasaṅganī, Vol. 1-2, 2016, and the Translation of the Vibhanga, Vol. 1-2, 2018. He also authored numerous theses and articles including The Ganhwa-Seon and Vipassanā, What is the same and different in Seon-Woo-Do-Ryang, 3rd publication, 2003.
He and Bhikkhuni Daerim received a citation from the head of Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and the Tenth Daewon Award in 2012 for completing the translation of the four Nikāyas.
Translator Nancy Acord
Nancy Acord [a.k.a. Sohn, Dong Ran] was born in Seoul, Korea in 1957 and moved to the United States in 1976. After completing her bachelor’s degree in business administration at California State University in Los Angeles, she worked as a Certified Public Accountant for international accounting firms and as a Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer at a US national healthcare organization. Since retiring from her business career in 2004, she has devoted herself to Buddhist studies. In 2014, she founded the Nibbana Buddhist Education Foundation in the United States.
Editor Mary Garcia Grant
Mary Garcia Grant started her writing career as a typesetter, proofreader, copy editor and journalist for the Emporia Gazette, the American newspaper brought to prominence by the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer William Allen White in Emporia, Kansas. Later she worked at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City as an editing assistant to scientists who researched global climate change. Her primary study was in violin performance at Rice University in Houston and the City University of New York at Queens College. She has been a violinist with the Kansas City Symphony for 30 years, and still enjoys writing and editing.
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