Bhikkhu Ñanananda

Ideal Solitude: An Exposition on the Bhaddekaratta Sutta, by Bhikkhu Ñanananda (Buddhist Publication Society Wheel Publication No. 188; 1973; 77k/26pp.)

In the Bhaddekaratta Sutta (MN 131) the Buddha presents a magnificently concise statement of the life-and-death importance of keeping one's attention firmly rooted in the present moment. Despite the sutta's overall clarity and brilliance, the climax to its central verse hinges on the Pali phrase bhaddekaratta, whose meaning has eluded translators since the time of the early Commentaries. Drawing on evidence from throughout the Canon, the author here presents a cogent argument that the phrase reflects the solitary devotion of the earnest meditator: the "ideal lover of solitude." This book will be of particular interest to students of the Pali language.