Buddhism and Fire Bibliography | Buddhist Group of Kendal

Updated 10 May 2024

Buddhism and Fire Bibliography

Fire in Buddhism

In Buddhism fire is discussed in three main ways:

1) Suttas in The Pali Canon

SN Samyutta-Nikaya 35.28 Adittapariyaya Sutta The Fire Sermon

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%80dittapariy%C4%81ya_Sutta

2) The Three Fires/Poisons akusala-mūla

The three fires/poisons are also known as the three akusala-mūla unwholesome roots (akusala-mūla): greed (lobha), hate (dosa) and delusion (moha).

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_poisons

3) The Four Elements catudhātu

In Buddhism, the four elements catudhātu are earth, water, fire and air.

In Theravada Buddhism the elements are known as dhatu. The Fire element is known as tejo-dhatu.

Venerable Nyanatiloka explains in his Buddhist Dictionary

dhātu: ‘elements’, are the ultimate constituents of a whole.
(I) The four physical elements (dhātu or mahā-bhūta), popularly called earth, water, fire and wind, are to be understood as the primary qualities of matter. They are named in Pali: paṭhavī-dhātu, āpo-dhātu, tejo-dhātu, and vāyo-dhātu. In Visuddhi Magga XI, 2 the four elements are defined thus: “Whatever is characterised by hardness (thaddha-lakkkhaṇa) is the earth or solid-element; by cohesion (ābandhana) or fluidity, the water-element; by heating (paripācana), the fire or heat-element; by strengthening or supporting (vitthambhana), the wind or motion-element. All four are present in every material object, though in varying degrees of strength. If, for instance, the earth element predominates, the material object is called ‘solid’, etc. For the analysis of the four elements, see dhātu-vavatthāna.

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81bh%C5%ABta

Bibliography

Articles

Bhikkhu Bodhi, Guidelines to Sutta Study [Adittapariyaya Sutta The Fire Sermon], Buddhist Publication Society Newsletter, (Winter 1992) No. 22; (Spring 1993) No. 23; (Summer – Fall 1993) No. 24.
https://www.bps.lk/
https://www.bps.lk/library.php
https://www.bps.lk/library_newsletters.php

Audio

AUDIO SN 35.28: Adittapariyaya Sutta Fire Sermon

Audio Dharma.org

http://audiodharma.org/
http://audiodharma.org/talks/

Search for The Fire Sermon Audio talks available

Dharmaseed.org

https://dharmaseed.org/
https://dharmaseed.org/talks/

Search for The Fire Sermon Audio talks available

Sobhana.net

http://sobhana.net/
http://sobhana.net/audio/index.htm
http://sobhana.net/audio/english/index.htm

Nine audio talks by Bhikkhu Bodhi on Adittapariyaya Sutta The Fire Sermon
http://sobhana.net/audio/english/bodhi/index.htm

Suttareadings.net

https://www.suttareadings.net/

https://www.suttareadings.net/audio/index.html

https://www.suttareadings.net/audio/index-readers.html

SN 35.28: Adittapariyaya Sutta The Fire Sermon
Several months after his Awakening, the Buddha delivers this sermon to an audience of 1000 fire-worshipping ascetics. In his characteristically brilliant teaching style, the Buddha uses a metaphor that quickly penetrates to the heart of the audience – in this case, the metaphor of fire. Upon hearing this sermon, the entire audience attains full Awakening (arahatta).
Read by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana.
https://www.suttareadings.net/audio/sn35.028.guna.mp3

Books

Fire Monks: Zen Mind Meets Wildfire. Colleen Morton Busch. 2011. (New York USA Penguin Books). (ISBN 978-0-14-312137-4 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-59420-291-9).
http://colleenmortonbusch.com/
http://colleenmortonbusch.com/fire-monks/

For the Love of The World. Ajahn Amaro.2013. (Hemel Hempstead, England Amaravati Publications). (ISBN 978-870205-73-3)
Chapter 3 All is Burning includes Guided Meditation: Fire
https://forestsangha.org/
https://forestsangha.org/teachings/books
https://forestsangha.org/teachings/books/for-the-love-of-the-world?language=English

Mind Like Fire Unbound: An Image in the Early Buddhist Discourses Fourth Edition 2010 by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff) https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/likefire/index.html

Mind Like Fire Unbound: An Image in the Early Buddhist Discourses, (4th edition, 2010), by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff). “Early Buddhism borrowed two of its central terms from the workings of fire. Upadana, or clinging, originally referred to the fuel that kept fire burning; nibbana, the name of the goal, to a fire’s going out. This is the first book to examine these terms from the perspective of how the early Buddhists themselves viewed fire — what they saw happening as a fire burned, and what happened to the fire when it went out — to show what light this perspective throws on Buddhist doctrine in general, and the practice of meditation in particular. With extensive quotations from the Pali Canon, newly translated, this is also a useful sourcebook for anyone who wants to encounter Buddhist teachings in their earliest known context.
Thanissaro Bhikkhu: (Geoffrey DeGraff), edited by John T. Bullitt.
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/index.html

Buddhist Publication Society Kandy Sri Lanka

https://www.bps.lk/

A search for Fire on the BPS website lists BPS publications which include Fire.

https://www.bps.lk/library.php

Some BPS publications are available on the Access to Insight website

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/bpslist.html

BPS Books

http://www.bps.lk/library_books.php

The Buddha and His Teachings. Narada Mahathera, Venerable. (Electronic edition, 2012). (BP102S). (ISBN 978-955-24-0025-4)
Chapter 7 The Teaching of the Dhamma includes Adittapariyaya Sutta: The Fire Sermon
https://bps.lk/olib/bp/bp102s_Narada-Buddha_and_His_Teachings.pdf

Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines. Nyanatiloka, Venerable. 2004. (5th revised edition). (BP601S). (ISBN 955-24-0019-8) (Current ISBN 978-974-9511-30-5).
https://www.bps.lk/olib/bp/bp601s_Nyanatiloka_Buddhist-Dictonary.pdf

The Life of the Buddha: According to The Pali Canon: Translation from the Pali, selection of material and arrangement by Bhikkhu Nanamoli. 1992. (3rd edition). (BP101S). (ISBN 955-24-0063-52) (Current ISBN 978-955-24-0063-6).
Chapter 4 The Spreading of the Dhamma includes Adittapariyaya Sutta: The Fire Sermonhttps://www.bps.lk/olib/bp/bp101s_Nyanamoli_Life-Of-The-Buddha.pdf

BPS Wheel Publications (ISSN 0068-3345)

https://www.bps.lk/library_wheels.php

https://www.bps.lk/olib/wh/_whindex.html

Wheel 17 Three Cardinal Discourses of the Buddha: Setting Rolling the Wheel of Truth (Dhamma-cakka-pavattana-sutta), The Not-self Characteristic (Anatta-lakkhana-sutta), The Fire Sermon (Aditta-pariyaya-sutta). Translated by Nanamoli Thera.
https://www.bps.lk/olib/wh/wh017_Nyanamoli_Three-Cardinal-Discourses-of-the-Buddha.html
https://bps.lk/olib/wh/wh017_Nyanamoli_Three-Cardinal-Discourses-of-the-Buddha.pdf

Dictionaries

Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines. Nyanatiloka, Venerable. 2004. 5th revised edition. (Kandy, Sri Lanka, BPS Buddhist Publication Society (ISBN 955-24-0019-8) (Current ISBN 978-974-9511-30-5).
https://www.bps.lk/olib/bp/bp601s_Nyanatiloka_Buddhist-Dictonary.pdf

The Pali Text Society’s Pali-English Dictionary. Edited by T. W. Rhys Davids and William Stede (London, Luzac for the PTS Pali Text Society). (ISBN: 978-0-86013-503-6).
1921-1925 edition available online via the Pali Text Society website
https://palitextsociety.org/product/pali-english-dictionary/

PTS Pali Text Society

Weblinkhttps://palitextsociety.org/

Updated editions are listed on the PTS website.

The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya. Translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Bodhi. 2 Volumes. 2002. (Oxford, Pali Text Society) (Volume II). (ISBN 978-0-86013-???-?).
Adittapariyaya Sutta: The Fire Sermon Volume II; Part IV The Book of the Six Sense Bases (Salayatanavagga); Chapter I 35. Salyatanasamyutta Connected Discourses on the Six Sense Bases; Division I. The Root Fifty; III. The All 28 (6) Burning page 1143; Notes page 1401
https://palitextsociety.org/product/connected-discourses-of-the-buddha/

The Book of the Kindred Sayings (Samyutta Nikaya) or Grouped Suttas Part IV (Salayatana – Vagga) Volume IV 1993 reprint of 1927. F. L. Woodward translator. (Oxford, Pali Text Society). (ISBN 0-86013-010-X) (Current edition ISBN 978-0-86013-???-?).
Adittapariyaya Sutta: The Fire Sermon Part IV Salayatana – Vagga containing Kindred Sayings on the ‘Sixfold Sphere of Sense and Other Subjects Part 1 [Chapter XXXV] Kindred Sayings on the Sixfold Sphere of Sense, 28 (6) On Fire, pages 10-11.
https://palitextsociety.org/product/the-book-of-the-kindred-sayings-5-volumes/

The Book of the Kindred Sayings (Samyutta-Nikaya) or Grouped Suttas (5 volumes) (Oxford, Pali Text Society). (Current edition ISBN 978-0-86013-???-?).
https://palitextsociety.org/product/the-book-of-the-kindred-sayings-5-volumes/

Suttas and Translations

Suttas and translations are available on the Access to Insight, dhammatalks.org and Sutta Central websites.

Access to Insight https://www.accesstoinsight.org/

dhammatalks.org https://www.dhammatalks.org/ https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/

Sutta Central https://suttacentral.net/?lang=en

SN 35.28 Samyutta Nikaya Adittapariyaya Sutta: The Fire Sermon is available at:

SN 35.28 Samyutta Nikaya Adittapariyaya Sutta The Fire Sermon. Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.028.than.html

SN 35.28 Samyutta Nikaya Adittapariyaya Sutta The Fire Sermon. Translated by Nanamoli Thera. https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.028.nymo.html

SN 35.28 Samyutta Nikaya Adittapariyaya Sutta Aflame. Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN35_28.html

SN 35.28 Samyutta Nikaya Adittapariyaya Sutta Burning. Translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi.
https://suttacentral.net/sn35.28/en/bodhi?lang=en&reference=none&highlight=false

SN 35.28 Samyutta Nikaya Adittapariyaya Sutta Burning. Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato

https://suttacentral.net/sn35.28/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin

Wisdom Experience

https://wisdomexperience.org/

The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya. Translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Bodhi. 2000. (Volume II) (Boston USA, Wisdom Publications). (Volume II ISBN 0-86171-189-0) (Single Volume ISBN 978-086171-331-8).
Adittapariyaya Sutta: The Fire Sermon Volume II; Part IV The Book of the Six Sense Bases (Salayatanavagga); Chapter I 35. Salyatanasamyutta Connected Discourses on the Six Sense Bases; Division I. The Root Fifty; III. The All 28 (6) Burning page 1143; Notes page 1401
https://wisdomexperience.org/product/connected-discourses-buddha/