Bhante Sujato: “Translating a 2500-year-old Sacred Text for a Modern Audience”

Abstract:

Venerable Bhante Sujato spent two years translating the four Nikayas of the Pali Canon into English, primarily for SuttaCentral. His aim was to prepare a text that embodied the Buddha's virtues of accessibility and inclusivity. In this talk he will discuss some of the guiding principles for his translation, as well as insights he gleaned along the way.

This event is part of the T. T. & W. F. Chao Distinguished Buddhist Practitioner Lectures

Bio:

Bhante Sujato is an Australian Theravāda Buddhist monk ordained in a monastery in Chieng Mai in Thailand during the 1990s. He played in a successful rock band called Martha’s Vineyard for many years before he joined an intensive Buddhist retreat in Thailand, which introduced him to the Buddha’s teachings.

Besides spending three years in the Bodhinyana monastery with Ajahn Brahm, he also spent several years in remote hermitages and caves in Thailand in Malaysia.

Bhante Sujato has taught the dhamma and meditation to a varied audience in Australia and internationally, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, USA, Germany, Norway, India, Hongkong, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and many others, and has spoken at several major international Buddhist conferences and events. He also helped to establish the Santi Forest Monastery in Bundanoon, where he was the abbot for many years.

Bhante Sujato has become well known for his articulate support for the fully ordained bhikkhunī lineage. A special field of interest is the role of women in Buddhism and particularly the revival of the bhikkhunī order within the Theravāda tradition. As well as being a meditator and teacher, Bhante Sujato is a scholar of early Buddhism, with several books and essays of original and often groundbreaking research. He contributes to Buddhism in Australia through a wide variety of forums and organizations, including the Australian Sangha Association, Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils, Australia Partnership of Religious Organiations, Australian Association of Buddhist Councillors and Psychotherapists, Australian Association of Buddhist Studies, and Australian Religious Response to Climate Change.

Bhante Sujato is also the founder of SuttaCentral.net.