This quote:
O bhikkhus, what is the Absolute (Asaṃkhata, Unconditioned)? It is, O bhikkhus, the extinction of desire (rāgakkhayo) the extinction of hatred (dosakkhayo), the extinction of illusion (mohakkhayo). This, O bhikkhus, is called the Absolute.
is taken from:
Saṃyutta-nikāya I (PTS), p. 359
The
Samyutta Nikaya (Saṃyutta Nikāya
SN, "Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings") is a Buddhist scripture, the third of the five
nikayas, or collections, in the
Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the
PaliTipitaka of
Theravada Buddhism.
There are apparently only two English translations, and one in Chinese. The English translations are:
- The Book of the Kindred Sayings, tr C. A. F. Rhys Davids & F. L. Woodward, 1917–30, 5 volumes, Pali Text Society[1], Bristol
- The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, tr Bhikkhu Bodhi, 2000, Wisdom Publications, Somerville, MA, ISBN 0-86171-331-1; the Pali Text Society also issues a private edition of this for members only, which is its preferred translation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samyutta_Nikaya
So LOM and Spiney both have said that these translations are distortions.
Some of CAF Rhys Davids's credentials are as follows:
One of her first publications was a translation of the Dhamma Sangani, the first book of the third Pitaka of the Pali Canon, the Abhidhamma, under the title
A Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics. This was published in 1900. Another early publication was her translation of the Therigatha, a collection of poems of realization written by early Buddhist nuns (
Psalms of the Sisters, 1909). She lectured in Indian Philosophy at Manchester University from 1910 to 1913, and in the history of Buddhism at the School of Oriental Studies from 1918 to 1933.
She held the position of Honourary Secretary of the Pali Text Society from 1907 until her husband’s death in 1922, after 28 years of marriage, and as President of the Pali Text Society from 1923 to 1942. She translated large tracts of the Sutta Pitaka and was one of the first scholars to translate portions of the Abhidhamma. She also edited and supervised other translations of the Society. She also wrote many articles and several popular books on Buddhism, including
Buddhism: A Study of the Buddhist Norm (1912), Buddhist Psychology (1914), Gotama the Man (1928), Sakya or Buddhist Origins (1928), A Manual of Buddhism (1932), Outlines of Buddhism (1934), Indian Religion and Survival (1934), Birth of Indian Psychology and Its Development in Buddhism (1936), and
What Was the Original Gospel in Buddhism (1938). In all, she wrote 34 books.
https://palisuttas.wordpress.com/2014/07/26/the-life-and-legacy-of-mrs-c-a-f-rhys-davids/
*****
A partial bio of Bhikkhu Bodhi follows:
Bhikkhu Bodhi is an American Buddhist monk from New York City. Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1944, he obtained a BA in philosophy from Brooklyn College (1966) and a PhD in philosophy from Claremont Graduate School (1972).
Drawn to Buddhism in his early 20s, after completing his university studies he traveled to Sri Lanka, where he received novice ordination in 1972 and full ordination in 1973, both under the late
Ven. Ananda Maitreya, the leading Sri Lankan scholar-monk of recent times.
He was appointed editor of the
Buddhist Publication Society (in Sri Lanka) in 1984 and its president in 1988. Ven. Bodhi has many important publications to his credit, either as author, translator, or editor, including
the Buddha — A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya (co-translated with Ven. Bhikkhu Nanamoli (1995),
The Connected Discourses of the Buddha — a New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya(2000), and
In the Buddha’s Words (2005).
http://bodhimonastery.org/ven-bhikkhu-bodhi.html
