Heartfelt Sayings: An uplifting translation of the Udāna

From the Publisher:

The Udāna has a distinctive form, being comprised of Dhammapada-style verses together with contextual narratives in prose. It thus straddles the styles of the prose and verse Suttas. This translation aims to make a clear, readable, and accurate rendering.

From the Introduction:

The Udāna is a collection of 80 discourses that are are inspiring, accessible, and epigrammatic. It forms an ideal introduction to the Buddha’s teachings; a combination of simple, catchy, and profound that remains as popular today as it has ever been. The collection speaks of meditation, wisdom, and freedom in the context of dramatic, sometimes quirky, stories, loosely arranged to follow the life of the Buddha. It finds space for ethical examples, ecstatic celebrations of liberation, and solemn meditations on the nature of Nibbāna.

Each discourse has a narrative background culminating in a short passage of heightened significance that conveys the spiritual essence of the text. These passages give the collection as a whole its name. The word udāna literally means “up-breath” and it is translated as “heartfelt saying” or “inspired utterance”. These passages are usually, but not always, in verse. The commentary explains udāna as an overflowing of joy in the heart.