The first part of the paper examines the role of the Buddhist canon in research and in teaching, the trend towards non-canonical sources, and the current affection for contemporary practice. As a textual scholar who works with canonical texts, I intend to point to some risks that are, in my view, inherent in that general trend.

Contrary to popular assumption, the thought world of the Pali discourses is well populated with gods and spirits, demons and ghosts, as picturesque as the imagination of a reader of Tolkien’s novels could wish for.

On how the Pāḷi Suttas embrace Brahmā, and not.

I have seen, bhikkhus, the hell named ‘Contact’s Sixfold Base.’

The faculty of conviction, the faculty of persistence, the faculty of mindfulness, the faculty of concentration, & the faculty of discernment.

The Buddha defines the Five Spiritual Faculties (indriya).

How does one cross over the flood?
How does one cross over the ocean?

A yakkha demon challenges the Buddha with riddles and threatens to “hurl out his mind, rip open his heart, or hurl him across the River Ganges” if he doesn’t solve the riddles to the yakkha’s satisfaction.

The suttas were intended to be heard; long suttas were, and often still are, performative, listened to over sometimes several hours, embedded in rituals designed to highlight their efficacy. This article shows that the recital of key repeat passages within the long suttas is linked to specific and often distinctive literary and meditative effects, particularly adapted for oral performance. It suggests that such passages should not be marginalized but rather seen as central indicators of meaning.

An analysis of the function of the repetitions in the Brahmajāla Sutta (DN 1) and the Mahāsamaya Sutta (DN 20) and the role of community, ritual, and meditation in the reading of Buddhist canonical texts.

You can get the booklets for both albums here:

• Dhammapada
• Therigatha

The Abhidhamma Piṭaka reflects the scholastic nature of its origin: the teachings in teachable form. Because of its complexity it outgrew this early role…

When we confront our rebellious minds as we try to follow [the Buddha’s] path, we can take heart from the tales of nuns who had to put forth years and years of intense, persistent effort before they eliminated all their defilements.

You can also listen to this book on Pariyatti’s YouTube Channel.

A wise person would not be too sure of themselves,
Until they have attained the end…

Evil, for the evil, is easy to do.

Devadatta announces that he will cause a split in the Sangha.

I have taught the Dhamma, Ānanda, without making a distinction between inside and outside. The Tathagata has no closed fist of a teacher in regard to the teachings.

The Buddha overcomes an illness and gives Ānanda a sermon on how he leads the Saṅgha—and how the Saṅgha should function after he’s gone.

Rāhula, what do you think? Is the eye permanent or impermanent?

The Buddha takes Rāhula with him to a secluded spot in order to lead him on to liberation.

What if I were to dwell in dependence on this very Dhamma to which I have fully awakened, honoring & respecting it?

What a Buddha bows to.

Open are the doors to the deathless!
Let those with ears show their faith

After his awakening, the Buddha hesitated to teach, thinking that the Dhamma is too subtle for people to understand. But Brahmā Sahampati appears and encourages him to teach, pointing out that there are those with “little dust in their eyes” who will understand the teachings.

Take a golden mountain,
made entirely of gold, and double it—
it’s still not enough for one!

The Buddha wonders whether it is possible to rule justly, without violence. Māra appears and encourages the Buddha to try it.

You can get to know a person’s ethics by living with them. But only after a long time, not casually; only when attentive, not when inattentive; and only by the wise, not by the witless.

A diverse group of ascetics passes by, and Pasenadi asks the Buddha if any of them are perfected.

These four noble truths are real, not unreal, with no alteration. That is why they are called ‘noble truths.’

Why am I afraid of that pleasure that has nothing to do with sensual pleasures and unwholesome states?

The Buddha responds to a follower of another religion with a long account of the various austerities he practiced before awakening, detailing the astonishing lengths he took to learn the truth of the body and feelings.

dwell with a mind in which conceit has been struck down

The six senses are like a sheaf of barley struck with six flails; and the desire for rebirth is a seventh. The Buddha goes on to speak of a cunning trap set by the gods; but the trap of Māra is even more subtle still.

They were able to make all these iron implements and once you’ve got that, the social situation changes quite considerably because you’re able to grow a surplus of crops.

A brief history of Northern India setting the stage for the Buddha’s life and teachings.

The eye is yours, Evil One, forms are yours, eye-contact and its base of consciousness are yours; but, Evil One, where there is no eye, no forms, no eye-contact and its base of consciousness—there is no place for you there

While the mendicants are listening to the teachings, Māra takes the form of a farmer looking for lost oxen.

Mara the Evil One manifested himself in the form of an ox and approached those almsbowls.

Which is more valuable? An almsbowl, or a teaching from the Buddha?

Once upon a time, I was a seer called Rohitassa of the Bhoja people. I was a sky-walker with psychic powers. I was as fast as a light arrow easily shot across the shadow of a palm tree…

… there’s no making an end of suffering without reaching the end of the world. For it is in this fathom-long carcass with its perception and mind that I describe the world, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation.

For Venerable Ānanda’s exegesis of this sutta, see SN 35.116.

Bhikkhus, this is the lowest form of livelihood, that is, gathering alms. In the world this is a term of abuse: ‘You alms-gatherer; you roam about with a begging bowl in your hand!’ And yet, bhikkhus, clansmen intent on the good take up that way of life for a valid reason.

The Buddha reminds a group of wayward monks why they went forth.

King Pasenadi entered the dwelling. He prostrated himself at the Blessed One’s feet, and then he covered the Blessed One’s feet with kisses, caressing them with his hands and pronouncing his name…

King Pasenadi, near the end of his life, visits the Buddha, and pronounces the reasons for his devotion.

The faithful succeed, not the faithless. The ethical succeed, not the unethical. The energetic succeed, not the lazy. The mindful succeed, while the unmindful do not.

Nandiya the Sakiyan moves to Sāvatthī to be near the Buddha. At the end of the rains, he asks the Buddha’s advice on how to live and the Buddha outlines a series of meditations for cultivating Right View.

A diligent layperson observing these duties
Ascends to the gods called Self-luminous.

The proper code of conduct for followers of the Dhamma.

Not to be confused with the 1988 Snow Lion book about Sakyadhītā nor the 2015 book about contemporary nuns which both share a similar title.

Bhikkhus, suppose there is a guest house. People come from the east, west, north, and south and lodge there; khattiyas, brahmins, vessas…

Compare and contrast this sutta with the famous Rumi poem (translated by Coleman Barks) of the same title. Does the poem illuminate anything about the sutta? How does the sutta go beyond the poem?

When a bhikkhu develops and cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path, his fetters easily collapse and rot away.

… in the autumn, when the sky is clear and cloudless, the sun, ascending in the sky, dispels all darkness from space as it shines and beams…

See the first sutta in this repetition series for how to expand the ellipses in this sutta.

Of all kinds of fragrant flower, jasmine is said to be the best…

See the previous sutta and the one before that for how to expand the ellipses in this text, and see the next sutta for the continuation of this repetition series.

… the elephant’s footprint is declared to be the chief among them, that is, with respect to size, so too whatever wholesome states there are, they are all rooted in diligence…

See the previous sutta for how to expand the ellipses in this one, and see the next sutta for the continuation of this repetition series.

… the Perfectly Enlightened One is declared to be the chief among them. So too, whatever wholesome states there are, they are all rooted in diligence

This is the first sutta in a repetition series continuing with:

• SN 45.140
• SN 45.141–5
• SN 45.146–8

To practice meditation is to look deeply in order to see into the essence of things.

A translation and commentary on the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta by the renowned Vietnamese reformer.

What do you think, bhikkhus, which is more numerous: these few siṁsapa leaves that I have taken up in my hand or those in the siṁsapa grove overhead?

The Buddha taught only a fraction of what he knows.

Endowed with these five qualities, a king’s elephant is worthy of a king…

Allow me, venerable sir, to answer Citta the householder’s question.

Discussion questions:

1. What does this sutta reveal about (Theravāda) monastic etiquette?
2. Why do you think the sutta ends the way it does?

I am one of those in the world who sleep well.

The Buddha sleeps well, even on cold, hard ground.

Oh, what bliss! Oh, what bliss!

A former king, now a monk, talks to himself.

… seeing this danger in association,
fare singly as the rhino’s horn.

If you can’t find a good teacher, it’s better to wander alone than to consort with fools.

A prince or princess in the royal family, a snake, a fire, and a monk. These four things should not be looked down on or belittled because they are young.

King Pasenadi meets the Buddha for the first time. He wonders how the Buddha can claim to be awakened when he is still so young. The Buddha teaches him four things that should not be looked down on for their youth.

What need for a well
if there were waters always?

Wanderers of other sects try to keep the Buddha from drinking the water in a well.

That bhikkhu sees the Dhamma. Seeing the Dhamma, he sees [the Tathāgata].

To see the Dhamma is to see the Buddha and to be close to him, even when physically far away.

There is no single bhikkhu, brahmin, who possesses in each and every way all those qualities that were possessed by the Blessed One, accomplished and fully enlightened. For the Blessed One was the arouser of the unarisen path

Some time after the Buddha’s Parinibbāna, Ven. Ānanda and some brahmins discuss how the Saṅgha will carry on without him.

the lazy frogs croak:
“Today isn’t the time to stray from mountain streams” …the River Ajakaraṇī delights me

The point of commonality of the teachings is that they are all concerned with how something works: none of them is concerned with what something is, or, indeed, with what it is not. Most crucially, they are focused on how all the factors of human existence in the cycle of lives are dependent on other factors.

What is the one thing whose killing you approve?

The god Māgha asks the Buddha about what one should slay in order to sleep well.

Then, dear sirs, he must be an anger-eating yakkha.

When an ugly spirit takes Sakka’s throne, the gods were outraged. But the more they complained, the prettier he became. Sakka realized this was the so-called “anger-eating demon”, and defeated him by treating him with kindness and respect instead.

This article surveys references to mindfulness-related meditations found in Pāli discourses in the first five chapters of the Majjhima-nikāya and their parallels, showing the ubiquity of a concern with contemplative practices in early Buddhist thought.

This article offers further support for Lance Cousins’ thesis that the Pāli canon, written down in the first century BCE in Sri Lanka, was based largely on a Theriya manuscript tradition from South India.

Attention is also given to some of Cousins’ related arguments, in particular, that this textual transmission occurred within a Vibhajjavādin framework; that it occurred in a form of ‘proto-Pali’ close to the Standard Epigraphical Prakrit of the first century BCE; and that the distinct Sinhalese nikāyas emerged perhaps as late as the third century CE.

Knowledge of Silence I’ll convey,
hard to do, to master difficult,
so be both firm and resolute
and I’ll speak upon this thing.

Understand this by the way streams move
in clefts and crevices:
the little creeks flow on babbling,
while silent flow the great rivers.

What is unfilled makes noise
but silent is what’s full,
the fool is like the pot half-filled,
the wise one is like a lake

A sutta in two parts. The first part gives an account of events soon after the birth of the Bodhisatta. The second part describes the way of the sage.

When a mendicant meditates rightly contemplating a pair of teachings in this way—diligent, keen, and resolute—they can expect one of two results: enlightenment in the present life or, if there’s something left over, non-return.

Not all dualities are misleading. This sutta teaches ways to contemplate the duality of the origination and cessation of stress and suffering so as to reach awakening.

Standing to one side, that deity recited this verse…

We think our attachments bring us happiness, but they really bring sorrow.

Here, monastics, for the donor there are three factors, and for the receivers there are three factors.

… together with its commentary interleaved, […] it should give the student an idea of how the word commentaries work

But Mahākassapa refused those deities…

A deva-king disguises himself to give alms to Ven. Mahā Kassapa.

I had over a thousand sons who were valiant and heroic, crushing the armies of my enemies.

The Buddha recalls the results of his good deeds.

I’d hold his head with my left hand, and take [the stone] out using a hooked finger of my right hand, even if it drew blood.

The leader of the Jains, Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta, gives his disciple Prince Abhaya a dilemma to pose to the Buddha.

Remember me, brahmin, as a Buddha.

The brahmin Doṇa is filled with wonder when he sees the Buddha’s footprints.

I did not have valuable things to offer. But still, I offered some

Even a small offering of sesame seeds to the Buddha brought much merit.

When a person lives heedlessly,
craving grows in them…

… when the teachings have been followed by ear, recited by speech, examined by mind, and well penetrated by view, four rewards can be expected

The Buddha assures us that we can attain stream entry as a deva.

… the Pali Canon is in effect where Buddhists can still have an audience with their Teacher and learn his Teaching even though he passed away over 2,500 years ago

… in a future time there will be mendicants who won’t want to listen when discourses spoken by the Realized One—deep, profound, transcendent, dealing with emptiness—are being recited.

… that is how the discourses spoken by the Realized One—deep, profound, transcendent, dealing with emptiness—will disappear.

As an ancient drum has disintegrated, so too will the true teachings eventually be forgotten.

… once you’ve understood what the text is saying in this deeper way, you can find yourself addressed by it

A very brief overview of Buddhaghosa’s commentarial project.

… dwell with yourselves as your own island, with yourselves as your own refuge

For the conclusion, read the very next sutta: SN 47.14.

Theravada, like any religious tradition, has evolved and changed over the years.

… some major points of distinction between Early Buddhism and Theravada

A short talk, nominally on the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta.

I shall keep reciting the Way to the Beyond

Perhaps the last sutta of the early Pāli Canon, the Pārāyanānugītigāthā extols the virtues of the Buddha and of those who preserve, and realize, his teachings.

It’s incredible, sir, it’s amazing! How the Buddha tames those who are wild

One of the most beloved stories in the Pāli Canon.

… people from 30 yojana around flocked to witness this spectacle, and you can well believe it. This must have been the most astonishing and spectacular thing that they had ever seen

On how the early legend of Sankassa gives us confidence that the Pāli-Canon was well-preserved.

Isn’t the Abhidhamma the highest?

For a critical response to some of Collins’ assertions, see this essay by Bhante Sujato.

We may begin with one simple list, but the structure of early Buddhist thought and literature dictates that we end up with an intricate pattern of lists within lists

Reverend Sirs, I would like the reverend bhikkhus and bhikkhunis—as well as the laymen and laywomen—to listen to these passages frequently and to ponder on them.

The fossils found clearly show that there has been a development from reptile to bird, even though the particular animal whose remains have been discovered was of course not the first one to start jumping or gliding from one tree to the next. Comparable to the fossils of an archaeopteryx, some early discourses reflect particular stages in the development of Buddhist thought.

The original picture that emerges from the Pali literature, however, reveals a very human person who, living in troubled, insecure times, faced numerous difficulties and challenges, both personally and to his monastic community. Here, we shall outline this earliest version of Buddha’s life, based on the scholarly research of Stephen Batchelor presented in his Confession of a Buddhist Atheist.

“It would not be appropriate for me to give the Buddha a powerful laxative.”

The first few sections of the Robe Chapter tells of the origins and exploits of the Buddha’s personal physician.

Note that, while the treatments described in this tale remain undeniably dramatic, they nevertheless present an accurate account of ancient Indian medicine.

See also: the version of this story preserved in T553.

In recognition of its pre-eminence among the Master’s epithets, the early Buddhist teachers and their successors have applied their wisdom and erudition to fathoming the multiple implications of this suggestive word.

This is striking proof of the general reliability with which Buddhist monks transmitted their texts

The amazing story of ancient Pāli texts in Burma, discovered to contain only minor differences from the contemporary canon.

… the Theravāda version of events in the Nandakovāda-sutta conveys an attitude towards nuns that is considerably less favorable than the attitude underlying the parallel versions

How the Theravāda elders managed to make the suttas sound misogynistic through small redactions.

Indeed, I have long been tricked, cheated, and defrauded by this mind.

A fun and surprising sutta in which a bumbling but faithful Brahmin is set straight.

I have taught the Dhamma compared to a raft, for the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of holding onto. Understanding the Dhamma as taught compared to a raft, you should let go even of Dhammas, to say nothing of non-Dhammas.

In this famous and much-celebrated sutta, the Buddha teaches how to properly grasp Buddhist philosophy so as not to lead to more suffering.

… it is perhaps not so much the funeral itself, but rather the description which is so unusual and exceptional

The Mahāparinibbānasutta records funeral rites in more detail than any (even roughly) contemporary Indic text. This paper explores how far we may trust its description and what causes may explain its uniqueness in ancient Indian literature.

About a third of the suttas have been made available for free by the publisher under a Creative Commons License and have been collected into this open source booklet for your consideration. Furthermore, the rest of the book can be read on their website for free if you sign up for a (free) account.

The original draft of the book by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli can be found online as either his handwritten notes or as an incomplete, typed manuscript.

Now suppose that in the autumn—when it’s raining in fat, heavy drops—a water bubble were to appear & disappear on the water, and a man with sight were to see it. To him it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance could there be in a bubble? In the same way, a man with wisdom sees a feeling. To him it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance could there be in a feeling?

A good place to start, is their How To Guide but I also love the posts on keeping a personal “medicine cabinet” and on using sutta checklists.

The tale is best understood in the light of the need of the early Buddhist tradition to demarcate its position in the ancient Indian context vis-à-vis ascetic practices and ideology.

Bhikkhu Analayo teaches us how to read the Vinaya in light of the Suttas and parallels and against the background of its ancient Indian context.

A similar index can be found over at SuttaFriends.org and for an exhaustive index of terms, subjects, proper names, and similes, see The Comprehensive Index.

A good sutta is one that inspires you to stop reading it.

A few words of advice on how to read the Suttas.

Placing the Pali discourses and their counterparts in the Chinese Āgamas side by side often brings to light an impressive degree of agreement, even down to rather minor details. This close agreement testifies to the emphasis on verbatim recall in the oral transmission of the early discourses. In this respect the early Buddhist oral tradition forms a class of its own in the ambit of oral literature

An excellent introduction on the use of comparative studies to discern the history of the Buddhist Texts, particularly showing the influence of Abhidhammic thought on the Pāli Canon. Find part one here.

the Buddha himself rarely smiles in the Canon, and when he does, the reasons for his smile are never hilarious. Still, the Canon’s reputation for being devoid of humor is undeserved. It’s there in the Canon, but it often goes unrecognized.

An anthology of humorous stories from the Pali Canon, which makes the collection less intimidating and more approachable. Recommended for people just starting to read the canon, and wondering where to start.

The book may have been inspired by this 1981 paper in JPTS by Walpola Rahula.

This translation had a large impact on Pāli scholarship, being the first reliable and beautiful translation of the book in English. Every translation since (and there have been many!) is deeply indebted to Venerable Buddharakkhita’s thoughtful rendering, now available for free through the generosity of the BPS.

These two cases may already suffice for the time being to alert us to the possibility that gender discrimination in the Pāli canon may well be the result of later developments. Regarding the overall attitude towards nuns in early Buddhism, I think it stands beyond doubt that an order of nuns was in existence, and from that I would conclude that the Buddha approved of its existence.

… although I have long waited upon the Teacher and bhikkhus worthy of esteem, never before have I heard such a talk on the Dhamma

A beautiful reading of this wonderful and profound sutta.

I personally prefer the DPR.

… the main force of the nikāyas is to discount speculation about nibbāna. It is the summum bonum. To seek to know more is to manufacture obstacles. By the time of the early Abhidhamma the situation is much clearer. The whole Buddhist tradition is agreed that nibbāna is the unconditioned

Is it possible, venerable sir, to point out any fruit of recluseship that is visible here and now?

One of the greatest literary and spiritual texts of early Buddhism, this sutta gives a thorough account of the path and benefits of renunciation.

… a monk who is endowed with these fifteen factors including exertion, it is possible for [him to attain] breakthrough, it is possible for [him to attain] awakening, it is possible for [him to attain] arrival at unsurpassable security from bondage.

The Buddha explains various ways one can become cut off.

I did not delight in the contemplative Gotama’s speech; I condemned it, rose from my seat, and left!

A grieving father is having none of the Buddha’s nonsense, and King Pasenadi gets a damma talk from his wife, Queen Mallikā, on the dangers of affection in this entertaining sutta.

… for a long time I have paid homage to the Buddha and the esteemed mendicants. Yet I have never before heard such a Dhamma talk

As the great lay disciple Anāthapiṇḍika lies dying, Venerable Sāriputta visits him and gives a powerful teaching on non-attachment.

‘What the hell, Kāḷī!’

Mendicants, there are these five ways in which others might criticize you. Their speech may be timely or untimely, true or false, gentle or harsh, beneficial or harmful, from a heart of love or from secret hate. When others criticize you, they may do so in any of these ways. If that happens, you should train like this: ‘Our minds will remain unaffected.’

Even if low-down bandits were to sever you limb from limb, anyone who had a malevolent thought on that account would not be following my instructions.

If you frequently reflect on this advice–the simile of the saw–do you see any criticism, large or small, that you could not endure?”

A discourse full of vibrant and memorable images on the importance of patience and love even when faced with abuse and criticism.

There is no single “swiss-army knife” technique that works equally well at all times; instead, we must carefully examine our present conditions and determine what practice is most relevant.

… an anthology of discourse excerpts from the Pāli Canon […] best used by readers who have already spent time in study and look to focus more on their practice. It can also be helpful for someone who likes to dive right into practice and prefers to keep reading to a minimum.

The text jumps inside me to help me out.
…
So, when you’re studying Buddhism, what are you studying?
I know the answer. I’m studying me.
I’m studying me.

An open-source version can be read online for free at Reading Faithfully or via the links compiled online, but the real book is still recommended for its helpful redactions and notes.

One should sustain this recollection

The Buddha describes, in this much beloved poem from the Sutta Nipata, how to cultivate loving-kindness.

See SN 45.49 for how to use a good friend to advance on the path.

It would be good, lord, if the Blessed One would teach me the Dhamma in brief

This discourse is one of the few teachings in the canon (along with the teachings on mindfulness) which the Buddha declared as “categorical”: always applicable and useful in any situation. This sutta gives, better than any other, the overall direction of the teachings, and is a helpful rubric to refer back to.