The Pāli Canon
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The Tipiṭaka is the canon of the Theravada School and is the only complete collection of texts from an early sect of Buddhism to survive to the present day.
A closeup of a Thai, Pāli manuscript in the Wellcome Library featuring an illustration of Devas in the margin. (CC BY 4.0)
Table of Contents
- Articles (14)
- Audio/Video (10)
- Booklets (6)
- Canonical Works (39)
- Essays (8)
- Excerpts (1)
- Monographs (9)
- Papers (1)
- Reference Shelf (11)
- Subtopics (3)
Articles (14)
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it is perhaps not so much the funeral itself, but rather the description which is so unusual and exceptional
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Examines the literary style of the Pāli Canon and explains how its textual features are a product of its performative context.
Audio/Video (10)
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⭐ Recommended
A short introduction to the Dhammapada, from Gil Fronsdal’s 2008 translation, read by the author.
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🥇 Featured
The text jumps inside me to help me out.
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So, when you’re studying Buddhism, what are you studying?
I know the answer. I’m studying me.
I’m studying me. -
A peaceful talk retelling the story of the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta.
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⭐ Recommended
Bhikkhu Bodhi shares with the Abhayagiri community his favorite section of the Dhammapada: verses 110–115.
Booklets (6)
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🥇 Featured
Canonical Works (39)
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⭐ Recommended
Remember me, brahmin, as a Buddha.
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Here, monastics, for the donor there are three factors, and for the receivers there are three factors.
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⭐ Recommended
Don’t fear good deeds. For ‘good deeds’ is a term for happiness.
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⭐ Recommended
A beautiful reading of some of the most famous verses in Buddhism.
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A straightforward, annotated translation of the first chapter of the Dhammapada.
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A straightforward, annotated translation of the second chapter of the Dhammapada.
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A straightforward, annotated translation of the third chapter of the Dhammapada.
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A compendium of numerical dhammas, this sutta was perhaps a forerunner of the AN.
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⭐ Recommended
I’d hold his head with my left hand, and take it out using a hooked finger of my right hand, even if it drew blood.
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The Buddha smiles and tells Ānanda an entertaining story of a lay anāgāmī and a reluctant renunciate at the time of the Buddha Kassapa, demonstrating that the Buddha wasn’t always so wise in his previous lives.
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It’s incredible, sir, it’s amazing! How the Buddha tames those who are wild
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⭐ Recommended
I did not delight in the contemplative Gotama’s speech; I condemned it, rose from my seat, and left!
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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
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⭐ Recommended
although I have long waited upon the Teacher and bhikkhus worthy of esteem, never before have I heard such a talk on the Dhamma
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The canonical account of the Buddha’s first days and the story of how the religion was founded.
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Standing to one side, that deity recited this verse…
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dwell with yourselves as your own island, with yourselves as your own refuge
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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.
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I shall keep reciting the Way to the Beyond
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Coming out from my day’s abiding
on Vulture Peak Mountain… -
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But Mahākasspa refused those deities…
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I did not have valuable things to offer. But still, I offered some
Essays (8)
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Gender Discrimination and the Pali Canon: An Open Letter to Ayya Tathaaloka (2009) – Bhikkhu Anālayo
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.
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Ajahn Sujato’s general introduction to Sutta Central is worth a read as an overview of the Pāli Canon and an introduction into the setting of the Early Buddhist Texts.
Excerpts (1)
Monographs (9)
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A selection of suttas from the Numerical Discourses of the Buddha.
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🥇 Featured
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⭐ Recommended
Papers (1)
Reference Shelf (11)
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A list of important terms for Teravadan Buddhists and scholars of the early canon.
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A diagram showing how the Pāli Canon is organized.
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A series of recordings demonstrating how to pronounce some Pāli names and terms you may come across while reading the suttas.