The Basket of Suttas

The Sutta Piṭaka, the second division of the Tipiṭaka, consists of more than 10,000 suttas (discourses) delivered by the Buddha and his close disciples during and shortly after the Buddha's forty-five year teaching career, as well as many additional verses by other members of the Sangha. More than one thousand sutta translations are available on this website.

The suttas are grouped into five nikayas, or collections:

Digha Nikaya

The "Long" Discourses (Pali digha = "long") consists of 34 suttas, including the longest ones in the Canon. The subject matter of these suttas ranges widely, from colorful folkloric accounts of the beings inhabiting the deva worlds (DN 20) to down-to-earth practical meditation instructions (DN 22), and everything in between. Recent scholarship suggests that a distinguishing trait of the Digha Nikaya may be that it was "intended for the purpose of propaganda, to attract converts to the new religion."

Majjhima Nikaya

The "Middle-length" Discourses (Pali majjhima = "middle") consists of 152 suttas of varying length. These range from some of the most profound and difficult suttas in the Canon (e.g., MN 1) to engaging stories full of human pathos and drama that illustrate important principles of the law of kamma (e.g., MN 57, MN 86).

Samyutta Nikaya

The "Grouped" Discourses (Pali samyutta = "group" or "collection") consists of 2,889 relatively short suttas grouped together by theme into 56 samyuttas.

Anguttara Nikaya

The "Further-factored" Discourses (Pali anga = "factor" + uttara = "beyond," "further") consists of several thousand short suttas, grouped together into eleven nipatas according to the number of items of Dhamma covered in each sutta. For example, the Eka-nipata ("Book of the Ones") contains suttas about a single item of Dhamma; the Duka-nipata ("Book of the Twos") contains suttas dealing with two items of Dhamma, and so on.

Khuddaka Nikaya

The "Division of Short Books" (Pali khudda = "smaller," "lesser"), consisting of fifteen books (eighteen in the Burmese edition):

Khuddakapatha — The Short Passages
Dhammapada — The Path of Dhamma
Udana — Exclamations
Itivuttaka — The Thus-saids
Sutta Nipata — The Sutta Collection
Vimanavatthu — Stories of the Celestial Mansions
Petavatthu — Stories of the Hungry Ghosts
Theragatha — Verses of the Elder Monks
Therigatha — Verses of the Elder Nuns
Jataka — Birth Stories
Niddesa — Exposition
Patisambhidamagga — Path of Discrimination
Apadana — Stories
Buddhavamsa — History of the Buddhas
Cariyapitaka — Basket of Conduct
Nettippakarana (Burmese Tipitaka only)
Petakopadesa (Burmese Tipitaka only)
Milindapañha — Questions of Milinda (Burmese Tipitaka only)

- Source: The above is courtesy of Access to Insight ... www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sutta.html

The Teachings the Buddha has made known to All

" .. the Blessed One entered the hall of audience, and taking the seat prepared for him, he exhorted the bhikkhus, saying:
"Now, O bhikkhus, I say to you that these teachings of which I have direct knowledge and which I have made known to you — these you should thoroughly learn, cultivate, develop, and frequently practice,
that the life of purity may be established and may long endure, for the welfare and happiness of the multitude,
out of compassion for the world,
for the benefit, well being, and
happiness of gods and men.
"And what, bhikkhus, are these teachings?
They are the four foundations of mindfulness,
the four right efforts,
the four constituents of psychic power,
the five faculties,
the five powers,
the seven factors of enlightenment, and
the Noble Eightfold Path.
These, bhikkhus, are the teachings of which I have direct knowledge, which I have made known to you, and which you should thoroughly learn, cultivate, develop, and frequently practice, that the life of purity may be established and may long endure, for the welfare and happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit, well being, and happiness of gods and men." .."

- Mahāparinibbāna Sutta DN16
Source: www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.16.1-6.vaji.html

- Picture: A monk of Burma (Myanmar) reads Pali scriptures.
Picture courtesy of Design Pics / Stuart Corlett / Getty Images...
www.thoughtco.com/tripitaka-tipitaka-449696

- Posted by CFFong

Sutta Piṭaka

Dīgha Nikāya

Vinaya Piṭaka