Sutta Pitaka

Pali Canon
		Vinaya Pitaka
		Sutta- vibhanga Khandhaka Pari- vara
		Sutta Pitaka
		Digha Nikaya Majjhima Nikaya Samyutta Nikaya
		Anguttara Nikaya Khuddaka Nikaya
		Abhidhamma Pitaka
		Dhs. Vbh. Dhk. Pug. Kvu. Yamaka Patthana

The Sutta Pitaka (suttapiṭaka; or Suttanta Pitaka; cf Sanskrit सूत्र पिटक Sūtra Piṭaka) is the second of the three divisions of the Tipitaka or Pali Canon, the Pali collection of Buddhist writings, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. The Sutta Pitaka contains more than 10,000 suttas (teachings) attributed to the Buddha or his close companions.

Origins

The scriptures tell how the First Council held shortly after the Buddha's death collected together the discipline (vinaya), and the dhamma in five collections. Tradition holds that little was added to the Canon after this. Scholars are more skeptical, but differ in their degrees of scepticism. Richard Gombrich thinks most of the first four nikayas (see below) go back to the Buddha, in content but not in form. The late Professor Hirakawa Akira says that the First Council collected only short prose passages or verses expressing important doctrines, and that these were expanded into full length suttas over the next century.

Contents

Further information: List of suttas

There are five nikayas (collections) of suttas:

1. Digha Nikaya (dīghanikāya), the "long" discourses.
2. Majjhima Nikaya, the "middle-length" discourses.
3. Samyutta Nikaya (saṃyutta-), the "connected" discourses.
4. Anguttara Nikaya (aṅguttara-), the "numerical" discourses.
5. Khuddaka Nikaya, the "minor collection".

Digha Nikaya

This includes The Greater Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness, The Fruits of the Contemplative Life, and The Buddha's Last Days. There are 34 long suttas in this nikaya.

Majjhima Nikaya

This includes Shorter Exposition of Kamma, Mindfulness of Breathing, and Mindfulness of the Body. There are 152 medium-length suttas in this nikaya.

Samyutta Nikaya

There are, according to one reckoning, 2,889, but according to the commentary 7,762, shorter suttas in this Nikaya.

Anguttara Nikaya

These teachings are arranged numerically. It includes, according to the commentary's reckoning, 9,565 short suttas grouped by number from ones to elevens

Khuddaka Nikaya

This is a heterogeneous mix of sermons, doctrines, and poetry attributed to the Buddha and his disciples. The contents vary somewhat between editions. The Thai edition includes 1-15 below, the Sinhalese edition 1-17 and the Burmese edition 1-18.

1. Khuddakapatha
2. Dhammapada
3. Udana
4. Itivuttaka
5. Suttanipata
6. Vimanavatthu
7. Petavatthu
8. Theragatha
9. Therigatha
10. Jataka
11. Niddesa
12. Patisambhidamagga
13. Apadana
14. Buddhavamsa
15. Cariyapitaka
16. Nettipakarana or Netti
17. Petakopadesa
18. Milinda Panha

For more on these editions also see Pali Canon

Translations

The first four nikayas and more than half of the fifth have been translated by the Pali Text Society[1]. The first three have also been translated in the Teachings of the Buddha series by Wisdom Publications, with a translation of the fourth in preparation.

Selections (including material from at least two nikayas):

• Buddhist Suttas, ed & tr T. W. Rhys Davids, Sacred Books of the East, volume XI, Clarendon/Oxford, 1881; reprinted by Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi (& ?Dover, New York)
• The Word of the Buddha, ed & tr Nyanatiloka, 1935
• Early Buddhist Poetry, ed I. B. Horner, Ananda Semage, Colombo, 1963
• The Book of Protection, tr Piyadassi, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 1981; translation of the paritta
• In the Buddha's Words, ed & tr Bodhi, Wisdom Pubns, 2005
• Early Buddhist Discourses, ed & tr John J. Holder, 2006
• Sayings of the Buddha, ed & tr Rupert Gethin, Oxford University Press, 2008
• Basic Teachings of the Buddha, ed & tr Glenn Wallis, New York: Random House, 2007

See also

• Abhidhamma Pitaka
• Buddhist texts
• List of suttas
• Vinaya Pitaka

External links

• [2] Access to Insight translations of Pali Suttas in English
• How old is the Sutta Pitaka? - Alexander Wynne, St John's College, Oxford University, 2003.
• Search in English translations of the Sutta Pitaka
• Most of the Pali canon in Pali, Sinhala and English http://www.metta.lk

• [3] Download edited collection of suttas from the Sutta Pitaka.