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Tipitaka

The Pali Canon

See a map of the Tipitaka


The Tipitaka (Pali ti, "three," + pitaka, "baskets"), or Pali Canon, is the collection of primary Pali language texts which form the doctrinal foundation of Theravada Buddhism. The Tipitaka and the ancient commentaries together constitute the complete body of classical Theravada texts.

The Pali Canon is a vast body of literature: in English translation the texts add up to several thousand printed pages. Most (but not all) of the Canon has already been published in English over the years. Although only a small fraction of these texts are available on this website, this collection can be a good place to start.

The three divisions of the Tipitaka are:


A Map Showing the
Major Divisions of the Tipitaka


                          Tipitaka
                             |
                             |
     +-----------------------+--------------------------+
     |                       |                          |
Vinaya Pitaka           Abhidhamma Pitaka          Sutta Pitaka
     |                       |                          |
  Suttavibhanga           Dhammasangani                 |
  Mahavagga               Vibhanga                      |
  Cullavagga              Dhatukatha                    |
  Parivara                Puggalapaññatti               |
                          Kathavatthu                   |
                          Yamaka                        |
                          Patthana                      |
                                                        |
     +-------------+--------------+---------------+-----+-----+
     |             |              |               |           |
Digha Nikaya       |      Samyutta Nikaya         |           |
           Majjhima Nikaya               Anguttara Nikaya     |
                                                              |
                                                      Khuddaka Nikaya
                                                              |
                                 +----------------------------+
                                 |
     +---------+----+----+-------+----+------+--+-----+------+
     |         |    |    |       |    |      |  |     |      |
Khuddakapatha  |    |    |       |    |      |  |     |      |
        Dhammapada  |    |       |    |      |  |     |      |
                  Udana  |       |    |      |  |     |      |
                     Itivuttaka  |    |      |  |     |      |
                         Sutta Nipata |      |  |     |      |
                                Vimanavatthu |  |     |      |
                                    Petavatthu  |     |      |
                                         Theragatha   |      |
                                               Therigatha    |
                                                        Jataka
                                                        Niddesa
                                                        Patisambhidamagga
                                                        Apadana
                                                        Buddhavamsa
                                                        Cariyapitaka
                                                        Nettippakarana
                                                        Petakopadesa
                                                        Milindapañha
See also a map of the whole website.
For further reading:
Revised: Tue 16 April 2002
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/index.html