Teaching Buddha Teaching Buddha

Sutta Translations

The Sutta Pitaka, the second division of the Tipitaka, consists of over 10,000 suttas, or discourses, delivered by the Buddha and his close disciples during the Buddha's forty-five year teaching career, as well as many additional verses by other members of the Sangha. Many of these suttas are available on-line - particularly at the Access to Insight web site - but not all.

This page has three sections:

  1. English translations for several important suttas
  2. Bilingual suttas or excerpts (English with Pali "tooltips")
  3. Lists of suttas on various topics

This section contains English translations for several important suttas for which I had not found a suitable on-line translation, but managed to adapt from other English on-line versions.

  • Potthapàda Sutta (DN 9) -- The Potthapàda Sutta
    The Buddha discusses states of consciousness and ideas of the self with the wanderer Potthapàda.

  • Tevijja Sutta (DN 13) -- The Tevijja Sutta
    The Buddha points out that the way to Union with Brahma is via the practice of the Brahma Viharas.

  • Alagagaddupama Sutta (MN 22) -- The Simile of the Snake.
    The Buddha has a foolish disciple who has developed a pernicious view. The Buddha reprimands him and with the simile of the snake and simile of the the raft stress the dangers of misapplying and misrepresenting the Dhamma. The sutta concludes with a detailed teaching on not-self.

  • Mahatanhasankhaya Sutta (MN 38) -- The Longer Discourse on the Destruction of Craving.
    The Buddha has a foolish disciple who has developed the pernicious view that consciousness transmigrates from life to life. The Buddha reprimands him and explains Dependent Origination to show that consciousness is dependently arisen.

  • Mahaassapura Sutta (MN 39) -- The Longer Discourse in Assapura.
    The Buddha explains what it means to be a true recluse by teaching the Training in detail. This sutta includes the attitude one should have towards eating.

  • Angulimala Sutta (MN 86) -- About Angulimala.
    The mass murder Angulimala is tamed by the Buddha and becomes as arahant.

  • Kolita Sutta (SN 21.1) -- Mahamoggallana (on Noble Silence).
    Mahamoggallana recalls learning the second jhana and how if there was thinking & pondering (vitakka & vicara), this was not Noble Silence. This sutta makes it clear that vitakka & vicara do not mean "initial and sustained attention" in the context of the jhanas as described in the suttas.

  • The First Jhana Sutta (SN 40.1) -- The First Jhana.
    Mahamoggallana recalls learning the first jhana and how his thinking & pondering (vitakka & vicara) became sensual.

  • Kantakasuttam Sutta (AN 10.72) -- Thorns.
    To one in the first jhana, sounds are a thorn. To one in the second jhana, vitakka & vicara are a thorn. To one in the third jhana, piti is a thorn. To one in the fourth jhana, in breathing and out breathing is a thorn.
The above suttas were not translated by me. I just edited them. The method was as follows:

The suttas on this page are (or will soon be) included in my Sutta Database for Windows. Feel free to copy and/or distribute these suttas - but this must be done for free.

This section contains bilingual suttas (or excerpts). If you place you mouse on the words and phrases on the pages at the following links, a "tooltip" will appear (like an Alt tag on an image) that contains the Pali [requires Firefox/Mozilla 1.0 or greater, Internet Explorer 5.0 or greater, Safari, Chrome, Opera or Netscape 6.0 or greater]:

This section contains lists of suttas on various topics. Please note that the lists are not exhaustive, but simply represent some suttas I have found helpful when studying a topic.

The Authenticity of the Suttas of the Pali Canon - My thoughts on this subject
The Questionable Authenticity of AN 8.51/Cv.X.1 - The Founding of the Order of Nuns
Access to Insight
MettaNet - Lanka public domain Tipitaka web site
Sutta Database
Sutta Study Guides
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Leigh Brasington / / Revised 07 Aug 10