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The '''Pali Canon''' is the scripture collection of Theravada Buddhism.<ref>Gethin, ''Sayings of the Buddha'', Oxford World Classics, 2008, page xiii</ref> "Pali Canon" is the usual English name;<ref>Gombrich, foreword to Pali Text Society edition of Geiger, ''Pali Grammar''; there are typographical variants: Pali/Pāli/Pāḷi Canon/canon</ref> it is also known by the name "Tipiṭaka".<ref>Harvey, ''Introduction to Buddhism'', Cambridge University Press, 2nd ed, 2012, page 459</ref> It is in Pali,<ref>Harvey, ''Introduction to Buddhism'', Cambridge University Press, 1st ed, 1990, page 3</ref> which is a language of ancient India.<ref>Harvey, ''Introduction to Buddhism'', Cambridge University Press, 1st ed, 1990, page xx</ref> Mahayana Buddhism tends to regard the Tipiṭaka as a sort of "[[Old Testament]]"<ref>''Encyclopaedia Britannica'', 2002 printing, volume 11, page 791 (article Tipitaka)</ref>. Most scholars recognize the Canon as the oldest source for the Buddha's teachings.<ref>Mousa, ''World Religions Demystified'', McGraw-Hill, 2014, page 35; Schopen, ''Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks'', University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu, 1997, pages 23f / reprinted from ''Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik'', volume 10 (1985), page 9 / also quoted in "The historical authenticity of early Buddhist literature: a critical evaluation", ''Vienna Journal of South Asian Studies'', Vol XLIX (2005)/[https://ocbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/awynne2005wzks.pdf], page 37</ref>
The '''Pali Canon''' is the scripture collection of Theravada [[Buddhism]].<ref>Gethin, ''Sayings of the Buddha'', Oxford World Classics, 2008, page xiii</ref> "Pali Canon" is the usual English name;<ref>Gombrich, foreword to Pali Text Society edition of Geiger, ''Pali Grammar''; there are typographical variants: Pali/Pāli/Pāḷi Canon/canon</ref> it is also known by the name "Tipiṭaka".<ref>Harvey, ''Introduction to Buddhism'', Cambridge University Press, 2nd ed, 2012, page 459</ref> It is in Pali,<ref>Harvey, ''Introduction to Buddhism'', Cambridge University Press, 1st ed, 1990, page 3</ref> which is a language of ancient India.<ref>Harvey, ''Introduction to Buddhism'', Cambridge University Press, 1st ed, 1990, page xx</ref> Mahayana Buddhism tends to regard the Tipiṭaka as a sort of "[[Old Testament]]"<ref>''Encyclopaedia Britannica'', 2002 printing, volume 11, page 791 (article Tipitaka)</ref>. Most scholars recognize the Canon as the oldest source for the Buddha's teachings.<ref>Mousa, ''World Religions Demystified'', McGraw-Hill, 2014, page 35; Schopen, ''Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks'', University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu, 1997, pages 23f / reprinted from ''Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik'', volume 10 (1985), page 9 / also quoted in "The historical authenticity of early Buddhist literature: a critical evaluation", ''Vienna Journal of South Asian Studies'', Vol XLIX (2005)/[https://ocbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/awynne2005wzks.pdf], page 37; Schopen himself is one of those scholars who question the prevailing view, and Norman asks what it actually means ("The value of the Pāli tradition", ''Jagajjyoti: Buddha Jayanti Annual: 1984'', 1-9 / ''Collected Papers, volume III'', Pali Text Society, 23-44)</ref>


==Background==
==Background==


The Canon is traditionally regarded by the [[Theravada]] as the Word of the Buddha (died around 400 BC<ref>consensus of scholars: Gethin, ''Sayings of the Buddha'', Oxford World Classics, 2008, page xv</ref>), though not always literally.<ref>Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism'', Routledge, London, 1st edn, 1988 / 2nd edn, 2006, page 20</ref>  It is said in the Canon itself that whatever is well said is the Word of the Buddha.<ref>''The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha'', Wisdom Publications / Pali Text Society, page 1120; ''Gradual Sayings'', Pali Text Society, volume IV, page 112</ref> Modern scholars tend to regard at least large amounts of the Canon (with disagreements on how much) as the work of a number of unknown authors ([http://www.academia.edu/15576817/Understanding_Early_Buddhist_Terminology_in_Its_Context]).
The Canon is traditionally regarded by the [[Theravada]] as the Word of the Buddha (died around 400 BC<ref>consensus of scholars: Gethin, ''Sayings of the Buddha'', Oxford World Classics, 2008, page xv</ref>), though not always literally.<ref>Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism'', Routledge, London, 1st edn, 1988 / 2nd edn, 2006, page 20</ref>  It is said in the Canon itself that whatever is well said is the Word of the Buddha.<ref>[https://suttacentral.net/an8.8/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin]; [https://suttacentral.net/an8.8/en/bodhi?lang=en&reference=none&highlight=false] / ''The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha'', Wisdom Publications / Pali Text Society, page 1120; ''Gradual Sayings'', Pali Text Society, volume IV, page 112</ref>  


According to a tradition generally regarded quite favourably by scholars, the Canon was written down from oral tradition in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in the last century BC.<ref>Gethin, ''Buddhist Path to Awakening'', Brill, Leiden / New York / Köln, 1992, page 8</ref> The oldest known manuscript fragment of the Canon dates from the 8th or 9th century, but in general manuscripts have not survived from before the 15th century, and the majority are probably no older than the 18th.<ref>Gethin, ''Sayings of the Buddha'', Oxford University Press, pages xxiif</ref>
According to a tradition generally regarded quite favourably by scholars, the Canon was written down from oral tradition in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in the last century BC,<ref>Gethin, ''Buddhist Path to Awakening'', Brill, Leiden / New York / Köln, 1992, page 8. For more on the early evolution of the Canon see the following: [https://www.academia.edu/5212434/The_Early_Development_of_Buddhist_Literature_and_Language_in_India]; [https://www.academia.edu/1417355/Pali_oral_literature]; ''Pāli Literature: Including the Canonical Literature in Prakrit and Sanskrit of All the Hīnayāna Schools of Buddhism'', K.R. Norman, Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1983 (volume 7, fascicle 2 of History of Indian Literature), [https://archive.org/stream/PaliLiterature/Pali%20Literature_djvu.txt] pages 15-107; [https://ia902804.us.archive.org/11/items/0002ahandbookofpaliliteratureoskarvonhinuber/0002%20A-Handbook-of-Pali-Literature-Oskar-Von-Hinuber.pdf Hinuber, ''Handbook of Pali Literature'', de Gruyter, Berlin, 1996], pages 10-155; ''Indian Buddhism'', A. K. Warder, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1st edition, 1970, 2nd edition, 1980, 3rd edition, 2000; ''Indian Buddhism'', Hajime Nakamura, Kansai University of Foreign Studies, Hirakata, Japan; ''A History of Indian Buddhism'', Akira Hirakawa, vol 1, Shunjusha, Tokyo, 1974, translated and edited by Paul Groner, University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu, 1990; ''Histoire du bouddhisme indien'', Etienne Lamotte, University of Louvain, 1958 (English translation ''History of Indian Buddhism'', translated by Sara Webb-Boin under the supervision of Jean Dantinne, 1988); [https://www.academia.edu/24142977/Review_of_Richard_F._Gombrich_What_the_Buddha_Thought_London_Equinox_2009_
]; ''Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens'', volume 38, pages 158f (in German, with English abstract near end); Gethin, ''Foundations of Buddhism'', Oxford University Press, 1998, pages 47, 83; [http://www.purifymind.com/RichardGombrich.htm]; Samuel, ''Introducing Tibetan Buddhism'', Routledge, 2012, pages 47f</ref> though hardly any manuscripts survive from before the 16th century.<ref>Oberlies, ''Pali Grammar'', volume I, Pali Text Society, 2019, page 7</ref>


Collected printed editions of the Canon have been appearing since about 1893,<ref>Bechert & Gombrich, ''World of Buddhism'', Thames & Hudson, London, 1984, page 78; see also Wiles et al in ''Journal of the Pali Text Society'', volume XXXIV, [https://www.academia.edu/49255182/_with_Royce_Wiles_Chris_Clark_and_Tamara_Ditrich_The_P%C4%81li_Tipi%E1%B9%ADaka_Recension_Carved_on_the_Kuthodaw_Pagoda_Stelae_and_Its_Relation_to_Other_Burmese_Versions]</ref> and digitized versions since 1988.<ref>''Routledge Encyclopedia of Buddhism'', 2007, page 288</ref> It is now even available on an app.
Collected printed editions of the Canon have been appearing since about 1893,<ref>Bechert & Gombrich, ''World of Buddhism'', Thames & Hudson, London, 1984, page 78 says the first edition appeared in Siam (Thailand) in 1893 (reviews of this edition: Robert Chalmers, ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (New Series)'', volume XXX (number 1), pages 1-10l; C. R. Lanman, ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', volume 16, pages ccxliv-ccliv); see also Wiles et al in ''Journal of the Pali Text Society'', volume XXXIV, [https://palitextsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/07-Wiles-et-al-JPTS-34-2021.pdf], p 174, for a reference to a report of a Burmese edition about the same time; a comparative review of a numbrer of editions is "Zu einigen neueren Ausgaben des Pāli-Tipiṭaka", Frank-Richard Hamm, ''Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft'', 112 (neue Folge, Band 37), 1962, pages 353-378 (the German original is available on Jstor for those with access; English translation: "On some recent editions of the Pāli Tipiṭaka", in ''German Scholars on India: Contributions to Indian Studies'', ed Cultural Department of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, New Delhi, volume I, pub Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, Varanasi, 1973, pages 123-135)</ref> and digitized versions since 1988.<ref>''Routledge Encyclopedia of Buddhism'', 2007, page 288</ref> It is now even available on an app.


The vast majority of commentarial literature is connected with just four names: Buddhaghosa, Dhammapala, Sariputta and Nanakitti.<ref>[https://palitextsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/JPTS_2000_XXVI.pdf ''Journal of the Pali Text Society'', volume XXVI], page 134</ref>
The vast majority of commentarial literature is connected with just four names: Buddhaghosa, Dhammapala, Sariputta and Nanakitti.<ref>[https://palitextsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/JPTS-XXVI-7.pdf ''Journal of the Pali Text Society'', volume XXVI], page 134</ref>


==Table of contents==
==Table of contents==
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**Samyutta Nikaya (Connected discourses of the Buddha)
**Samyutta Nikaya (Connected discourses of the Buddha)
**Anguttara Nikaya (Numerical discourses of the Buddha)
**Anguttara Nikaya (Numerical discourses of the Buddha)
**Khuddaka Nikaya: the contents of this section vary between editions, with some including all the following but others omitting one or more ([https://web.archive.org/web/20120820132850/http://society.worldtipitaka.info/world-tipitaka-project/world-tipitaka-roman-script/comparative-tipitaka-volumes]). Opinions on canonicity seem to vary even within the same country: for example, one Burmese teacher<ref>Sayadaw Nandamāla, [https://nandamala.org/netti/#more-51824 ''Introduction to Nettipakaraṇa''], page 5</ref> says the 6th Council included the Netti in the Pali Canon, while another<ref>Rewata Dhamma, ''The Buddha and His Disciples'', Dhamma Talaka Pubns, Birmingham, 2001, page 91</ref> describes it as post-canonical.
**Khuddaka Nikaya: the contents of this section vary between editions, with some including all the following but others omitting one or more.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120820132850/http://society.worldtipitaka.info/world-tipitaka-project/world-tipitaka-roman-script/comparative-tipitaka-volumes] (see [https://web.archive.org/web/20120722154929/http://society.worldtipitaka.info/world-tipitaka-project/world-tipitaka-roman-script/reference-to-pali-tipitaka-editions-in-various-scripts] for the code letters used there). For more on this issue see the following: ''A Textual and Historical Analysis of the Khuddaka Nikāya'', Oliver Abeynayake, Colombo, 1984, pages 38-40 (cited in ''Encyclopaedia of Buddhism'', ed G.P.Malalasekera, Goverment of Ceylon / Sri Lanka, volume 6, page 209); [https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.9149/mode/2up Bode, ''Pali Literature of Burma'', Royal Asiatic Society, London, 1909], pages 4f (& review in ''Journal of the Burma Research Society'', volume 1); Bollee in ''Pratidanam'' (Kuiper Festschrift), Mouton, The Hague / Paris; Bond in [https://archive.org/details/the-encyclopedia-of-indian-philosophies/7%20Abhidharma%20Buddhism%20to%20150%20AD/page/403/mode/2up ''Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies'', ed Karl H. Potter, Motilal, Delhi, volume VII, page 403]; [https://vk.com/doc1116419_631732571?hash=5SFcWytLfST3PuG85XNTVbezYFWZNbz26Qdilv0ZQ6D ''The Pāli Language'', T. Y. Elizarenkova and V. N. Toporov, Nauka, Moscow, 1976], page 40; [https://ia902804.us.archive.org/11/items/0002ahandbookofpaliliteratureoskarvonhinuber/0002%20A-Handbook-of-Pali-Literature-Oskar-Von-Hinuber.pdf Hinuber, ''Handbook of Pali Literature'', de Gruyter, Berlin, 1996], page 76; Norman, ''Philological App[roach to Buddhism'', School of Oriental and African Studies, London, 1996, page 141 (there is a reissue of this book by the Pali Text Society, but it has not been checked for whether the pagination is the same); ''Journal of the Pali Text Society'', 1882, [https://palitextsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/JPTS_I_8.pdf], page 48, and [https://palitextsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/JPTS_I_9.pdf], pages 60f; [https://www.academia.edu/34870189]; [https://theravadastudies.org/recordings/]; Sayadaw Nandamāla, [https://nandamala.org/netti/#more-51824 ''Introduction to Nettipakaraṇa''], page 5; [https://archive.org/details/TipitakaStudiesOutsideMyanmarmonkSarana], page 2; Rewata Dhamma, ''The Buddha and His Disciples'', Dhamma Talaka Pubns, Birmingham, 2001, page 91</ref>
***Khuddakapatha (Minor readings)
***Khuddakapatha (Minor readings)
***Dhammapada (Word of the doctrine)
***Dhammapada (Word of the doctrine)
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***Theragatha (Poems of early Buddhist monks)
***Theragatha (Poems of early Buddhist monks)
***Therigatha (Poems of early Buddhist nuns)
***Therigatha (Poems of early Buddhist nuns)
***Apadana (Legends<ref>"Illustrator of ultimate meaning" (in 1 volume with "Minor readings"), page 2; a translation of this book is available at [http://apadanatranslation.org/]</ref>)
***Apadana (Legends<ref>"Illustrator of ultimate meaning" (in 1 volume with "Minor readings"), page 2; a translation of this book is available at [http://apadanatranslation.com/] or [https://web.archive.org/web/20231004204901/http://apadanatranslation.org/]</ref>)
***Buddhavamsa (Chronicle of Buddhas)
***Buddhavamsa (Chronicle of Buddhas)
***Cariyapitaka (Basket of conduct)
***Cariyapitaka (Basket of conduct)
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**Yamaka (Book of pairs)
**Yamaka (Book of pairs)
**Patthana (Conditional relations)
**Patthana (Conditional relations)
===Comparison with other Buddhist canons===
The other two major Buddhist canons at the present day are in Chinese and Tibetan respectively ([https://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln260/Buddhist%20Canons.htm]). These three canons are  quite different, but overlap.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/encyclopedia-of-buddhism/page/755/mode/2up Macmillan ''Encyclopedia of Buddhism'', 2004 (Volume Two), page 756]</ref> All three canons include versions of the Vinaya<ref>Warder, ''Indian Buddhism'', Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 3rd edition, 2000, pages 496f</ref> and the Dhammapada.<ref>Nakamura, ''Indian Buddhism'', Kansai University of Foreign Studies, Hirakata, Japan, pages 40-43</ref> The Chinese canon additionally includes versions of the first four nikayas,<ref>Warder, pages 493f; Nakamura, 1980, pages 33-39</ref> the Itivuttaka<ref>Warder, page 495; see [https://palitextsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/JPTS_V_28-1.pdf ''Journal of the Pali Text Society'' 1906-7] for a detailed account of this</ref> and the Milindapanha.<ref>Nakamura, page 114, note 5</ref> Also included in one or both of these other canons are versions of parts of certain books: the Suttanipata,<ref>Warder, pages 494f</ref> the Apadana ([https://buddhistuniversity.net/exclusive_01/Bad%20Karma%20of%20the%20Buddha%20-%20Guang%20Xing.pdf]) and the Petakopadesa.<ref>Stefano Zacchetti, "An early Chinese translation corresponding to Chapter 6 of the ''Peṭakopadesa'': An Shigao's ''Yin chi ru jing'' T603 and its Indian original: a preliminary survey", ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'', 65.1 (2002), pages 74ff ([https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/abs/an-early-chinese-translation-corresponding-to-chapter-6-of-the-petakopadesa-an-shigaos-yin-chi-ru-jing-t-603-and-its-indian-original-a-preliminary-survey/4AFF7A8884AD8B97EE6F23D0F97AF9B8], not open access)</ref> Likewise, in one or both of these other canons can be found texts similar to the Jataka<ref>''Britannica'' Micropedia, sv</ref> and Abhidhamma ([https://archive.org/details/the-encyclopedia-of-indian-philosophies/7%20Abhidharma%20Buddhism%20to%20150%20AD/page/101/mode/2up]).


==Where next?==
==Where next?==


* ''The Lion's Roar: an Anthology of the Buddha's Teachings Selected from the Pāḷi Canon'', David Maurice, Rider, London, 1962; American printing Citadel, New York, 1967: online at [http://www.kbrl.gov.mm/book/download/002593], [https://www.bps.lk/olib/mi/mi023_Maurice_The-Lions-Roar.epub.pdf]; this seems to be the only anthology including selections from all three pitakas; it also represents all five nikayas, but not all the individual books listed above
* ''The Lion's Roar: an Anthology of the Buddha's Teachings Selected from the Pāḷi Canon'', David Maurice, Rider, London, 1962; American edition, Citadel, New York, 1967: online at [http://www.kbrl.gov.mm/book/download/002593], [https://www.bps.lk/olib/mi/mi023_Maurice_The-Lions-Roar.epub.pdf]; this seems to be the only anthology including selections from all three pitakas; it also represents all five nikayas, but not all the individual books listed above; this book can give some idea of what the Canon is like
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120820132850/http://society.worldtipitaka.info/world-tipitaka-project/world-tipitaka-roman-script/comparative-tipitaka-volumes Parallel volume-by-volume table of contents of a number of editions]; see [https://web.archive.org/web/20120722154929/http://society.worldtipitaka.info/world-tipitaka-project/world-tipitaka-roman-script/reference-to-pali-tipitaka-editions-in-various-scripts] for the code letters used there.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120820132850/http://society.worldtipitaka.info/world-tipitaka-project/world-tipitaka-roman-script/comparative-tipitaka-volumes Parallel volume-by-volume table of contents of a number of editions]; see [https://web.archive.org/web/20120722154929/http://society.worldtipitaka.info/world-tipitaka-project/world-tipitaka-roman-script/reference-to-pali-tipitaka-editions-in-various-scripts] for the code letters used there.
* Detailed outlines (from shortest to longest)
* Detailed outlines (from shortest to longest)
** ''An Analysis of the Pāli Canon'', edited by Russell Webb, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 3rd edition, 2008; online at [https://www.bps.lk/library-search-select.php?id=bp607s]; includes extensive bibliography
** ''An Analysis of the Pāli Canon'', edited by Russell Webb, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 3rd edition, 2008; online at [https://www.bps.lk/library-search-select.php?id=bp607s]; includes extensive bibliography
** ''An Outline Of the Pāḷi Canon'', compiled from various sources by Allan R. Bomhard, Charleston Buddhist Fellowship, Charleston, SC USA, 2013 (2557), updated version 2022; online at [https://www.academia.edu/38036561/Bomhard_An_Outline_Of_the_P%C4%81li_Canon_revised_August_2022_?email_work_card=title]
** ''An Outline Of the Pāḷi Canon'', compiled from various sources by Allan R. Bomhard, Charleston Buddhist Fellowship, Charleston, SC USA, 2013 (2557), updated version 2022; online at [https://www.academia.edu/38036561/Bomhard_An_Outline_Of_the_P%C4%81li_Canon_revised_August_2022_?email_work_card=title]
** ''Guide to Tipiṭaka'', compiled by U Ko Lay, Burma Piṭaka Association, Rangoon, 1986; reprinted in India, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand; now online at numerous websites, e.g. [http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/tipitaka.pdf], [http://www.archive.org/details/guidetotipitaka029042mbp], [http://www.archive.org/stream/guidetotipitaka029042mbp#page/n1/mode/2up], [http://www.wisdomlib.org/buddhism/book/guide-to-tipitaka/d/doc3409.html]
** ''Guide to Tipiṭaka'', compiled by U Ko Lay, Burma Piṭaka Association, Rangoon, 1986; reprinted in India, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand; now online at numerous websites, e.g. [http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/tipitaka.pdf], [http://www.archive.org/details/guidetotipitaka029042mbp], [http://www.archive.org/stream/guidetotipitaka029042mbp#page/n1/mode/2up]
** ''A History of Pali Literature'' by Bimala Churn Law, originally published in 2 volumes in 1933 (Volume I on the Canon), reprinted in 1 volume, online at [http://www.academia.edu/4088767/A_History_of_Pali_Literature_by_Bimala_Churn_Law]
** ''A History of Pali Literature'' by Bimala Churn Law, originally published in 2 volumes in 1933 (Volume I on the Canon), reprinted in 1 volume, online at [http://www.academia.edu/4088767/A_History_of_Pali_Literature_by_Bimala_Churn_Law]
* [https://palitextsociety.org The Pali Text Society] publishes Pali texts, translations, an ''Introduction to Pali'', a ''Pali-English Dictionary'', etc.
* [https://palitextsociety.org The Pali Text Society] publishes [https://palitextsociety.org/product-category/original-texts-in-pali/ Pali texts], [https://palitextsociety.org/product-category/translations/ translations], an [https://palitextsociety.org/product/introduction-to-pali/ ''Introduction to Pali''], a [https://palitextsociety.org/product/pali-english-dictionary/ ''Pali-English Dictionary''], etc.; many of these, and other, books are available online, and can be found through search engines
*Complete text (in Pali)
*Complete text (in Pali)
**text files
**Latin script
***Sri Lanka Tripitaka Project: [http://web.archive.org/web/20100615203958/http://buddhistethics.org/palicanon.html]; also includes many other Pali texts
***[https://web.archive.org/web/20190627171205/http://www.btmar.org/content/tipitaka-del-sexto-concilio-buddhista-textos-pali ''Chaṭṭhasa&#7749;gītipiṭaka&#x1E41;''], 40 volumes, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Yangon, 2008; also [https://web.archive.org/web/20190627170838/http://www.btmar.org/content/tipitaka-del-sexto-concilio-buddhista-comentarios commentaries] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20190627171521/http://www.btmar.org/content/tipitaka-del-sexto-concilio-buddhista-subcomentarios subcommentaries] (commentaries on commentaries)
***Sutta Central: [http://suttacentral.net/]; see [https://suttacentral.wordpress.com/2014/05/08/suttacentral-upgrade-2014/], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120820133726/http://society.worldtipitaka.info/world-tipitaka-project/the-project/introduction] for background on this; also includes early Buddhist literature in other languages, and many English translations
***[http://web.archive.org/web/20100615203958/http://buddhistethics.org/palicanon.html Sri Lanka Tripitaka Project]; also includes many other Pali texts
***Vipassana Research Institute, Igatpuri, India: [http://www.tipitaka.org]; also includes commentaries, subcommentaries and other Pali texts; various formats, including app
***[http://suttacentral.net/ SuttaCentral]; see [https://suttacentral.wordpress.com/2014/05/08/suttacentral-upgrade-2014/], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120820133726/http://society.worldtipitaka.info/world-tipitaka-project/the-project/introduction] for background on this; also includes early Buddhist literature in other languages, and many translations into English and other languages
**image files
***[http://www.tipitaka.org Vipassana Research Institute], Igatpuri, India; also includes commentaries, subcommentaries and other Pali texts; various formats, including app
***''Braḥ Traipiṭakapāḷi'', 110 volumes, Phnom Penh, 1931-1969: [https://web.archive.org/web/20120606015925/http://dhamma4khmer2.org/Tipitaka_Reading_1.html]
**scripts used in Theravada countries
***''Buddhajayanti Tripitaka'', 52 volumes [in 58], published under the patronage of the government of Ceylon/Sri Lanka, 1957-1989:
***[https://www.pali-text-images.net/ Anandajoti]: more than one edition
****[http://www.aathaapi.net/tipitaka/]
***[https://web.archive.org/web/20120606015925/http://dhamma4khmer2.org/Tipitaka_Reading_1.html ''Braḥ Traipiṭakapāḷi''], 110 volumes, Phnom Penh, 1931-1969; includes Khmer translations on right-hand pages
****pdfs at [https://www.pali-text-images.net/bjt/index.htm]
***[http://www.aathaapi.net/tipitaka/ ''Buddha Jayanti Tripitaka''], 52 volumes [in 58], published under the patronage of the government of Ceylon / Sri Lanka, 1957-1989; includes Sinhalese translations on right-hand pages
***''Chaṭṭhasa&#7749;gītipiṭaka&#x1E41;'', 40 volumes; various printings:
***[http://www.kbrl.gov.mm/catalog/Index/39?page=32 Kabaaye Buddha Research Library] (click on Eng to get the page in English instead of Burmese); also includes many other books in Pali, Burmese, and English
****Ministry of Religious Affairs, Yangon, 2008: [https://web.archive.org/web/20190627171205/http://www.btmar.org/content/tipitaka-del-sexto-concilio-buddhista-textos-pali]
****[http://www.pali-text-images.net/cst/index.htm]
****[http://www.kbrl.gov.mm/catalog/Index/39?page=32] (click on Eng to get the page in English instead of Burmese); also includes English translations of a lot of the Canon
**watch  this space:
**watch  this space:
***[https://www.pali-text-images.net/]: site provider hopes to add more editions
***[http://www.budsir.org BUDSIR (BUDdhist Studies Information Retrieval)] has carried an under construction notice for years; supposed to have a Thai edition
***[http://www.budsir.org] has carried an under construction notice for years
***[https://palitextsociety.org/non-pts-editions-of-pali-texts/ King Chulalongkorn Edition 1893] links to scans of most volumes of a Siamese edition of the Canon; maybe the others will be added sometime
***[https://opencontext.org/projects/b6de18c6-bba8-4b53-9d9e-3eea4b794268]
***[https://opencontext.org/projects/b6de18c6-bba8-4b53-9d9e-3eea4b794268 Kuthodaw Pagoda Project]
***[https://palitextsociety.org/non-pts-editions-of-pali-texts/] links to scans of most volumes of a Siamese edition of the Canon published around 1893; maybe the others will be added sometime


==Notes==
==Notes==


<references/>
<references/>

Latest revision as of 11:39, 14 February 2025

The Pali Canon is the scripture collection of Theravada Buddhism.[1] "Pali Canon" is the usual English name;[2] it is also known by the name "Tipiṭaka".[3] It is in Pali,[4] which is a language of ancient India.[5] Mahayana Buddhism tends to regard the Tipiṭaka as a sort of "Old Testament"[6]. Most scholars recognize the Canon as the oldest source for the Buddha's teachings.[7]

Background

The Canon is traditionally regarded by the Theravada as the Word of the Buddha (died around 400 BC[8]), though not always literally.[9] It is said in the Canon itself that whatever is well said is the Word of the Buddha.[10]

According to a tradition generally regarded quite favourably by scholars, the Canon was written down from oral tradition in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in the last century BC,[11] though hardly any manuscripts survive from before the 16th century.[12]

Collected printed editions of the Canon have been appearing since about 1893,[13] and digitized versions since 1988.[14] It is now even available on an app.

The vast majority of commentarial literature is connected with just four names: Buddhaghosa, Dhammapala, Sariputta and Nanakitti.[15]

Table of contents

English titles are taken from the Pali Text Society: titles of translations published by them, except for 2 books they haven't yet translated (at least 1 volume of).

  • Vinaya Pitaka (Book of the discipline)
  • Sutta or Suttanta Pitaka
    • Digha Nikaya (Dialogues of the Buddha)
    • Majjhima Nikaya (Middle length discourses of the Buddha)
    • Samyutta Nikaya (Connected discourses of the Buddha)
    • Anguttara Nikaya (Numerical discourses of the Buddha)
    • Khuddaka Nikaya: the contents of this section vary between editions, with some including all the following but others omitting one or more.[16]
      • Khuddakapatha (Minor readings)
      • Dhammapada (Word of the doctrine)
      • Udana (Verses of uplift)
      • Itivuttaka (As it was said)
      • Suttanipata (Group of discourses)
      • Vimanavatthu (Stories of the mansions)
      • Petavatthu (Stories of the departed)
      • Theragatha (Poems of early Buddhist monks)
      • Therigatha (Poems of early Buddhist nuns)
      • Apadana (Legends[17])
      • Buddhavamsa (Chronicle of Buddhas)
      • Cariyapitaka (Basket of conduct)
      • Jataka (Stories of the Buddha's former births)
      • Niddesa (Exposition[18])
        • Maha Niddesa
        • Culla or Cula Niddesa
      • Patisambhidamagga (Path of discrimination)
      • Netti (The guide)
      • Petakopadesa (Piṭaka-disclosure)
      • Milindapanha (Milinda's questions)
  • Abhidhamma Pitaka
    • Dhammasangani (A Buddhist manual of psychological ethics)
    • Vibhanga (Book of analysis)
    • Dhatukatha (Discourse on elements)
    • Puggalapannatti (Designation of human types)
    • Kathavatthu (Points of controversy)
    • Yamaka (Book of pairs)
    • Patthana (Conditional relations)

Comparison with other Buddhist canons

The other two major Buddhist canons at the present day are in Chinese and Tibetan respectively ([20]). These three canons are quite different, but overlap.[19] All three canons include versions of the Vinaya[20] and the Dhammapada.[21] The Chinese canon additionally includes versions of the first four nikayas,[22] the Itivuttaka[23] and the Milindapanha.[24] Also included in one or both of these other canons are versions of parts of certain books: the Suttanipata,[25] the Apadana ([21]) and the Petakopadesa.[26] Likewise, in one or both of these other canons can be found texts similar to the Jataka[27] and Abhidhamma ([22]).

Where next?

  • The Lion's Roar: an Anthology of the Buddha's Teachings Selected from the Pāḷi Canon, David Maurice, Rider, London, 1962; American edition, Citadel, New York, 1967: online at [23], [24]; this seems to be the only anthology including selections from all three pitakas; it also represents all five nikayas, but not all the individual books listed above; this book can give some idea of what the Canon is like
  • Parallel volume-by-volume table of contents of a number of editions; see [25] for the code letters used there.
  • Detailed outlines (from shortest to longest)
    • An Analysis of the Pāli Canon, edited by Russell Webb, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 3rd edition, 2008; online at [26]; includes extensive bibliography
    • An Outline Of the Pāḷi Canon, compiled from various sources by Allan R. Bomhard, Charleston Buddhist Fellowship, Charleston, SC USA, 2013 (2557), updated version 2022; online at [27]
    • Guide to Tipiṭaka, compiled by U Ko Lay, Burma Piṭaka Association, Rangoon, 1986; reprinted in India, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand; now online at numerous websites, e.g. [28], [29], [30]
    • A History of Pali Literature by Bimala Churn Law, originally published in 2 volumes in 1933 (Volume I on the Canon), reprinted in 1 volume, online at [31]
  • The Pali Text Society publishes Pali texts, translations, an Introduction to Pali, a Pali-English Dictionary, etc.; many of these, and other, books are available online, and can be found through search engines
  • Complete text (in Pali)

Notes

  1. Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha, Oxford World Classics, 2008, page xiii
  2. Gombrich, foreword to Pali Text Society edition of Geiger, Pali Grammar; there are typographical variants: Pali/Pāli/Pāḷi Canon/canon
  3. Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, Cambridge University Press, 2nd ed, 2012, page 459
  4. Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, Cambridge University Press, 1st ed, 1990, page 3
  5. Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, Cambridge University Press, 1st ed, 1990, page xx
  6. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2002 printing, volume 11, page 791 (article Tipitaka)
  7. Mousa, World Religions Demystified, McGraw-Hill, 2014, page 35; Schopen, Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks, University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu, 1997, pages 23f / reprinted from Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik, volume 10 (1985), page 9 / also quoted in "The historical authenticity of early Buddhist literature: a critical evaluation", Vienna Journal of South Asian Studies, Vol XLIX (2005)/[1], page 37; Schopen himself is one of those scholars who question the prevailing view, and Norman asks what it actually means ("The value of the Pāli tradition", Jagajjyoti: Buddha Jayanti Annual: 1984, 1-9 / Collected Papers, volume III, Pali Text Society, 23-44)
  8. consensus of scholars: Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha, Oxford World Classics, 2008, page xv
  9. Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism, Routledge, London, 1st edn, 1988 / 2nd edn, 2006, page 20
  10. [2]; [3] / The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, Wisdom Publications / Pali Text Society, page 1120; Gradual Sayings, Pali Text Society, volume IV, page 112
  11. Gethin, Buddhist Path to Awakening, Brill, Leiden / New York / Köln, 1992, page 8. For more on the early evolution of the Canon see the following: [4]; [5]; Pāli Literature: Including the Canonical Literature in Prakrit and Sanskrit of All the Hīnayāna Schools of Buddhism, K.R. Norman, Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1983 (volume 7, fascicle 2 of History of Indian Literature), [6] pages 15-107; Hinuber, Handbook of Pali Literature, de Gruyter, Berlin, 1996, pages 10-155; Indian Buddhism, A. K. Warder, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1st edition, 1970, 2nd edition, 1980, 3rd edition, 2000; Indian Buddhism, Hajime Nakamura, Kansai University of Foreign Studies, Hirakata, Japan; A History of Indian Buddhism, Akira Hirakawa, vol 1, Shunjusha, Tokyo, 1974, translated and edited by Paul Groner, University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu, 1990; Histoire du bouddhisme indien, Etienne Lamotte, University of Louvain, 1958 (English translation History of Indian Buddhism, translated by Sara Webb-Boin under the supervision of Jean Dantinne, 1988); [https://www.academia.edu/24142977/Review_of_Richard_F._Gombrich_What_the_Buddha_Thought_London_Equinox_2009_ ]; Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens, volume 38, pages 158f (in German, with English abstract near end); Gethin, Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 1998, pages 47, 83; [7]; Samuel, Introducing Tibetan Buddhism, Routledge, 2012, pages 47f
  12. Oberlies, Pali Grammar, volume I, Pali Text Society, 2019, page 7
  13. Bechert & Gombrich, World of Buddhism, Thames & Hudson, London, 1984, page 78 says the first edition appeared in Siam (Thailand) in 1893 (reviews of this edition: Robert Chalmers, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (New Series), volume XXX (number 1), pages 1-10l; C. R. Lanman, Journal of the American Oriental Society, volume 16, pages ccxliv-ccliv); see also Wiles et al in Journal of the Pali Text Society, volume XXXIV, [8], p 174, for a reference to a report of a Burmese edition about the same time; a comparative review of a numbrer of editions is "Zu einigen neueren Ausgaben des Pāli-Tipiṭaka", Frank-Richard Hamm, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 112 (neue Folge, Band 37), 1962, pages 353-378 (the German original is available on Jstor for those with access; English translation: "On some recent editions of the Pāli Tipiṭaka", in German Scholars on India: Contributions to Indian Studies, ed Cultural Department of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, New Delhi, volume I, pub Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, Varanasi, 1973, pages 123-135)
  14. Routledge Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2007, page 288
  15. Journal of the Pali Text Society, volume XXVI, page 134
  16. [9] (see [10] for the code letters used there). For more on this issue see the following: A Textual and Historical Analysis of the Khuddaka Nikāya, Oliver Abeynayake, Colombo, 1984, pages 38-40 (cited in Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, ed G.P.Malalasekera, Goverment of Ceylon / Sri Lanka, volume 6, page 209); Bode, Pali Literature of Burma, Royal Asiatic Society, London, 1909, pages 4f (& review in Journal of the Burma Research Society, volume 1); Bollee in Pratidanam (Kuiper Festschrift), Mouton, The Hague / Paris; Bond in Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, ed Karl H. Potter, Motilal, Delhi, volume VII, page 403; The Pāli Language, T. Y. Elizarenkova and V. N. Toporov, Nauka, Moscow, 1976, page 40; Hinuber, Handbook of Pali Literature, de Gruyter, Berlin, 1996, page 76; Norman, Philological App[roach to Buddhism, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, 1996, page 141 (there is a reissue of this book by the Pali Text Society, but it has not been checked for whether the pagination is the same); Journal of the Pali Text Society, 1882, [11], page 48, and [12], pages 60f; [13]; [14]; Sayadaw Nandamāla, Introduction to Nettipakaraṇa, page 5; [15], page 2; Rewata Dhamma, The Buddha and His Disciples, Dhamma Talaka Pubns, Birmingham, 2001, page 91
  17. "Illustrator of ultimate meaning" (in 1 volume with "Minor readings"), page 2; a translation of this book is available at [16] or [17]
  18. Bodhi, Suttanipata translation, Pali Text Society, 2017, page 18; a translation of this book is available at [18]
  19. Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004 (Volume Two), page 756
  20. Warder, Indian Buddhism, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 3rd edition, 2000, pages 496f
  21. Nakamura, Indian Buddhism, Kansai University of Foreign Studies, Hirakata, Japan, pages 40-43
  22. Warder, pages 493f; Nakamura, 1980, pages 33-39
  23. Warder, page 495; see Journal of the Pali Text Society 1906-7 for a detailed account of this
  24. Nakamura, page 114, note 5
  25. Warder, pages 494f
  26. Stefano Zacchetti, "An early Chinese translation corresponding to Chapter 6 of the Peṭakopadesa: An Shigao's Yin chi ru jing T603 and its Indian original: a preliminary survey", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 65.1 (2002), pages 74ff ([19], not open access)
  27. Britannica Micropedia, sv