In the Buddha’s WordsBhikkhu Bodhi · Anthology
Words of the Buddha
Read early Buddhist discourses in parallel Pāli and English — from memorable verses to the full Nikāyas.
Start here
Noble Truths, Noble PathBhikkhu Bodhi · Anthology
DhammapadaChapter 1 — Pairs · Audio
Reflection of the Day
“I do not see any other form that so completely obsesses a man’s mind as the form of a woman.”
— AN 1.1·
Recommended Read
Fire: Investigating Recurrent Experience
The Buddha cast his entire framework of liberation in the language of fire and its cessation. This essay traces that structure using what we now understand about how fire actually works.
Experience is examined starting with the texture of a single moment, to the cascade of experience, across the terrain where consciousness takes root, and to the extinguishing that is Nibbāna.
Read essay
📖
Parallel Texts
Read Pāli and English side-by-side or interleaved, with line-by-line fidelity to the source.
💬
Contextual Tooltips
Click any Pāli word or translated term for on-the-spot explanations that deepen understanding.
🔖
Bookmarks & Highlights
Save discourses and highlight key passages to build your personal collection of insights.
Explore the Collections
Browse the major texts of the Pāli Canon, with parallel Pāli and English on every page.
dn
Dīgha NikāyaLong DiscoursesNew translationwith 32 illustrations
mn
Majjhima NikāyaMiddle Length Discoursessn
Saṁyutta NikāyaConnected Discoursesan
Aṅguttara NikāyaNumerical Discoursessnp
Sutta NipātaThe Buddha's Ancient DiscoursesLatest Discourses
View all →The Buddha describes eight streams of merit that lead to profound happiness and heavenly rebirth: taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha, alongside observing the five precepts. He frames these precepts as ancient “great gifts” because abstaining from harmful actions like killing and intoxication grants limitless beings freedom from fear, hostility, and affliction.
Last updated on August 12, 2026
The Buddha explains the karmic results of breaking the five precepts and engaging in wrong speech. Even the lightest result brings specific corresponding suffering in a human birth, such as a short lifespan.
Last updated on August 12, 2026
The Buddha explains the eight-factored Uposatha observance. By undertaking eight precepts for a single day and night, a disciple yields great spiritual fruit by emulating the purity of the arahants.
Last updated on August 12, 2026
The Buddha details the eight-factored Uposatha observance, where a disciple emulates the arahants for a day and night. He explains that the resulting spiritual fruit and heavenly rebirth are so vast that all worldly wealth pales in comparison.
Last updated on August 12, 2026
After Prince Jayasena expresses disbelief about the possibility of attaining unification of mind, the Buddha explains why a life of sensual pleasure blinds one to spiritual truths using two vivid similes. He then uses an analogy of taming a wild elephant, showing how training and renunciation lead to true mastery.
Last updated on August 12, 2026
Join r/WordsOfTheBuddha2,088 members
A daily learning feed of the Buddha's teachings — learn, reflect, and apply in practice.