Words of the Buddha

Read the suttas of the Pāli canon in parallel Pāli and English — from memorable verses to the long discourses.

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·

The Magdalen with the Smoking Flame
Recommended Read

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.

Anthologies

See all →

Curated reading paths through the canon — a good place to begin.

Explore the Collections

Browse the major texts of the Pāli Canon, with parallel Pāli and English on every page.

New translation
dhp
DhammapadaThe Path of Dhamma
The Path of Dhamma — Dhammapada
New translation
iti
ItivuttakaAs It Was Said
As It Was Said — Itivuttaka
New translation
ud
UdānaInspired Utterances
Inspired Utterances — Udāna
dn
Dīgha NikāyaLong Discourses
Long Discourses — Dīgha Nikāya
New translationwith 35 illustrations
mn
Majjhima NikāyaMiddle Length Discourses
Middle Length Discourses — Majjhima Nikāya
sn
Saṁyutta NikāyaConnected Discourses
Connected Discourses — Saṁyutta Nikāya
an
Aṅguttara NikāyaNumerical Discourses
Numerical Discourses — Aṅguttara Nikāya
snp
Sutta NipātaThe Buddha's Ancient Discourses
The Buddha's Ancient Discourses — Sutta Nipāta
New translation
kp
KhuddakapāṭhaMinor Passages
Minor Passages — Khuddakapāṭha
New translation
kd
MahākhandhakaThe Great Chapter
The Great Chapter — Mahākhandhaka

Latest Discourses

See more →

AN 10.62 Taṇhā sutta - CravingNew

While a first point of craving for existence is not discerned, it can be discerned that craving for existence has a supporting condition. Using the simile of mountain rain filling the ocean, the Buddha traces the nutriments for craving for existence alongside those for true knowledge and liberation.

Added October 27, 2026

PTS 5.116–5.118

KD 1.15 Sāriputtamoggallānapabbajjākathā - The Going Forth of Sāriputta and MoggallānaNew

Sāriputta hears from Assaji the verse on phenomena that arise from a cause, and the dustless Dhamma eye arises. He tells Moggallāna. They leave Sañcaya with two hundred and fifty wanderers and receive the going forth.

Added October 27, 2026

KD 1.14 Bimbisārasamāgamakathā - King BimbisāraNew

King Seniya Bimbisāra of Magadha, with a hundred and twenty thousand brahmin householders, meets the Blessed One at the Sapling Grove. He offers the Bamboo Grove, and the Blessed One allows a park.

Added October 27, 2026

KD 1.13 Ādittapariyāya - At Gayā’s HeadNew

With a thousand bhikkhus, all former matted-hair ascetics, the Blessed One goes from Uruvelā to Gayā’s Head. The fire sermon spoken there is SN 35.28. While it is spoken, the thousand are liberated.

Added October 27, 2026

KD 1.12 Uruvelapāṭihāriyakathā - The Wonders at UruvelāNew

At Uruvelā the Blessed One stays in the fire hall of the matted-hair ascetic Uruvelakassapa, masters a serpent king, and shows wonder after wonder until Kassapa and his brothers, with their thousand followers, go forth.

Added October 27, 2026

Join r/WordsOfTheBuddha2,277 members

A daily learning feed of the Buddha's teachings — learn, reflect, and apply in practice.