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The Three Baskets
1	2	3
Discourses of the Buddha	Monastic Discipline	Higher Doctrine
Sutta Pitaka	Vinaya Pitaka	Abhidhamma Pitaka
Digha Nikaya     Majjhima Nikaya     Samyutta Nikaya     Anguttara Nikaya     Khuddaka Nikaya	Parajika     Sanghadisesa     Pacittiya     Bhikkhuni Vinaya     Mahavagga     Cullavagga     Parivara     Patimokkha	Dhammasanganippakarana       Vibhangappakarana       Kathavatthuppakarana       Dhatukathappakarana       Puggalapannatti       Yamakappakarana       Patthanappakarana

For further study

the GWV Pali Language Resource Guide for the Study of the, Tipitaka, Pali Language and Literature

Buddhist Dictionary, Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines, by NYANATILOKA MAHATHERA

Other Pali Dictionaries Resources and Utilities

A Buddhist Timeline

Understanding the original language of the Buddha and his teachings (suttas/sutras)

A Guide to Learning the Pali Language and access to Pali Fonts by John Bullitt

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One of the goals of the Great Western Vehicle is to bring the Buddha's teachings to the broadest audience. In an effort to meet that goal we have provided as much of the original Discourses of the Buddha in English translation as we could find in the public domain.

The GWV master directory of translations of the Tipitaka in English, Romanized Pali and Sinhala is a compilation of the work of 24 different translators. It includes the work of monastics, such as: Bhikkhuni Upalavanna; Bhikkhus: Amaravati, ânandajoti, Bodhi, Jhanananda, Ñanamoli, Ñanananda, Narada, Nyanaponika, Nyanasatta, Piyadassi, Soma and Thanissaro; scholars such as: V. Fausböll, Ireland, A.D. Jayasundere, F. Max Müller, Horner, Olendzki, T. W. Rhys Davids, Story, Strong, Vajira and Woodward. Thanissaro Bhikkhu's English translations are thanks to Access to Insight, which included the work of other excellent translators. The translations of F. Max Muller, T.W. Rhys Davids et al are thanks to the PALI TEXT SOCIETY.

Every culture that has embraced Buddhism has spent the first few centuries of that endeavor in acquiring and translating the Three Baskets, which includes the Discourses of the Buddha (sutta/sutra pitaka). It is a matter of history that the Buddha spoke in the common language of the people of his region. The Pali language is a liturgical language that is based upon that language. Once the Buddha's teachings were written down they were almost immediately translated into Sinhala and Sanskrit. When Buddhism arrived in China, then Korea, then Japan then Tibet, the Three Baskets were acquired in Sanskrit then translated into the languages of those above regions.

As the English speaking peoples embrace Buddhism we have the choice to acquire the teachings of the Buddha in the above mentioned languages, however, why go through three layers of translation, which are only going to increase the likelihood of translator bias and religious dogma, when we can go back to the original language of the Buddha, which was closest related to the Pali language?

For scholarly purposes we believe serious students of Buddhism are going to want to penetrate through the fog of translator bias and religious dogma to get as close to the original teachings of the Buddha as one can. For that purpose we have included the Romanized form of the Pali. We have also included the Sinhala version as a gift to the Sri Lankan people, who have preserved the earliest sources of Buddhist literature.

The Romanized Pali is based upon the Sri Lanka Buddha Jayanti Tipitaka Series. The Sinhala is A.P. de Soyza's translations. The English is by 24 translators often downloaded from the Internet thanks to Metta Net, Access to Insight, and the PALI TEXT SOCIETY "Sacred Books of the Buddhists" and "Sacred Books of the East, thanks to Sacred Texts.

If only one person is relieved of suffering by our efforts, then our work was well spent.

Sotapanna Jhanananda
Inyo National Forest, September 2005

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[Great Western Vehicle] [Buddhist Timeline] [Pali & Buddhist Studies] [Pali-English Dictionary] [Pali Language Resource Guide] [Sanskrit & Vedic Studies] [Ecstatic Meditation Archive] [Events] [Supporting the GWV]