Words of the Buddha

Read early Buddhist discourses in parallel Pāli and English — from memorable verses to the full Nikāyas.

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In the Buddha’s WordsBhikkhu Bodhi · Anthology
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·

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.

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Parallel Texts

Read Pāli and English side-by-side or interleaved, with line-by-line fidelity to the source.

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Contextual Tooltips

Click any Pāli word or translated term for on-the-spot explanations that deepen understanding.

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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.

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
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Dīgha NikāyaLong Discourses
Long Discourses — Dīgha Nikāya
New translationwith 31 illustrations
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Majjhima NikāyaMiddle Length Discourses
Middle Length Discourses — Majjhima Nikāya
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Saṁyutta NikāyaConnected Discourses
Connected Discourses — Saṁyutta Nikāya
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Aṅguttara NikāyaNumerical Discourses
Numerical Discourses — Aṅguttara Nikāya
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Sutta NipātaThe Buddha's Ancient Discourses
The Buddha's Ancient Discourses — Sutta Nipāta
New translation
kp
KhuddakapāṭhaMinor Passages
Minor Passages — Khuddakapāṭha

Latest Discourses

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The arising of the six internal sense bases brings suffering and aging; their complete cessation is the end of suffering.

Last updated on July 27, 2026

The Buddha corrects Ānanda’s assumption that dependent co-arising is easily understood. He provides a profound, detailed exposition of causality, tracing both the cycle of existential rebirth and the moment-to-moment roots of human conflict back to craving and felt experience. The discourse explores the intricacies of self-designation, the seven planes of consciousness, and the eight liberations.

Last updated on July 27, 2026

The Buddha's most detailed exposition of the four establishments of mindfulness. This extended version includes comprehensive definitions of the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the four jhānas within the framework of mindfulness practice.

Last updated on July 27, 2026

The Buddha describes the four establishments of mindfulness to be cultivated in detail, namely - mindfulness of the body, mindfulness of the felt experience, mindfulness of the mind, and mindfulness of the mental qualities.

Last updated on July 27, 2026

The Buddha deconstructs speculative views about the past and future, revealing them as forms of clinging. He exposes subtle attachments within even exalted meditative states, showing that all conditioned experiences are unstable. True liberation lies not in constructed peace, but in non-clinging through full understanding of the six sense bases.

Last updated on July 27, 2026

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