Sutta Pitaka - Khuddaka Nikaya

The Collection of Little TextsSource: This anthology prepared by jtb for
Access to Insight.



Access to Insight edition © 2005
For free distribution. This work may be republished, reformatted,
reprinted, and redistributed in any medium. It is the author's wish,
however, that any such republication and redistribution be made available
to the public on a free and unrestricted basis and that translations and
other derivative works be clearly marked as such.



The Khuddaka Nikaya, or "Collection of Little Texts" (Pali khudda = "smaller;
lesser"), the fifth division of the Sutta Pitaka, is a wide-ranging collection
of fifteen books (eighteen in the Burmese Tipitaka) that contain complete
suttas, verses, and smaller fragments of Dhamma teachings. While many of these
have been treasured and memorized by devout Buddhists around the world for
centuries, others have never left the private domain of Pali scholars, and have
never even been translated into English.
Availability of English translations:
Print: Print editions of many of the books in the Khuddaka Nikaya are widely
available from various sources. See the listings below under each book for
some recommended editions.
On-line: The links below will take you to recommended translations of texts
from the Khuddaka Nikaya that are available on this website and elsewhere on
the Internet.

1. Khuddakapatha — The Short Passages

A collection of nine short passages that may have been designed as a primer
for novice monks and nuns. It includes several essential texts that to this
day are regularly chanted by laypeople and monastics around the world of
Theravada Buddhism. These passages include: the formula for taking refuge; the
ten precepts; and the Metta, Mangala, and Ratana suttas.
Availability of English translations:
Print: The complete Khuddakapatha appears in Handful of Leaves (Vol. 4),
Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans. (Santa Cruz: Sati Center for Buddhist Studies,
2003).
On-line: Translations by:
Amaravati Sangha (excerpt)
Buddharakkhita (excerpt)
Narada (excerpt)
Ñanamoli (excerpt)
Piyadassi (excerpts)
Thanissaro (complete)

2. Dhammapada — The Path of Dhamma

This much-beloved collection of 423 short verses has been studied and learned
by heart over the centuries by millions of Buddhists around the world.
Availability of English translations:
Print: Scores of English translations exist. The following are particularly
recommended:
Dhammapada: A Translation, Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans. (Barre: Dhamma Dana
Publications, 1998)
The Dhammapada: The Buddha's Path of Wisdom, Acharya Buddharakkhita,
trans. (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1996)
The Dhammapada: Pali Text and Translation with Stories in Brief and Notes,
Narada Thera, trans. (Buddhist Missionary Society, India, 1978; available
from Pariyatti Books).
The Dhammapada: A New English Translation with the Pali Text and the First
English Translation of the Commentary's Explanation of the Verses With
Notes Translated from the Sinhala Sources and Critical Textual Comments,
John Ross Carter and Mahinda Palihawardana, trans. (Oxford: Oxford
university Press, 1987).
On-line: Translations by:
Buddharakkhita
Olendzki (excerpts)
Thanissaro
Other translations abound on the Internet.

3. Udana — Exclamations

A rich collection of short suttas, each of which culminates in a short verse
uttered by the Buddha. Here you will find the parable of the blind men and the
elephant (Ud 6.4); the story of Nanda and the "dove-footed nymphs" (Ud 3.2);
and many memorable similes (e.g., "Just as the ocean has one taste — the taste
of salt — so this Dhamma-Vinaya has one taste, the taste of release." (Ud
5.5)). Many gems here!
Availability of English translations:
Print: The Udana and the Itivuttaka, John D. Ireland, trans. (Kandy:
Buddhist Publication Society, 1998). Substantial excerpts from the Udana
appear in Handful of Leaves (Vol. 4), Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans. (Santa
Cruz: Sati Center for Buddhist Studies, 2003).
On-line: Selected suttas by various translators.

4. Itivuttaka — The Thus-saids

A collection of 112 short suttas, in mixed prose and verse form, each of which
addresses a single well-focused topic of Dhamma. The Itivuttaka takes its name
from the Pali phrase that introduces each sutta: iti vuttam Bhagavata, "Thus
was said by the Buddha."
Availability of English translations:
Print: Itivuttaka: This Was Said by the Buddha, Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.
(Barre, Massachusetts: Dhamma Dana Publications, 2001); Handful of Leaves
(Vol. 4), Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans. (Santa Cruz: Sati Center for Buddhist
Studies, 2003); The Udana and the Itivuttaka, John D. Ireland, trans.
(Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1998).
On-line: Translations by Ireland (excerpts) and Thanissaro (complete).

5. Sutta Nipata — The Sutta Collection

71 short suttas, including the Karaniya Metta Sutta
(Good-will/Loving-kindness), the Maha-mangala Sutta (Protection), and the
Atthaka Vagga, a chapter of sixteen poems on the theme of non-clinging.
Availability of English translations:
Print: The Group of Discourses (2nd ed.) K.R. Norman, trans. (Oxford: Pali
Text Society, 2001); The Sutta-Nipata, H. Saddhatissa, trans. (London:
Curzon press, 1985). Excerpts from the Sutta Nipata also appear in Handful
of Leaves (Vol. 4), Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans. (Santa Cruz: Sati Center for
Buddhist Studies, 2003).
On-line: Selected suttas by various translators.

6. Vimanavatthu — Stories of the Celestial Mansions

83 poems, each explaining how wholesome deeds led to a particular deity's
rebirth in one of the heavenly realms.
Availability of English translations:
Print: Minor Anthologies (Vol IV) — Vimanavatthu: Stories of the Mansions,
and Petavatthu, I.B. Horner, trans. (Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1974).
On-line: Selected suttas.

7. Petavatthu — Stories of the Hungry Ghosts

51 poems, each explaining how unwholesome deeds led to the rebirth of a being
into the miserable realm of the "Hungry Ghosts" (peta).
Availability of English translations:
Print: Minor Anthologies (Vol IV) — Vimanavatthu: Stories of the Mansions,
and Petavatthu, I.B. Horner, trans. (Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1974).
On-line: Selected suttas

8. Theragatha — Verses of the Elder Monks

9. Therigatha — Verses of the Elder Nuns

These two books offer exquisitely beautiful personal accounts, in verse form,
of the lives of the early monks and nuns, often culminating in a lovely simile
to describe their experience of Awakening. These verses depict — in often
heart-breaking detail — the many hardships these men and women endured and
overcame during their quest for Awakening, and offer deep inspiration and
encouragement to the rest of us.
Availability of English translations:
Print: Elders' Verses, prose translation by K.R. Norman (Oxford: Pali Text
Society, 1969-1971) and Psalms of the Early Buddhists, verse translation by
C.A.F. Rhys Davids (Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1909 and 1937). A paperback
edition of the Therigatha is available in Poems of Early Buddhist Nuns,
C.A.F. Rhys Davids and K.R. Norman, trans. (Oxford: Pali Text Society,
1989). Selections from the Theragatha and Therigatha also appear in Handful
of Leaves (Vol. 4), Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans. (Santa Cruz: Sati Center for
Buddhist Studies, 2003).
On-line: Selections from the Theragatha and Therigatha by various
translators.

10. Jataka — Birth Stories

547 tales that recount some of the Buddha's former lives during his long
journey as a Bodhisatta aspiring to Awakening.
Availability of English translations:
Print: The Jataka or Stories of the Buddha's Former Births, various trans.,
E.B. Cowell, ed. (Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1913). Several short
anthologies are also available, including the "retelling" of selected Jataka
tales by Ken & Visakha Kawasaki in a series of Bodhi Leaf booklets published
by the Buddhist Publication Society.
On-line: Although no full translations of the Jataka stories are available
here, several stories are loosely translated in Ken & Visakha Kawasaki's
series of short booklets.

11. Niddesa — Exposition

This book, traditionally ascribed to Sariputta, is a series of commentaries on
sections of the Sutta Nipata. The first part, the Mahaniddesa, is a commentary
on the Atthakavagga; the second, the Culaniddesa, a commentary on the
Parayanavagga and the Khaggavisana Sutta (Sn 1.3).
Availability of English translations:
Print: None known.
On-line: An excerpt from the Mahaniddesa by Andrew Olendzki.

12. Patisambhidamagga — Path of Discrimination

An analysis of Abhidhamma concepts. [??]
Availability of English translations:
Print: The Path of Discrimination, Ven. Ñanamoli, trans. (Oxford: Pali Text
Society, 1982).
On-line: A few excerpts are available at EmptyUniverse.

13. Apadana — Stories

Biographies, in verse, of the Buddha, 41 Paccekabuddhas ("silent" Buddhas),
549 arahant bhikkhus and 40 arahant bhikkhunis. Many of these stories are
characterized by flowery paeans celebrating the glory, wonder, magnificence,
etc. of the Buddha. The Apadana is believed to be a late addition to the
Canon, added at the Second and Third Buddhist Councils.
Availability of English translations:
Print: None known.
On-line: None known.

14. Buddhavamsa — History of the Buddhas

Biographical accounts of Gotama Buddha and of the 24 Buddhas who preceded him.
[??]
Availability of English translations:
Print: Minor Anthologies (Vol III) — Buddhavamsa: Chronicles of Buddhas and
Cariyapitaka: Basket of Conduct, I.B. Horner, trans. (Oxford: Pali Text
Society, 1975).
On-line: A few excerpts, translated by U Ko Lay and U Tin Lwin, are
available here.

15. Cariyapitaka — Basket of Conduct

Stories, in verse, of 35 of the Buddha's previous lives. These stories,
purportedly retold by the Buddha at Ven. Sariputta's request, illustrate the
Bodhisatta's practice of seven of the ten paramis (perfections). [??]
Availability of English translations:
Print: Minor Anthologies (Vol III) Buddhavamsa: Chronicles of Buddhas and
Cariyapitaka: Basket of Conduct, I.B. Horner, trans. (Oxford: Pali Text
Society, 1975).
On-line: None known.



The following books are included only in the Burmese edition of the Tipitaka; in
the Sinhala and Thai editions they are regarded as paracanonical.

16. Nettippakarana

17. Petakopadesa

These two short books are "different from the other books of the Tipitaka
because they are exegetical and methodological in nature" {GT p.138}. The
Nettippakarana is "considered an important text that explains the doctrinal
points of Buddhism" {HPL p.100}. [??]
Availability of English translations:
Print: The Guide (Nettippakarana), Ven. Ñanamoli, trans. (Oxford: Pali Text
Society, 1962); Pitaka Disclosure (Petakopadesa), Ven. Ñanamoli, trans.
(Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1964).
On-line: None known.

18. Milindapañha — Questions of Milinda

This collection of sutta-like passages recounts a long series of dialogues
concerning profound points of Dhamma between the arahant Ven. Nagasena and the
Bactrian Greek king Milinda (Menander). The king, a philosopher and skilled
debater, poses to Ven. Nagasena one question after another concerning the
Dhamma, each of which Ven. Nagasena masterfully answers, often with unusually
vivid and apt similes. Like so many stories from the Pali canon, this one has
a happy ending: the king is so deeply inspired by Ven. Nagasena's wisdom that
he converts to Buddhism, hands over his kingdom to his son, joins the Sangha,
and eventually becomes an arahant himself.
The Milindapañha has long been revered by Theravada Buddhists around the world
because it addresses many questions of Buddhist doctrine of the sort that
often come up in the course of Dhamma study and meditation practice: "Are
pleasant feelings skillful or unskillful?" "What is the difference between
someone with attachment and someone without?" "Can an arahant ever break a
Vinaya rule?" "Is it better to perform an unwholesome act knowingly or
unknowingly?" "How far away is the Brahma-world?" "Why are some people healthy
and others ill; some people attractive and others ugly; some rich, and others
poor?" All told, the king asks some 237 questions1 along these lines, making
this one of the most comprehensive and useful Buddhist FAQs2 in existence.
Availability of English translations:
Print: Milinda's Questions, I.B. Horner, trans. (Oxford: Pali Text Society,
1963 [2 vols.]. A paperback anthology of passages from I.B. Horner's
translation is available in The Questions of King Milinda: an Abridgement of
the Milindapañha, N.K.G. Mendis, ed. (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society,
1993). A modern abridged edition is The Debate of King Milinda by Bhikkhu
Pesala (Penang: Inward Path, 2001).
On-line: Selected passages by various translators.
»Pesala's abridged translation is also available online.
Notes
1. As reckoned by Bhikkhu Pesala in The Debate of King Milinda (Penang: Inward
Path, 2001).
2. Frequently Asked Questions: A document containing a series of common
questions and answers concerning a particular topic.



Note
The books above marked with "[??]" are those of which I am completely ignorant.
Comments for these books are drawn entirely from other sources:
The Buddhist Religion: A Historical Introduction (4th ed.), by Robinson &
Johnson (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1996)
Guide to Tipitaka, by U Ko Lay (Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1990) {"GT"}
Handbook of Pali Literature, by Somapala Jayawardhana (Colombo, Sri Lanka:
Karunaratne & Sons, 1994) {"HPL"}
Pali Literature and Language, by Wilhelm Geiger (New Delhi: Oriental Books,
1978) {"PLL"}

See also: Khuddakapatha, Dhammapada, Udana, Itivuttaka, Sutta Nipata, Vimanavatthu, Petavatthu, Theragatha, Therigatha, Jataka, Niddesa, Patisambhidamagga, Apadana, Buddhavamsa, Cariyapitaka, Nettippakarana, Petakopadesa, Milinda Panha