Suttas: the early discourses
93 discourses of the Buddha, read in full in a modern translation, each with a short introduction. Grouped by what they are about.
Most read, with a plain-English guide
- SN 36.6The second arrow (Sallatha Sutta)In SN 36.6 the Buddha says that both an ordinary person and a trained disciple feel painful feelings.
- AN 3.65Kalama SuttaThe Kālāmas were confused by teachers who each praised their own doctrine and attacked others.
- Snp 1.8Karaṇīya Mettā SuttaThe Metta Sutta describes the qualities of someone who wants to reach peace, then gives the wish at its heart: “May all beings be happy!” It asks for a boundless heart toward every creature, “even as a mother would protect with her life her child, her only child,” kept in mind whether standing, walking, sitting or lying down..
- MN 20Vitakkasaṇṭhāna SuttaMN 20 gives five methods for bad thoughts connected with desire, hate and delusion, each to try when the one before it has not worked: focus on a skillful subject instead, examine the thoughts’ drawbacks, forget and ignore them, slow down their formation, and as a last resort, “crush mind with mind.”.
- AN 5.161Āghātavinaya SuttaAN 5.161 gives five ways to get rid of resentment toward a person: develop love for them, develop compassion for them, develop equanimity toward them, disregard them and pay them no attention, or reflect that they are the owner and heir of their own deeds..
- AN 6.55Soṇa Sutta (the lute simile)Soṇa, one of the most energetic disciples, was about to give up.
- MN 21Kakacūpama SuttaMN 21 says others may criticize you in five ways: timely or untimely, true or false, gentle or harsh, beneficial or harmful, from love or from secret hate.
- DN 31Sigālovāda SuttaSigālaka was honouring the six directions as his dying father asked.
- AN 5.57The Five RemembrancesAN 5.57 names five subjects that “a woman or a man, a layperson or a renunciate should often review”: I am liable to grow old; I am liable to get sick; I am liable to die; I must be parted from all I hold dear; and I am the owner and heir of my deeds..
- AN 8.6The eight worldly conditionsThe eight worldly conditions are gain and loss, fame and disgrace, blame and praise, pleasure and pain.
- SN 45.2Upaḍḍha SuttaĀnanda suggests that “good friends, companions, and associates are half the spiritual life.” The Buddha corrects him: “Not so, Ānanda! … Good friends, companions, and associates are the whole of the spiritual life,” because a person with good friends can expect to develop the noble eightfold path..
- SN 56.31Siṃsapā Sutta (the handful of leaves)In a rosewood grove the Buddha picks up a few leaves and asks which is more, the leaves in his hand or those in the grove.
- MN 118Ānāpānasati SuttaMN 118 teaches mindfulness of breathing in sixteen steps, grouped in fours: the body, feelings, the mind, and principles.
- Ud 6.4The blind men and the elephantIn Udāna 6.4 the Buddha tells of a king who has an elephant shown to people blind from birth.
- Ud 1.10Bāhiya SuttaBāhiya asked the Buddha for teaching three times, on the street.
- MN 63Cūḷamālukya Sutta (the poisoned arrow)Māluṅkyaputta threatens to leave unless the Buddha answers ten questions, such as whether the cosmos is eternal and whether a realized one exists after death.
Foundations
- AN 6.10 · Numbered DiscoursesWith MahānāmaNear Kapilavatthu, Mahānāma the Sakyan asks the Buddha what kind of meditation a noble disciple who has reached the fruit often practices.
- MN 141 · Middle DiscoursesThe Analysis of the Truths · Saccavibhaṅga SuttaAt the deer park near Varanasi, the Buddha tells the mendicants that the four noble truths were first set out there, and encourages them to keep company with Sāriputta and Moggallāna.
- SN 45.8 · Linked DiscoursesAnalysis · Maggavibhaṅga SuttaAt Sāvatthī the Buddha tells the mendicants he will analyse the noble eightfold path, and defines each factor in turn.
- SN 55.37 · Linked DiscoursesWith MahānāmaMahānāma the Sakyan asks the Buddha a series of plain questions about what it means to be a lay follower, and the Buddha answers each briefly.
- SN 56.1 · Linked DiscoursesImmersionA very short instruction at Sāvatthī.
- SN 56.11 · Linked DiscoursesRolling Forth the Wheel of Dhamma · Dhammacakkappavattana SuttaAt the deer park near Varanasi the Buddha addresses the group of five mendicants.
- SN 56.31 · Linked DiscoursesIn a Rosewood Forest · Siṃsapā Sutta (the handful of leaves)In a rosewood grove near Kosambī the Buddha picks up a few leaves and asks the mendicants which is more: the leaves in his hand or those in the grove.
- SN 56.35 · Linked DiscoursesA Hundred SpearsThe Buddha asks the mendicants to imagine a man with a hundred years to live who is told he will be struck with three hundred spears every day of it, and that only at the end will he understand the four noble truths for the first time.
The mind
- AN 10.51 · Numbered DiscoursesYour Own Mind · Sacitta SuttaAt Sāvatthī, in Jeta’s Grove, the Buddha tells the mendicants that someone who is not skilled at reading another person’s mind should train to know their own.
- AN 3.34 · Numbered DiscoursesSourcesThe Buddha tells the mendicants that deeds have three sources: greed, hate, and delusion.
- AN 3.69 · Numbered DiscoursesUnskillful RootsThe Buddha tells the mendicants that greed, hate, and delusion are the three roots of the unskillful.
- AN 4.41 · Numbered DiscoursesWays of Developing Immersion FurtherThe Buddha tells the mendicants about four ways of developing immersion further, each leading to a different result.
- AN 5.28 · Numbered DiscoursesWith Five FactorsThe Buddha tells the mendicants how to develop noble right immersion with five factors.
- AN 5.51 · Numbered DiscoursesObstaclesAt Sāvatthī, the Buddha tells the mendicants about five obstacles and hindrances, which he calls parasites of the mind that weaken wisdom: sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and remorse, and doubt.
- AN 7.64 · Numbered DiscoursesIrritableThe Buddha tells the mendicants seven things that an enemy would wish on an enemy, all of which happen to an irritable woman or man.
- Iti 4 · So It Was SaidAngerA very short saying in which the Buddha tells the mendicants that giving up one thing, anger, leads to non-return, a term the text uses without explaining.
- MN 10 · Middle DiscoursesMindfulness Meditation · Satipaṭṭhāna SuttaThe Buddha teaches the mendicants the four kinds of mindfulness meditation: observing the body, feelings, the mind, and principles.
- MN 19 · Middle DiscoursesTwo Kinds of Thought · Dvedhāvitakka SuttaThe Buddha tells the mendicants how, before his awakening, he sorted his thoughts into two classes: sensual, malicious, and cruel thoughts on one side, and thoughts of renunciation, good will, and harmlessness on the other.
- MN 20 · Middle DiscoursesHow to Stop Thinking · Vitakkasaṇṭhāna SuttaThe Buddha gives the mendicants five methods for dealing with unwanted thoughts connected with desire, hate, and delusion, each to be tried when the previous one fails.
- MN 7 · Middle DiscoursesThe Simile of the Cloth · Vatthūpama SuttaThe Buddha tells the mendicants that as a dirty cloth takes dye poorly and a clean one well, a corrupt mind leads to a bad destiny and a pure mind to a good one.
- SN 1.71 · Linked DiscoursesSlainA short exchange in verse at Sāvatthī.
- SN 36.6 · Linked DiscoursesAn Arrow · The second arrow (Sallatha Sutta)The Buddha tells the mendicants that both an ordinary person and a learned noble disciple feel pleasant, painful, and neutral feelings, and asks what the difference is.
- SN 46.55 · Linked DiscoursesWith SaṅgāravaThe brahmin Saṅgārava asks the Buddha why sometimes even well-rehearsed hymns do not come to mind, while at other times even unrehearsed ones do.
- SN 47.10 · Linked DiscoursesThe Nuns’ QuartersVenerable Ānanda visits the nuns’ quarters, where several nuns tell him that their practice of the four kinds of mindfulness meditation has brought real progress.
- SN 47.20 · Linked DiscoursesThe Finest Lady in the LandThe Buddha asks the mendicants to imagine a crowd gathering to watch the finest lady in the land dance and sing.
- SN 47.6 · Linked DiscoursesA HawkThe Buddha tells the mendicants a fable.
- SN 47.8 · Linked DiscoursesCooksThe Buddha compares meditators to cooks.
- SN 7.1 · Linked DiscoursesWith DhanañjānīDhanañjānī, a brahmin’s wife devoted to the Buddha, trips while serving her husband’s meal and three times exclaims homage to the Buddha.
Kindness
- AN 11.15 · Numbered DiscoursesThe Benefits of Love · The eleven benefits of loving-kindnessThe Buddha tells the mendicants that eleven benefits can be expected when the heart’s release by love has been cultivated, developed, and practiced thoroughly, and made a vehicle and a basis.
- AN 5.148 · Numbered DiscoursesGifts of a True PersonA short discourse on five gifts of a true person: giving out of faith, giving carefully, giving at the right time, giving with no strings attached, and giving without damaging oneself or others.
- AN 5.161 · Numbered DiscoursesGetting Rid of Resentment (1st) · Āghātavinaya SuttaThe Buddha tells the mendicants five ways to get rid of resentment once it has arisen toward someone.
- AN 5.162 · Numbered DiscoursesGetting Rid of Resentment (2nd)Venerable Sāriputta addresses the mendicants with five ways of getting rid of resentment, one for each kind of person.
- AN 5.34 · Numbered DiscoursesWith General SīhaAt Vesālī, General Sīha asks the Buddha whether he can point to a fruit of giving that is visible in this life.
- AN 5.36 · Numbered DiscoursesTimely GiftsThe Buddha tells the mendicants about five timely gifts: a gift to a visitor, a gift to someone setting out on a journey, a gift to someone who is sick, a gift at a time of famine, and offering the first of the fresh harvest to those who are ethical.
- AN 6.37 · Numbered DiscoursesA Gift With Six FactorsAt Sāvatthī, the Buddha sees that Veḷukaṇṭakī, Nanda’s mother, is preparing an offering for the Saṅgha led by Sāriputta and Moggallāna, and tells the mendicants that her gift has six factors.
- Iti 22 · So It Was SaidThe Benefits of LoveThe Buddha tells the mendicants not to fear good deeds, because “good deeds” is another name for happiness.
- Iti 26 · So It Was SaidGivingThe Buddha tells the mendicants that if beings knew, as he does, the fruit of giving and sharing, they would not eat without first giving, and would share even their last mouthful so long as someone was there to receive it.
- Iti 27 · So It Was SaidThe Meditation on LoveThe Buddha tells the mendicants that of all the grounds for making worldly merit (good deeds that bring good results), none is worth a sixteenth part of what the text calls the heart’s release by love.
- MN 21 · Middle DiscoursesThe Simile of the Saw · Kakacūpama SuttaAfter counselling the monk Phagguna, who had grown angry when some nuns were criticised, the Buddha teaches the mendicants about patience under criticism.
- SN 20.4 · Linked DiscoursesCauldronsA brief teaching at Sāvatthī.
- SN 3.8 · Linked DiscoursesWith Queen MallikāKing Pasenadi and Queen Mallikā are together in the royal longhouse when the king asks whether there is anyone she holds more dear than herself.
- Snp 1.8 · Anthology of DiscoursesThe Discourse on Love · Karaṇīya Mettā SuttaThe same poem as Kp 9, in the Anthology of Discourses.
- Ud 5.1 · Heartfelt SayingsWho is More Dear?At Sāvatthī, King Pasenadi asks Queen Mallikā whether there is anyone more dear to her than herself.
Speech
- AN 3.28 · Numbered DiscoursesSpeech like DungA short teaching on three kinds of people found in the world, named by what their speech is like.
- AN 4.183 · Numbered DiscoursesVassakāra on What is HeardAt Rājagaha, in the Bamboo Grove, the brahmin Vassakāra, a chief minister of Magadha, tells the Buddha his own view: there is nothing wrong with talking about anything you have seen, heard, thought, or known, so long as you report it as such.
- AN 4.42 · Numbered DiscoursesWays of Answering QuestionsThe Buddha tells the mendicants that there are four ways of answering a question.
- AN 5.198 · Numbered DiscoursesWell-Spoken WordsThe Buddha tells the mendicants that speech with five factors is well spoken rather than poorly spoken, blameless, and not criticized by sensible people.
- MN 58 · Middle DiscoursesWith Prince Abhaya · Abhayarājakumāra SuttaA Jain teacher sends Prince Abhaya to trap the Buddha with a dilemma: would he ever say something others dislike? The prince invites the Buddha to a meal and asks.
- MN 61 · Middle DiscoursesAdvice to Rāhula at Ambalaṭṭhika · Ambalaṭṭhikārāhulovāda SuttaThe Buddha visits Venerable Rāhula and, using a pot with a little water left in it, shows him how little remains of a practitioner’s character in someone unashamed to tell a deliberate lie.
- SN 7.2 · Linked DiscoursesWith Bhāradvāja the Rude · Akkosa SuttaA brahmin known as “the Rude,” angry that a brahmin of his clan has gone forth, goes to the Buddha and abuses him with harsh words.
- Snp 3.3 · Anthology of DiscoursesWell-Spoken WordsThe Buddha tells the mendicants that speech with four factors is well spoken and blameless: it is spoken well, principled, pleasant, and truthful.
Ethics in daily life
- AN 10.176 · Numbered DiscoursesWith CundaThe Buddha is staying near Pāvā in the mango grove of Cunda the smith.
- AN 11.1 · Numbered DiscoursesWhat’s the Goal? · Kimatthiya SuttaAt Sāvatthī, Venerable Ānanda asks the Buddha what the goal and benefit of skillful ethics is.
- AN 4.12 · Numbered DiscoursesEthicsThe Buddha tells the mendicants to live by the ethical precepts and the monastic code, keeping the rules they have undertaken.
- AN 4.62 · Numbered DiscoursesDebtlessnessThe householder Anāthapiṇḍika visits the Buddha, who describes four kinds of happiness available to a layperson who enjoys sensual pleasures.
- AN 5.177 · Numbered DiscoursesTradesA very short discourse addressed to mendicants.
- AN 8.39 · Numbered DiscoursesOverflowing MeritThe Buddha tells the mendicants about eight kinds of overflowing merit that lead to welfare and happiness.
- AN 8.54 · Numbered DiscoursesWith Dīghajāṇu · Dīghajāṇu SuttaIn the Koliyan town of Kakkarapatta, Dīghajāṇu tells the Buddha that they are laypeople who enjoy pleasures and live at home with their children, and asks for a teaching that leads to welfare in this life and the next.
- MN 8 · Middle DiscoursesSelf-Effacement · Sallekha SuttaVenerable Mahācunda asks the Buddha how a practitioner lets go of views about the self and the cosmos.
- SN 55.7 · Linked DiscoursesThe People of Bamboo GateThe brahmins and householders of Bamboo Gate tell the Buddha they wish to live at home with their children, enjoy comforts and wealth, and be reborn in a good place, and ask for a teaching that suits them.
- Snp 2.4 · Anthology of DiscoursesBlessings · Maṅgala SuttaAt Jeta’s Grove a deity comes to the Buddha at night and asks him to declare the highest blessing, since many gods and humans have wondered about it.
Body and breath
- AN 1.575–615 · Numbered DiscoursesThe Chapter on Mindfulness of the BodyA group of short sayings addressed to mendicants, all on a single subject: mindfulness of the body.
- MN 118 · Middle DiscoursesMindfulness of Breathing · Ānāpānasati SuttaOn a full-moon night at Sāvatthī, surrounded by senior and junior monks, the Buddha praises the assembly and describes the kinds of practitioners in it.
- MN 119 · Middle DiscoursesMindfulness of the Body · Kāyagatāsati SuttaMendicants at Sāvatthī are discussing the Buddha’s praise of mindfulness of the body when he joins them and explains how it is developed.
- MN 62 · Middle DiscoursesThe Longer Advice to Rāhula · Mahārāhulovāda SuttaWhile walking for alms, the Buddha tells Rāhula to see all form, and then feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness, as “not mine, not I, not my self.” Rāhula turns back to meditate, and Sāriputta suggests mindfulness of breathing.
Change and loss
- AN 3.47 · Numbered DiscoursesCharacteristics of the ConditionedA very short discourse addressed to mendicants.
- AN 5.48 · Numbered DiscoursesThings That Cannot Be HadThe Buddha tells the mendicants that five things cannot be had by anyone in the world: that what is subject to old age should not grow old, and likewise for sickness, death, ending, and perishing.
- AN 5.49 · Numbered DiscoursesThe King of KosalaAt Sāvatthī, King Pasenadi of Kosala is sitting with the Buddha when a man whispers to him that Queen Mallikā has died.
- AN 5.57 · Numbered DiscoursesSubjects for Regular Reviewing · The Five RemembrancesThe Buddha says that anyone, woman or man, layperson or renunciate, should often review five subjects: I am liable to grow old; I am liable to get sick; I am liable to die; I must be parted from all I hold dear; and I am the owner of my deeds and will inherit whatever I do.
- AN 8.6 · Numbered DiscoursesWorldly Conditions (2nd) · The eight worldly conditionsThe Buddha tells the mendicants about eight worldly conditions that revolve around the world: gain and loss, fame and disgrace, blame and praise, pleasure and pain.
- SN 3.25 · Linked DiscoursesThe Simile of the MountainKing Pasenadi of Kosala arrives at midday, saying he has been busy with a king’s duties.
- SN 47.13 · Linked DiscoursesWith CundaVenerable Sāriputta dies of an illness at Nālaka, and the novice Cunda, who had nursed him, brings his bowl and robe to Ānanda.
- Snp 3.8 · Anthology of DiscoursesThe DartA poem on grief and mortality.
- Ud 8.8 · Heartfelt SayingsWith VisākhāVisākhā’s beloved granddaughter has died, and she comes to the Buddha in the middle of the day with wet clothes and hair.
Friends and family
- AN 2.32–41 · Numbered DiscoursesThe Chapter on the Peaceful MindA group of ten short discourses.
- AN 4.192 · Numbered DiscoursesFactsThe Buddha tells the mendicants four things that can be known in four situations, but only after a long time, only when attentive, and only by the wise.
- AN 4.32 · Numbered DiscoursesInclusionThe Buddha tells the mendicants about four ways of being inclusive: giving, kindly words, taking care, and equality.
- AN 4.55 · Numbered DiscoursesEquality (1st)The Buddha is staying in the land of the Bhaggas and visits the home of the householder Nakula’s father.
- AN 8.25 · Numbered DiscoursesWith MahānāmaNear Kapilavatthu, Mahānāma the Sakyan asks the Buddha a series of questions.
- DN 31 · Long DiscoursesAdvice to Sigālaka · Sigālovāda SuttaAt Rājagaha, the Buddha sees the householder’s son Sigālaka, hair and clothes wet, bowing to the six directions as his dying father asked.
- SN 45.2 · Linked DiscoursesHalf the Spiritual Life · Upaḍḍha SuttaVenerable Ānanda tells the Buddha that good friends, companions, and associates are half the spiritual life.
- SN 47.19 · Linked DiscoursesAt Sedaka · Sedaka SuttaThe Buddha tells the mendicants a story about an acrobat who sets up a bamboo pole and tells his apprentice, Medakathālikā, to climb it and stand on his shoulders.
Effort and balance
- AN 4.164 · Numbered DiscoursesPatient (1st)The Buddha tells the mendicants about four ways of practice.
- AN 4.37 · Numbered DiscoursesNon-declineThe Buddha tells the mendicants that one who has four qualities cannot decline.
- AN 5.43 · Numbered DiscoursesLikableThe householder Anāthapiṇḍika visits the Buddha, who tells him that five likable things are hard to get in the world: long life, beauty, happiness, fame, and heaven.
- AN 6.55 · Numbered DiscoursesWith Soṇa · Soṇa Sutta (the lute simile)While the Buddha is staying on Vulture’s Peak near Rājagaha, Venerable Soṇa, meditating in the Cool Grove, thinks that despite being one of the most energetic disciples his mind is not freed, and that he might as well return to lay life and use his family’s wealth.
- SN 22.101 · Linked DiscoursesThe AdzeThe Buddha tells the mendicants that the ending of defilements comes to one who knows and sees the arising and passing of form, feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness.
Seeing clearly
- AN 3.65 · Numbered DiscoursesWith the Kālāmas of Kesamutta · Kalama SuttaWhile wandering through Kosala with a large group of mendicants, the Buddha arrives at Kesamutta, a town of the Kālāmas.
- MN 28 · Middle DiscoursesThe Longer Simile of the Elephant’s Footprint · Mahāhatthipadopama SuttaVenerable Sāriputta teaches the mendicants that all skillful qualities fit within the four noble truths, as every footprint fits inside an elephant’s.
- MN 63 · Middle DiscoursesThe Shorter Discourse With Māluṅkyaputta · Cūḷamālukya Sutta (the poisoned arrow)Venerable Māluṅkyaputta decides he will leave the training unless the Buddha answers questions he has left undeclared: whether the cosmos is eternal or finite, whether soul and body are the same, and what becomes of a realized one after death.
- SN 12.23 · Linked DiscoursesVital Conditions · Upanisa SuttaThe Buddha tells the mendicants at Sāvatthī that the ending of defilements comes to one who knows and sees how form, feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness arise and pass.
- Ud 1.10 · Heartfelt SayingsWith Bāhiya · Bāhiya SuttaBāhiya of the Bark Cloth, honoured and well supported at Suppāraka on the ocean shore, believes he is perfected until a deity tells him he is not and directs him to the Buddha at Sāvatthī.
- Ud 6.4 · Heartfelt SayingsFollowers of Various Other Religions (1st) · The blind men and the elephantAscetics and wanderers of many sects at Sāvatthī are quarrelling over views: whether the cosmos is eternal or finite, whether soul and body are the same, and what becomes of a realized one after death, each insisting that only their own view is true.
About these texts
The discourses (suttas) are the Buddha’s teachings as preserved in the Pali canon’s collections: the Long, Middle, Linked and Numbered Discourses, and shorter collections such as the Udāna and the Anthology of Discourses. This library holds the 93 discourses that the practices on this site draw on, plus the complete Dhammapada.
All translations are by Bhikkhu Sujato, published by SuttaCentral and dedicated to the public domain. They are shown unchanged, pinned to one version with a checksum for each file; see sources and credits.