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KHUDDKA NIKAYA

The Buddhavamsa is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya. It is a fairly short work in verse, in 28 chapters, detailing aspects of the life of Gautama Buddha and the twenty-four preceding Buddhas. This canonical text, along with the Apadana and Cariyapitaka, has been described as hagiographical as well as a "latecomer" to the Canon

The first chapter tells how the Buddha, to demonstrate his psychic powers, creates a jewelled walkway in the sky. In seeing this display Ven. Sariputta asks the Buddha:

"Of what kind, great hero, supreme among men, was your resolve? At what time, wise one, was supreme Awakening aspired to by you? ... Of what kind, wise one, leader of the world, were your ten perfections? How were the higher perfections fulfilled, how the ultimate perfections?"

In response, the Buddha relays the remainder of the Buddhavamsa.

In the second chapter he tells how in a distant past life as Sumedha he took a vow to become a Buddha, received a prediction from the then Buddha Dipankara that he would indeed do so and thought out the 10 perfections he would need to practise. The next 23 chapters tell of the intervening 23 Buddhas and the acts of merit that the Buddha performed towards them in his previous lives. Chapter 26 tells of his own life. Chapter 27 summarizes all twenty-five of these Buddhas; it also mentions three Buddhas that preceded Dipankara as well as the future Buddha, Metteyya. Chapter 28 tells of the distribution of the Buddha's relics after his death.

History of the Buddhas

Buddhavaµsa Pæ¹i gives a short historical account of Gotama Buddha and of the twenty-four previous Buddhas who had prophesied his attainment of Buddhahood. It consists of twenty-nine sections in verse.

The first section gives an account of how the Venerable Særiputta asks the Buddha when it was that he first resolved to work for attainment of the Buddhahood and what pæramis (virtues towards perfection) he had fulfilled to achieve his goal of Perfect Enlightenment. In the second section, the Buddha describes how as Sumedha the hermit, being inspired by Døpa³kara Buddha, he makes the resolution for the attainment of Buddhahood and how the Buddha Døpa³kara gives the hermit Sumedha his blessing prophesying that Sumedha would become a Buddha by the name of Gotama after a lapse of four asa³kheyya and a hundred thousand kappas (world cycles).

From then onwards, the Bodhisatta Sumedha keeps on practising the ten pæramøs, namely, alms-giving, morality renunciation, wisdom, perseverance, forbearance, truthfulness, determination, loving-kindness and equanimity. The Buddha relates how he fulfils these pæramøs, existence after existence, and how each of the twenty-four Buddhas, who appeared after Døpa³kara Buddha at different interval of world cycles, renewed the prophesy that he would become a Buddha by the name of Gotama.

In sections three to twenty-seven are accounts of the twenty-five Buddhas including Gotama Buddha, giving details about each of them with regard to birth, status, names of their parents, names of their wives and children their life-span, their way of renunciation, duration of their efforts to attain Buddhahood, their teaching of the Dhammacakka Sutta in the Migadæyavana, the names of their Chief Disciples and their chief lay disciples. Each section is closed with an account of where the Buddhas pass away and how their relics are distributed.

In the twenty-eighth section is given the names of three Buddhas, namely, Ta¼ha³kara, Medha³kara and Sara¼a³kara who lived before Døpa³kara Buddha at different intervals of the same world cycle. The names of other Buddhas (up to Gotama Buddha) are also enumerated together with the name of the kappas in which they have appeared. Finally there is the prophesy by the Buddha that Metteyya Buddha would arise after him in this world.

The Buddhavamsa is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya. It is a fairly short work in verse, in 28 chapters, detailing aspects of the life of Buddha and the twenty-four preceding Buddhas. This canonical text, along with the Apadana and Cariyapitaka, has been described as "hagiographical" as well as a "latecomer" to the Canon.

In response, the Buddha relays the remainder of the Buddhavamsa.

In the second chapter he tells how in a distant past life as Sumedha he took a vow to become a Buddha, received a prediction from the then Buddha Dipankara that he would indeed do so and thought out the 10 perfections he would need to practise. The next 23 chapters tell of the intervening 23 Buddhas and the acts of merit that the Buddha performed towards them in his previous lives. Chapter 26 tells of his own life. Chapter 27 summarizes all twenty-five of these Buddhas; it also mentions three Buddhas that preceded Dipankara as well as the future Buddha, Metteyya. Chapter 28 tells of the distribution of the Buddha's relics after his death.

The fourteenth book of the Khuddaka Nikáya

The Dígha-bhánakas excluded it from the canon, but it was accepted by the Majjhima-bhánakas .

It contains, in verse, the lives of the twenty five Buddhas, of whom Gotama was the last. The name of the Bodhisatta under each Buddha is also given. The last chapter deals with the distribution of Gotama's relics.

It is said (Bu.i.74) that the Buddhavamsa was preached, at Sáriputta's request, at the Nigrodháráma in Kapilavatthu, after the Buddha had performed the miracle of the Ratanacankama. The Commentary on the Buddhavamsa is known as the Madhurattha-vilásiní (q.v.).

The Gandhavamsa (p.61) speaks of a Buddhavamsa written by an author named Kassapa. This is probably not the same work. Mention is also made (Gv.60) of a Tíká to the Buddhavamsa, Paramatthadípáni by name.

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) containing 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; some have yet to be 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.
On-line: Translations by:
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, Massachusetts: Dhamma Dana Publications, 1998; available from Metta Forest Monastery).
  • 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:
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.
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; found in 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.
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: An online edition of Cowell's edition is available at the Internet Sacred Text Archive. Several Jataka stories are loosely translated in Ken & Visakha Kawasaki's very readable 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: Selected suttas.
12. Patisambhidamagga — Path of Discrimination

An analysis of Abhidhamma concepts.

Description courtesy of Hugo G, Tep Sastri, and Han Tun:

The Path of Discrimination (Patisambhidamagga) is the richest discourse by Arahant Sariputta Thera on the Buddha's Teachings in the questions-and-answers format. A.K. Warder succinctly described the most important feature of this great work by saying : "it expounds the way or path of 'discrimination' in its various aspects and tries to show exactly how understanding takes place in a practical sense, not simply in theory."

The book consists of thirty treatises. They span the various kinds of knowledges (associated with learning, virtue, concentration, dependent origination, comprehension, rise & fall of phenomena, dissolution, appearance of terror, equanimity about formations, and so on), views, breathing meditation, the five faculties, liberation, action (kamma), paths, truths, lovingkindness, powers, voidness, foundations of mindfulness, insight, and so on.

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: Some excerpts are included in various volumes published by the Pali Text Society.
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"
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 questions[1] along these lines, making this one of the most comprehensive and useful Buddhist FAQs in existence.

List of the twenty-eight Buddhas

In countries where Theravada Buddhism is practiced by the majority of people (Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand), it is customary for Buddhists to hold elaborate festivals, especially during the fair weather season, to pay homage to 29 Buddhas.

These revered Buddhas include the 28 Buddhas described in Chapter 27 of the Buddhavamsa, plus Maitreya Bodhisattva, the future (and 29th) Buddha. The Buddhavamsa is a text which describes the life of Gautama Buddha and the twenty-seven Buddhas who preceded him. The Buddhavamsa is part of the Khuddaka Nikaya, which in turn is part of the Sutta Pitaka. The Sutta Pitaka is one of three main sections of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism.

The 28 Buddhas are said to have attained enlightenment from the time Gautama Buddha received his first Niyatha Vivarana (permission to be the next enlightened one) from Dīpankara Buddha.

The 28 Buddhas are not the only Buddhas believed to have existed. Indeed, Gautama Buddha preached that innumerable Buddhas have lived in past kalpas.


The 29 named Buddhas
The names of 29 Buddhas

Pāli name
1 Taṇhaṅkara
2 Medhaṅkara
3 Saraṇaṅkara
4 Dīpankara

Pāramitā (Pāli; Sanskrit; Devanagari: पारमिता) or pāramī (Pāli) is "perfection" or "completeness."[1] In Buddhism, the pāramitās refer to the perfection or culmination of certain virtues. In Buddhism, these virtues are cultivated as a way of purification, purifying karma and helping the aspirant to live an unobstructed life, while reaching the goal of enlightenment.

Scholar Donald Lopez describes the etymology of the term:

The term pāramitā, commonly translated as "perfection," has two etymologies. The first derives it from the word parama, meaning “highest,” “most distant,” and hence, “chief,” “primary,” “most excellent.” Hence, the substantive can be rendered “excellence” or “perfection.” This reading is supported by the Madhyāntavibhāga (V.4), where the twelve excellences (parama) are associated with the ten perfections (pāramitā). A more creative yet widely reported etymology divides pāramitā into pāra and mita, with pāra meaning "beyond," "the further bank, shore or boundary,” and mita, meaning “that which has arrived,” or ita meaning “that which goes.” Pāramitā, then means “that which has gone beyond,” “that which goes beyond,” or “transcendent.” This reading is reflected in the Tibetan translation pha rol tu phyin pa (“gone to the other side”)

Theravāda Buddhism

Theravāda Buddhism's teachings on the pāramitās can be found in late canonical books and post-canonical commentaries.

Canonical sources

In the Pāli canon's Buddhavaṃsa the Ten Perfections (dasa pāramiyo) are (original terms in Pāli):

  1. Dāna pāramī : generosity, giving of oneself
  2. Sīla pāramī : virtue, morality, proper conduct
  3. Nekkhamma pāramī : renunciation
  4. Paññā pāramī : transcendental wisdom, insight
  5. Viriya (also spelt vīriya) pāramī : energy, diligence, vigour, effort
  6. Khanti pāramī : patience, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, endurance
  7. Sacca pāramī : truthfulness, honesty
  8. Adhiṭṭhāna (adhitthana) pāramī : determination, resolution
  9. Mettā pāramī : loving-kindness
  10. Upekkhā (also spelt upekhā) pāramī : equanimity, serenity

Two of the above virtues, metta and upekkha also comprise two of the four immeasurables (brahmavihāra).

The Theravādin teachings on pāramitās can be found in canonical books (Jātaka, Apadāna, Buddhavaṃsa, Cariyāpiṭaka) and post-canonical commentaries which were written to supplement the Pāli canon at a later time, and thus they are not an original part of the Theravādin teachings.[4][5] The oldest parts of the Sutta Piṭaka (for example, Majjhima Nikāya, Digha Nikāya, Saṃyutta Nikāya and the Aṅguttara Nikāya) do not have any mention of the pāramitās as a category (though they are all mentioned individually).

Some scholars even refer to the teachings of the pāramitās as a semi-Mahāyāna[7] teaching which was added to the scriptures at a later time, in order to appeal to the interests and needs of the lay community and to popularize their religion.[8] However, these views rely on the early scholarly presumption of Mahāyāna originating with religious devotion and appeal to laity. More recently, scholars have started to open up early Mahāyāna literature which is very ascetic and expounds the ideal of the monk's life in the forest. Therefore, the practice of the pāramitās is closer to the ideals of the ascetic tradition of the śramaṇa in Buddhism.

Traditional practice

Bodhi (2005) maintains that, in the earliest Buddhist texts (which he identifies as the first four nikāyas), those seeking the extinction of suffering (nibbana) pursued the noble eightfold path. As time went on, a backstory was provided for the multi-life development of the Buddha; as a result, the ten perfections were identified as part of the path for the bodhisattva (Pāli: bodhisatta). Over subsequent centuries, the pāramīs were seen as being significant for aspirants to both Buddhahood and arahantship. Thus, Bodhi (2005) summarizes:

It should be noted that in established Theravāda tradition the pāramīs are not regarded as a discipline peculiar to candidates for Buddhahood alone but as practices which must be fulfilled by all aspirants to enlightenment and deliverance, whether as Buddhas, paccekabuddhas, or disciples. What distinguishes the supreme bodhisattva from aspirants in the other two vehicles is the degree to which the pāramīs must be cultivated and the length of time they must be pursued. But the qualities themselves are universal requisites for deliverance, which all must fulfill to at least a minimal degree to merit the fruits of the liberating path.

Mahāyāna Buddhism

In Mahāyāna Buddhism, the Lotus Sutra (Saddharmapundarika), lists the six perfections as (original terms in Sanskrit):

  1. Dāna pāramitā: generosity, giving of oneself (in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese, ; in Wylie Tibetan, sbyin-pa)
  2. Śīla pāramitā : virtue, morality, discipline, proper conduct
  3. Kṣānti (kshanti) pāramitā : patience, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, endurance
  4. Vīrya pāramitā : energy, diligence, vigor, effort
  5. Dhyāna pāramitā : one-pointed concentration, contemplation bsam-gtan)
  6. Prajñā pāramitā : wisdom, insight

Note that this list is also mentioned by the Theravāda commentator Dhammapala, who says it is equivalent to the above list of ten.

In the Ten Stages (Daśabhūmika) Sutra, four more pāramitās are listed:

7. Upāya pāramitā: skillful means
8. Praṇidhāna pāramitā: vow, resolution, aspiration, determination
9. Bala pāramitā: spiritual power
10. Jñāna pāramitā: knowledge
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