The words of the Buddha

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Dīgha Nikāya

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Yassa kassaci, bhikkhave, mahāsamuddo cetasā phuṭo antogadhā tassa kunnadiyo yā kāci samuddaṅgamā; evamevaṃ, bhikkhave, yassa kassaci kāyagatā sati bhāvitā bahulīkatā antogadhā tassa kusalā dhammā ye keci vijjābhāgiyā ti.

Even as one who encompasses with his mind the mighty ocean includes thereby all the rivulets that run into the ocean; just so, O monks, whoever develops and cultivates mindfulness directed to the body includes thereby all the wholesome states that partake of supreme knowledge.

AN 1.563

Buddha Vacana

— The words of the Buddha —

This website is dedicated to those who wish to learn the basics of Pali language, but who don't have much time available for it. The idea is that if their purpose is merely to be enabled to read the Pali texts and have a feeling of understanding them, even if that understanding does not cover all the minute details of the grammatical rules, they don't really need to spend much time struggling with a discouraging learning of tedious grammatical theory involving such things as numerous declensions and conjugations.

It is enough to limit themselves to simply learning the meaning of the most important Pali words, and the experience of reading will provide them an empirical and intuitive understanding of the most common sentence structures. They are thus enabled to become autodidacts, choosing the time, duration, frequency, contents and depth of their own study.

Their understanding of the Buddha Vacana will become much more precise as they effortlessly learn and memorize the words and the important formulae that are fundamental in the Buddha's teaching by ways of regular reading. Their learning and the inspiration they get from it will grow deeper as their receptivity to the messages of the Teacher will improve.

Note: This website is created by an autodidact and is meant for autodidacts. The webmaster has not followed any official Pali course and there is no claim that all the information presented here is totally free from errors. If you want academic precision, you may consider joining a formal Pali course. In case you notice any mistake, the webmaster will be grateful if you report it.

It may be, Ananda, that to some among you the thought will come: 'Ended is the word of the Master; we have a Master no longer.' But it should not, Ananda, be so considered. For that which I have proclaimed and made known as the Dhamma and the Discipline, that shall be your Master when I am gone.

Mahāparinibbāna Sutta

Recent publications and updates:

05/04/2555 Parihāna Sutta (AN 8.79) - Pali without translation+help: The Buddha explains which are the eight dhammas leading to the deterioration of a bhikkhu under training.
05/04/2555 Sekha Sutta (AN 6.31) - Pali without translation+help: The Buddha explains which are the six dhammas leading to the deterioration of a bhikkhu under training.
05/04/2555 Sāmaka Sutta (AN 6.21) - few bubbles: Prompted by the intervention of a deva, the Buddha reveals the six ageless ways by which bhikkhus deteriorate in kusala dhammas.
05/04/2555 Sekha Sutta (MN 53) - few bubbles: The Buddha asks Ānanda to expound the Sekha Paṭipadā, of which he gives a surprising version, from which Satisampajañña and Nīvaraṇānaṃ Pahāna are curiously replaced by a series of seven 'good qualities', and which is illustrated by a telling simile.
05/04/2555 Anutappiya Sutta (AN 6.15) - few bubbles: Sāriputta explains what makes the difference between a bhikkhu whose death will be remorseful and one whose death will be remorseless.
05/04/2555 Bhaddaka Sutta (AN 6.14) - few bubbles: Sāriputta explains what makes the difference between a bhikkhu whose death will be unauspicious and one whose death will be auspicious.
05/04/2555 Samayavimutta Sutta (AN 5.150) - Pali without translation+help: Another set of five conditions under which one who has gained 'occasional liberation' will backslide.
05/04/2555 Samayavimutta Sutta (AN 5.149) - Pali without translation+help: Five conditions under which one who has gained 'occasional liberation' will backslide.
25/03/2555 Sekha Paṭipadā: A practical and gradual exposition of the way of practice to be undertaken by those who are intent on progressing on the noble path, paving all the way from the choice of renouncing the world to the attainment of arahantship.
25/03/2555 Aparihāniya Sutta (AN 6.22) - few bubbles: Six dhammas connected to non-deterioration. Another set of very useful dhammas for keen practitioners.
25/03/2555 Sekha Sutta (AN 5.90) - few bubbles: Five attitudes that lead to the deterioration of the practice.
25/03/2555 Sekha Sutta (AN 5.89) - Pali without translation+help: The Buddha reminds us of five things that deteriorate the practice, which for anyone wishing to progress in the training are nearly as important to know about, remember and integrate into our lifestyles as the knowledge of the five standard nīvaraṇas.
25/03/2555 Pali vocabulary: parimukhaṃ: This word is of foremost importance in understanding the instructions given by the Buddha regarding the practice of ānāpānassati.
25/03/2555 Anuruddhamahāvitakka Sutta (AN 8.30) - few bubbles: Seven wise thoughts which are truly worth understanding and remembering occur to ven. Anuruddha. The Buddha comes to him to teach him the eighth, endowed with which he will attain arahantship. The Buddha then explains in detail the meaning of those thoughts.
25/03/2555 Patiṭṭhita Sutta (SN 48.56) - few bubbles: There is one mental state through which all the five spiritual faculties are perfected.
25/03/2555 Mettābhāvanā Sutta (Iti 27) {excerpt} - few bubbles: The Buddha speaks in high praise of the practice of Mettā.
25/03/2555 Mettā Sutta (AN 11.15) - few bubbles: Eleven good results that come out of the practice of mettā.
25/03/2555 Samādhi Sutta (AN 5.27) - few bubbles: Five uplifting knowledges that occur to one who practices the boundless concentration.
25/03/2555 Pali Formulae: Appamāṇā Cetovimutti - all bubbles: The Buddha often praises the practice of the four appamāṇā cetovimutti, which are reputed for bringing protection against dangers and for being a way leading to Brahmaloka.
25/03/2555 Nimitta Sutta (AN 3.103) - few bubbles: Do you find yourself nodding off or becoming overly agitated during your meditation practice? This is a very useful discourse for the meditators who wish to balance the two corresponding spiritual faculties of effort and concentration, together with equanimity. Many of us would benefit substantially from applying properly these instructions.
17/03/2555 Paṃsudhovaka Sutta (AN 3.102) - few bubbles: In this sutta, the Buddha compares the removal of mental impurities through the practice to the work of a goldsmith. It is particularly interesting, because it provides a gradual exposition of the impurities one has to deal with during the practice, which gives an useful reference.
17/03/2555 Pali vocabulary: ekāyano maggo: Why interpreting this expression as 'the path leading towards one destination only' rather than 'the one and only way'.
17/03/2555 Aññatitthiya Sutta (AN 3.69) - few bubbles: The three roots of the unwholesome are explained with their respectve characteristic, the cause of their arising, and the way to bring about their cessation.
17/03/2555 Pamādādi Vagga (AN 1.81-97) - all bubbles: The Buddha repetedly warns us against heedlessness.
17/03/2555 Kāyagatāsati Vagga (AN 1.563-574) {excerpts} - few bubbles: The Buddha speaks in high praise of the mindfulness directed to the body.
17/03/2555 Pamāda Suttas (AN 1.58-59) - few bubbles: Nothing is so disadvantageous as this.
09/03/2555 Pali Formula: Āsavānaṃ Khayañāṇa - all bubbles: The third of the main three vijjās attainable on the basis of the fourth jhāna consists in understanding in their reality the four noble truths, as well as the pattern of the noble truths applied to the āsavas. It eventually culminates with arahantship, the final conclusion of the Sekha Paṭipadā.
09/03/2555 Pali Formula: Sattānaṃ Cutūpapātañāṇa - all bubbles: The second of the three vijjās attainable on the basis of the fourth jhāna consists in knowing the rebirth of deceased beings.
09/03/2555 Pali Formula: Pubbenivāsānussatiñāṇa - all bubbles: This is the stock formula describing the first of the three vijjās attainable on the basis of the fourth jhāna, which consists in remembering one's past lives.
05/03/2555 Pali vocabulary: kaṭhina: This ceremony, held at the end of the vassa, fosters a sense of community among the bhikkhus and marks the beginning of a period of privileges.
05/03/2555 Vitthata Sutta (AN 5.2) - Pali + help: Here the Buddha defines in detail what he calls the five Sekha-balas (strenghs of one in training). This sutta is easily understandable without requiring a parallel translation, if you refer to the Satta saddhammā Formulae as will be suggested in the text. The Pali-English Dictionary is also available, just in case.
05/03/2555 Nagaropama Sutta (AN 7.67) - plain texts with Pali Formulae: Here the Buddha uses an enlightening simile to explain how seven good qualities that should be mastered by the trainee in order to be successful work together to prevent the troops of Māra (ie. akusala dhammas) from entering the fortress of the mind.
05/03/2555 Pali vocabulary: hiri: Hiri plays a very important role for the preservation of right conduct. We all have a sense of it, but it ought to be refined in order to be able to ward off akusala dhammas and the suffering related to them at the earliest stage of their arising.
05/03/2555 Pali vocabulary: ottappa: Ottappa, nearly always combined with hiri, also plays a very important role for the preservation of right conduct. We all have a sense of it, but it ought to be refined in order to become sensitive enough to ward off even the slightest akusala dhammas and the suffering that would result from them.
05/03/2555 Pali Formula: Satta saddhammā - all bubbles: Seven fundamental qualities that have to be mastered by the trainee in order to be successful. Four of these qualities appear also among the five spiritual indriyas and the five balas.
26/02/2555 Cariya Sutta (AN 2.9) - plain texts: What is it, after all, that guarantees harmony, politeness, honesty, brotherhood in a word peace within a given society? The Buddha explains here which are the two guardians of the world.
26/02/2555 Pali Formulae: Ariya Sīlakkhandha - all bubbles: Compared to Sīlasampatti, this is an alternate and longer version of the section of the Sekha Paṭipadā regarding the practice of sīla. The first seven formulae can be recognized as a version of the bodily and vocal kusala-kammapathas.
16/02/2555 Pali Formula: Pabbajjā - all bubbles: These formulae set up the soil on which the Sekha Paṭipadā will develop, which is first of all made fertile by the arising of a Buddha in the world and his teaching of the Dhamma. The seed is then planted as conviction in the listener, and it matures as a standardized thought of renunciation. It sprouts as the actual going forth from home.
11/02/2555 Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (SN 56.11) - all bubbles: These formulae set up the soil on which the Sekha Paṭipadā will develop, which is first of all made fertile by the arising of a Buddha in the world and his teaching of the Dhamma. The seed is then planted as conviction in the listener, and it matures as a standardized thought of renunciation. It sprouts as the actual going forth from home.