Tipitaka >> Sutta Pitaka
The Sutta Pitaka (or Sutra Pitaka) is the second of three divisions of the Tipitaka. The Sutta Pitaka contains more than 10,000 suttas (teachings) attributed to the Buddha or his close disciples.
The Five Nikayas[]
There are five nikayas (collections) of suttas:
- Digha Nikaya, the "long" discourses. These include The Greater Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness, The Fruits of the Contemplative Life, and The Buddha's Last Days. There are 34 long suttas in this nikaya.
- Majjhima Nikaya, the "medium-length" discourses. These include Shorter Exposition of Kamma, Mindfulness of Breathing, and Mindfulness Immersed in the Body. There are 152 medium-length suttas in this nikaya.
- Samyutta Nikaya, the "clustered" discourses. Consists of 2,889 discourses, classified into 56 samyuttas
- Anguttara Nikaya, the "gradual collection". These teachings are arranged for mnemonic purposes. It includes 9,557 very short sutras grouped by number.
- Khuddaka Nikaya, the "minor collection". This is a heterogeneous mix of sermons, doctrines, and poetry attributed to the Buddha and his disciples. The well-known Dhammapada is in this section. This also contains stories of ghosts(Petavatthu) and also the entire Jataka tales, the stories of previous births of Gautam Buddha.