☸Tipiṭaka

About the Tipiṭaka

“Tipiṭaka” means three baskets — the collection of texts that make up the Pāli Canon, the earliest complete corpus of Buddhist scripture. This site serves the Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana Tipiṭaka (CST), the Burmese Sixth Council edition standardized in Rangoon in 1954–1956.

The three baskets

Vinaya Piṭaka · Vinayapiṭaka
The basket of discipline — the rules of monastic life, together with the stories that explain how each rule came to be laid down.
Sutta Piṭaka · Suttapiṭaka
The basket of discourses — the teachings of the Buddha and his disciples, gathered into five Nikāyas, from long discourses to short verses.
Abhidhamma Piṭaka · Abhidhammapiṭaka
The basket of higher doctrine — a systematic, analytical treatment of mind, matter, and the processes of experience.

How it was preserved

  1. 1

    Oral tradition

    The teachings were memorized and recited communally by monastics, preserved through structured group recitation.

  2. 2

    The councils

    A series of councils (saṅgāyana) gathered the community to recite, agree, and standardize the texts.

  3. 3

    Written down

    Around the 1st century BCE in Sri Lanka, the canon was committed to writing on palm leaves.

  4. 4

    Sixth Council (CST)

    In 1954–1956 the Sixth Buddhist Council (Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana) in Rangoon reviewed, standardized, and published the edition served on this site — the Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana Tipiṭaka (CST).

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