About
- DhammaVinaya is an attempt to organize and give structure to the earliest known teachings of the Buddha. Although interpretations and commentaries of past and present teachers are of great value, the exclusive focus of this site is the Suttapiṭaka (Basket of Discourses) and Vinayapiṭaka (Basket of the Discipline) of the Theravāda Pāḷi Tipiṭaka. Even within the Canon, parts generally considered to be of later origin are avoided. The original texts and the translations are laid out side-by-side, so that anyone interested can check and clarify the translations and learn some Pāḷi in the process.
- The inspiration for this site was a quote attributed to the Buddha right before his Final Unbinding, where he states that one should regard the Dhamma-Vinaya proclaimed by him as one's teacher when the Teacher is gone. There are also other instances within the early discourses where the Buddha calls his teaching the "Dhamma-Vinaya".
- The main source for the English translations is Access to Insight, which is an invaluable site for any practitioner of Theravāda Buddhism. Access to Insight is much more comprehensive in its scope and is a great starting place for anyone interested, with articles from accomplished teachers of the recent past and present. The translations are used with permission, with occasional edits to conform with the Pāḷi form and structure. I am extremely grateful to Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu and John Bullitt for allowing me to use these translations. The other source is MettaNet, where translations by Sister Vajira are available. The source for the original Pāḷi texts is mainly the World Tipitaka Project, a great resource that is well organized and accessible. I also used the texts of the Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana where I thought appropriate.
- While the ultimate goal is to bring together all the early texts and their respective translations, there are several limiting factors:
- The site is maintained by only two people who have other responsibilities.
- Although a great number is available, not all the early texts have free English translations.
- The discourses are not given in any structured manner and are solely based on personal preference - where they were found to be useful and inspiring for my own practice.
- Discourses are given with the Pāḷi and English translation side-by-side by default, but if you want to just read one or the other, double-click on the appropriate section to position it to the center and hide the other.
- I will be happy to receive any comments, suggestions, corrections or queries, but please keep in mind that the site is a work in progress that depends mainly on the time I have available. Please email webmaster@dhammavinaya.com.
