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Traditions/Buddhism
religion

Buddhism

Pali canon, Mahayana sutras, Vajrayana handling, Dhammapada, bodhisattvas, rebirth, emptiness, and awakening.

Indian subcontinent / Asia / Global5th century BCE7 readable texts4 indexed sources
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Readable texts

Dhammapada

BuddhismAccepted Scripture

The Dhammapada is indexed across its 26 chapters and 423 verses for mind, hatred, discipline, wisdom, craving, the path, the Buddha, the arhat, rebirth, nirvana, purity, and liberation.

Pali· Early Buddhist verse material represented by an 1881 Sacred Books of the East English translation

Buddhist Suttas

BuddhismAccepted Scripture

Seven public-domain Buddhist suttas indexed for the Buddha's last days, the first sermon, the middle way, the four noble truths, monastic discipline, rebirth, Brahma-world critique, impermanence, liberation, asavas, and early Buddhist practice.

Pali· Early Buddhist sutta material represented by the 1881 Sacred Books of the East English translation

Lotus Sutra

BuddhismAccepted by Some Traditions

The Lotus Sutra is indexed for the one vehicle, bodhisattva vows, parables, Buddha-fields, many Buddhas, stupa devotion, Avalokitesvara, prophecy of Buddhahood, and Mahayana scripture practice.

Sanskrit· Mahayana composition layers commonly placed in the early centuries CE; represented by H. Kern's 1884 English translation

Buddhist Birth Stories (Jātaka Tales) — Selections

BuddhismLegend / Oral Tradition

Moral tales of the Buddha's former births from the Pali Jātaka book, in T. W. Rhys Davids's 1880 translation. Among the world's oldest collections of fables, many with parallels in Aesop and world folklore.

Pali· verses c. 4th-3rd century BCE; prose commentary c. 5th century CE

Buddhist Psalms of Shinran Shonin

BuddhismAccepted by Some Traditions

Devotional hymns by Shinran, founder of Japan's Pure Land Shin school, praising Amida Buddha and the way of salvation through faith. A cornerstone of Japanese Pure Land Buddhist piety.

Japanese· c. 1250 CE

The Gospel of Buddha

BuddhismScripture Selection

Paul Carus's 1894 arrangement of the Buddha's life and teaching in 100 numbered chapters, compiled from canonical Buddhist texts. Widely used in early Western Buddhism and endorsed by contemporary Buddhist teachers.

English (compiled from Pali and Sanskrit sources)· 1894 CE (sources c. 5th century BCE onward)

Life of Buddha (Selections)

BuddhismScripture Selection

The Buddhacarita, or Acts of the Buddha, is an early biographical poem about Gautama Buddha. This selection uses Samuel Beal's public-domain English translation from the Chinese tradition.

Sanskrit, preserved through Chinese translation· c. 1st-2nd century CE Sanskrit original; Chinese translation c. 420 CE
Source inventory

Texts and source families

4 compare-ready

Dhammapada

scripture / verse collectionearly Buddhist verse collection; represented by an 1881 English translationPali
Indexed nowCompare ready

Project Gutenberg public-domain F. Max Muller English translation loaded

Full 26-chapter Dhammapada indexed for mind, hatred, discipline, wisdom, craving, the path, the Buddha, the arhat, rebirth, nirvana, purity, and liberation.

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Life of Buddha selections

Buddhist biography / scripture selectionsearly Buddhist biographical tradition; public-domain English through Chinese transmissionSanskrit source tradition preserved through Chinese
Indexed nowCompare ready

Project Gutenberg public-domain Samuel Beal English translation loaded

Indexed Beal's Life of Buddha selections for the birth, renunciation, teaching, liberation, rebirth, Mara, discipleship, and Buddhist biographical comparison.

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Pali suttas

scripture collectionearly Buddhist collectionPali
Indexed nowCompare ready

public-domain T. W. Rhys Davids / Sacred Books of the East volume 11 English translation loaded from Internet Archive OCR

Indexes Maha-Parinibbana, Dhamma-Cakka-Ppavattana, Tevigga, Akankheyya, Cetokhila, Maha-Sudassana, and Sabbasava suttas for early Buddhist doctrine, monastic discipline, rebirth, impermanence, liberation, and asavas.

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Mahayana sutras

scripture collection1st century BCE onwardSanskrit and other Buddhist source languages
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public-domain H. Kern 1884 Lotus Sutra / Saddharma-Pundarika English translation loaded via Internet Sacred Text Archive; other Mahayana translations require separate rights review

Lotus Sutra is indexed now for one vehicle, bodhisattva vows, parables, stupa devotion, Avalokitesvara, prophecy of Buddhahood, and Mahayana scripture practice. This does not mean every Mahayana sutra is loaded yet.

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Questions this area should answer
  • How does rebirth work without a permanent soul?
  • How do nirvana, awakening, and compassion compare?
  • Which traditions preserve which texts?