Jātaka is the Sanskrit and Pāli term for a particular genre of Buddhist literature. A Jātaka is a story in which one of the characters—usually the hero—is identified as a previous birth of the historical Buddha, as a man, a deity, or one of the higher animals. The existence of the Jātaka genre is based on the notion that the Buddha, on the night of

The term Pāli, used today in both Buddhist and Western cultures as a designation of a language, is a relatively modern coinage, not traceable before the 17th century. Although Pāli is clearly younger than the time of the Buddha, it is the oldest surviving variety of Middle Indic. The dialect used by the Buddha himself when instructing his disciples is unknown and irretrievably lost. It

The Dhammasaṅgaṇī gives an enumeration of these dhammas classifying them under the Tika and Duka groups. Vibhaṅga analyses them to show what dhammas are contained in the major categories. Dhātukathā studies the relationship of dhammas listed in the Mātikā with each component of these major categories of khandhas, āyatanas and dhātus. Yamaka resolves ambiguity in the internal and external relationship of each dhamma.

Abhidhamma is the third great division of the Piṭaka. It is a huge collection of systematically arranged, tabulated and classified doctrines of the Buddha, representing the quintessence of his Teaching. Abhidhamma means Higher Teaching or Special Teaching; it is unique in its abstruseness, analytical approach, immensity of scope and conduciveness to ones liberation. Abhidhamma Piṭaka is made up of seven massive treatises.

The Suttanta Pitaka is a collection of all the discourses in their entirety delivered by the Buddha on various occasions. The discourses of the Buddha compiled together in the Suttanta Pitaka were expounded to suit different occasions, for various persons with different temperaments. The Suttanta Pitaka is divided into five separate collections known as Nikāyas: Dīgha, Majjhima, Samyutta, Aṅguttara and Khuddaka Nikāyas.

The Vinaya Piṭaka is made up of rules of discipline laid down for regulating the conduct of the Buddha's disciples who have been admitted as bhikkhus and bhikkhunnīs into the Order. These rules embody authoritative injunctions of the Buddha on modes of conduct and restraints on both physical and verbal actions. They deal with transgressions of discipline and admonitions in accordance with the nature of

Tibetan Book of the Dead or otherwise known as Bardo Thödol, here you can read online full text of this very important book, written in the environment of Tibetan Buddhism - what expects you, your close ones and everyone else in the after-death state of transference of Consciousness-principle from this material plane of existence to the after-death state, what happens, what you should know and

Here you can read the commentaries of highly respected Buddhist Lama Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche on the Tibetan Book of the Dead, otherwise known as Bardo Thödol. Tibetan Book of the Dead is not only for those who are going to die or who are already dead, it is also for those who are already born; birth and death apply to everybody constantly, at this very