Introduction

The Majjhima Nikaya, or "Middle-length Discourses" of the Buddha, is the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka of the Tipitaka.

This nikaya consists of 152 discourses by the Buddha and his chief disciples, which together constitute a comprehensive body of teaching concerning all aspects of the Buddha's teachings.

An excellent modern translation of the complete Majjhima Nikaya is The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya, translated by Bhikkhu Ñanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995). The Introduction to that book contains an extraordinary synopsis of the Buddha's teachings in general, and of their expression in the Majjhima in particular.

An anthology of selected suttas from the Majjhima Nikaya, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, is also available in Microsoft Word 6 (Macintosh/Windows) format. See the Theravada Text Archives page for more information.

The sutta summaries appearing below that are marked "[BB]" were adapted from Bhikkhu Bodhi's summaries (in The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha) and are used with permission. Those marked "[TB]" were provided by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.