Tripiṭaka is the title of the collection of Buddhist canonical scriptures in three parts: rules for the Buddhist monks and nuns (Vinaya), discourses of the Buddha (Sūtra), and texts on things relating to the teaching (Abhidharma). Only the Tripiṭakas extant in Indian languages are dealt with in the following mostly under formal aspects. For the Chinese and Tibetan Tripiṭakas, see the articles “Dazangjing” and “Kanjur/Tanjur,” and for details of the content, see “Vinaya,” “Āgama/Nikāya,” and “Abhidharma” (bibliographical survey: Grönbold, 1984; Oberlies, 2003).

Tripiṭaka is a …