Recommended for beginner students
KAKACŪPAMASUTTA
The Discourse on the Simile of the Saw
The Buddha teaches that even when faced with extreme provocation, a meditator should not give in to anger or resentment.
Translations
Recommended for experienced students
ALAGADDŪPAMASUTTA
The Simile of the Snake
The Buddha teaches how to properly grasp the Dhamma, comparing it to catching a snake by the head, not the tail.
Translations
Recommended for intermediate students
VAMMĪKASUTTA
The Simile of the Ant-hill
A riddle-like discourse where a monk is given a series of similes to interpret, leading to insights into the path of practice.
Translations
Recommended for experienced students
RATHAVINĪTASUTTA
Prepared Chariots
Venerable Sāriputta seeks a dialog with an esteemed monk, Venerable Puņņa Mantāniputta, and they discuss the stages of purification.
Translations
Recommended for beginner students
NIVĀPASUTTA
Fodder
The Buddha compares getting trapped by Māra with a deer getting caught in a snare, illustrating the ever more complex strategies employed by hunter and hunted.
Translations
Recommended for intermediate students
ARIYAPARIYESANĀSUTTA
The Noble Search
This is one of the most important biographical discourses, telling the Buddha's experiences from leaving home to realizing awakening. Throughout, he was driven by the imperative to fully escape from rebirth and suffering.
Translations
Recommended for intermediate students
CŪĻAHATTHIPADOPAMASUTTA
The Shorter Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant's Footprint
The Buddha cautions against swift conclusions about a teacher's spiritual accomplishments, comparing it to the care a tracker would use when tracking elephants. He presents the full training of a monastic.
Translations
Recommended for experienced students
MAHĀHATTHIPADOPAMASUTTA
The Greater Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant's Footprint
Sāriputta gives an elaborate demonstration of how, just as any footprint can fit inside an elephant's, all the Buddha's teaching can fit inside the four noble truths. This offers an overall template for organizing the Buddha's teachings.
Translations
Recommended for intermediate students
MAHĀSĀROPAMASUTTA
The Greater Discourse on the Simile of the Heartwood
Following the incident with Devadatta, the Buddha cautions the mendicants against becoming complacent with superficial benefits of spiritual life and points to liberation as the true heart of the teaching.
Translations
Recommended for intermediate students
CŪĻASĀROPAMASUTTA
The Shorter Simile of the Heartwood
Similar to the previous. After the incident with Devadatta, the Buddha cautions the mendicants against becoming complacent and points to liberation as the true heart of the teaching.