Tripitaka

Tripitaka [Pali Tipitaka] or the Canon of the Buddhists, both Theravada and Mahayana. Thus it is possible to speak of several Canons such as the Sthaviravada, Sarvastivada and Mahayana as well as in term of languages like Pali, Chinese and Tibetan. The word is used basically to refer to the literature, the authorship of which is directly or indirectly ascribed to the Buddha himself.

• Vinaya Pitaka
  The collection of texts concerning the rules of conduct governing the daily affairs within the Sangha -- the community of bhikkhus (ordained monks) and bhikkhunis (ordained nuns). Far more than merely a list of rules, the Vinaya Pitaka also includes the stories behind the origin of each rule, providing a detailed account of the Buddha's solution to the question of how to maintain communal harmony within a large and diverse spiritual community.
• Sutta Pitaka
  The collection of discourses, attributed to the Buddha and a few of his closest disciples, containing all the central teachings of Theravada Buddhism. (Over six hundred sutta translations are available here.)
• Abhidhamma Pitaka
  The collection of texts in which the underlying doctrinal principles presented in the Sutta Pitaka are reworked and reorganized into a systematic framework that can be applied to an investigation into the nature of mind and matter.

 A Map Showing the
Major Divisions of the Tripitaka

                          Tripitaka
                             |
                             |
     +-----------------------+--------------------------+
     |                       |                          |
Vinaya Pitaka           Abhidhamma Pitaka          Sutta Pitaka
     |                       |                          |
  Suttavibhanga           Dhammasangani                 |
  Mahavagga               Vibhanga                      |
  Cullavagga              Dhatukatha                    |
  Parivara                Puggalapaññatti               |
                          Kathavatthu                   |
                          Yamaka                        |
                          Patthana                      |
                                                        |
     +-------------+--------------+---------------+-----+-----+
     |             |              |               |           |
Digha Nikaya       |      Samyutta Nikaya         |           |
           Majjhima Nikaya               Anguttara Nikaya     |
                                                              |
                                                      Khuddaka Nikaya
                                                              |
                                 +----------------------------+
                                 |
     +---------+----+----+-------+----+------+--+-----+------+
     |         |    |    |       |    |      |  |     |      |
Khuddakapatha  |    |    |       |    |      |  |     |      |
        Dhammapada  |    |       |    |      |  |     |      |
                  Udana  |       |    |      |  |     |      |
                     Itivuttaka  |    |      |  |     |      |
                         Sutta Nipata |      |  |     |      |
                                Vimanavatthu |  |     |      |
                                    Petavatthu  |     |      |
                                         Theragatha   |      |
                                               Therigatha    |
                                                        Jataka
                                                        Niddesa
                                                        Patisambhidamagga
                                                        Apadana
                                                        Buddhavamsa
                                                        Cariyapitaka
                                                        Nettippakarana
                                                        Petakopadesa
                                                        Milindapañha