Commentaries & manuals
Visuddhimagga
Buddhaghosa’s Path of Purification, in an English translation by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli.
About the translationOrthodox Theravāda · Direct insight
Vipassanā
Seeing realities as they are.
A resource for orthodox Theravāda and the cultivation of direct insight — vipassanā - developed in daily life
Modern authors
Nina van Gorkom on vipassanā
Seven selected works on vipassanā, satipaṭṭhāna and the realities that appear in daily life.
Vipassanā & satipaṭṭhāna
Letters on Vipassanā
Letters on mindfulness, non-self and understanding the mental and physical realities that appear naturally in daily life.
About the book & PDF
An introduction to realities
Understanding Reality
A brief introduction to mental and physical realities, showing how understanding them differs from thinking about people and things.
About the book & PDF
Understanding what appears now
The Present Moment
Reflections on Dhamma discussions, exploring the difference between concepts and realities and the understanding of what appears now.
About the book & PDF
Listening & considering
Listening to the Dhamma
Dhamma discussions on listening, satipaṭṭhāna, the stages of insight and the gradual eradication of defilements.
About the book & PDF
Satipaṭṭhāna in daily life
Alone with Dhamma
Reflections from a pilgrimage in India on experience through the six doorways, impermanence and the understanding of non-self.
About the book & PDF
The development of understanding
The Buddha’s Path
An introduction to suffering, non-self, kamma, wholesome conduct and the Eightfold Path, related to ordinary life.
About the book & PDF
Understanding life in the present moment
Buddhism: Learning to Understand Life
An introduction to life as momentary realities, explaining suffering, processes of citta and the development of understanding in daily life.
About the book & PDF
Vipassanā, insight, is actually paññā — wisdom developed to understand realities as they are, as non-self. It is not some special practice. If one wishes to induce calm, one wants to get something, and there is a subtle clinging which can pass unnoticed.
The aim is less ignorance of realities, including our defilements, even subtle ones. It can and should be developed in daily life. Any object can be an object for mindfulness and understanding.
Nina van Gorkom
Ancient Pāli texts & translations
Canonical texts
Abhidhamma Piṭaka
The seven books of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, with translations and related studies on abhidhamma.org.
Abhidhamma texts & translationsTranslations from Pāli
Dhammapada commentaries
Three volumes available on the translations page.
View the volumesTheravāda history
Mahāvaṃsa
An English translation of the chronicle of Sri Lanka.
View the translationWritings & explanations
Nina van Gorkom & Sujin Boriharnwanaket
Abhidhamma & vipassanā
Impermanence, non-self, conditionality.
The Abhidhamma gives a detailed analysis of mental and physical phenomena. Vipassanā is the direct seeing of those same realities through satipaṭṭhāna.
Anicca
“Our life is a succession of cittas that arise and fall away, succeeding one another.”
Nina van Gorkom
The Present Moment, p. 4
Anattā
“There is no self who experiences something. The seeing sees, the hearing hears, the thinking thinks.”
Nina van Gorkom
Understanding Reality, p. 3
Conditionality
“Seeing is a dhamma that arises because of its proper conditions.”
Nina van Gorkom
Alone with Dhamma, p. 5