The Udana, the third book of the Khuddaka Nikaya, offers a rich collection of short suttas, each of which culminates in a short verse uttered by the Buddha. Altogether there are eighty suttas, arranged in eight vaggas, or chapters.
The translator appears in the [square brackets]. The {braces} contain the starting page number in the PTS romanized Pali edition.
Shortly after his Awakening, the Buddha contemplates dependent origination.
Ven. Maha Kassapa chooses to go on his almsround among the poor and indigent, rather than among the devas.
The ascetic Bahiya receives a brief teaching from the Buddha about dispassion towards the senses ("In reference to the seen, there will be only the seen...") and immediately becomes an arahant.
Muccalinda, king of the protective nagas, visits the Buddha.
The Buddha scolds a group of monks for chattering about politics.
The Buddha sees a group of boys beating a snake with a stick.
Ascetics from other sects become jealous of the support and respect offered to the Buddha.
A busy layperson finally pays a visit to the Buddha.
A man becomes terribly ill after drinking oil to bring to his pregnant wife.
The grieving friends and family of a lay-follower's deceased son pay a visit to the Buddha.
Visakha the laywoman pays a visit to the Buddha.
A meditating monk proclaims the blissfulness of life as a forest recluse.
A meditating monk endures the aches and pains of illness.
The Buddha ingeniously dissuades Ven. Nanda, his half-brother, from disrobing.
A group of monks, suitably chastened by the Buddha for their raucous behavior, become arahants.
The Buddha is inspired by the sight of Ven. Sariputta seated in meditation.
The Buddha is inspired by the sight of Ven. Maha Moggallana seated in meditation.
The king of the devas travels in disguise in order to make merit from giving almsfood to Ven. Maha Kassapa.
A monk should go on almsround for the right reasons.
Following his Awakening, the Buddha surveys the world with his mind's eye and sees a world full of ignorance, craving, and suffering.
An over-eager monk is assailed by unskillful states of mind, and the Buddha reminds him of the importance of associating with admirable friends.
A cowherd invites the monks to a meal at his home.
A cantankerous yakkha decides to hit Ven. Sariputta over the head, and pays the price for his stupidity.
The Buddha moves from a noisy, crowded part of the forest to a more secluded one.
The Buddha is inspired by the sight of Ven. Pindola seated in meditation.
The Buddha is inspired by the sight of Ven. Sariputta seated in meditation.
The Buddha is inspired by the attainments of Ven. Upasena Vangataputta.
The Buddha is inspired by the sight of Ven. Sariputta seated in meditation.
Queen Mallika and King Pasenadi inquire of each other, "Is there anyone more dear to you than yourself?"
Life is short; practice ardently!
The Buddha instructs a leper, who soon attains stream-entry.
The Buddha comes upon two boys catching fish, and speaks to them about physical pain.
The Buddha compares the wonderful qualities of the Dhamma to the qualities of the ocean.
A devoted lay follower recognizes the drawbacks of the householder's life and decides to become a monk.
The Buddha is inspired by the sight of Ven. Revata seated in meditation.
The Buddha reflects on the empty words of a nearby group of boisterous youths.
The Buddha is inspired by the sight of Ven. Cula Panthaka seated in meditation.
The Buddha explains to King Pasenadi how another's virtue, purity, endurance, and discernment may be known.
The Buddha reflects on the unskillful qualities he has abandoned and the skillful ones he has perfected.
The Buddha uses the famous simile of the blind men and the elephant to illustrate the futility of arguing about one's views and opinions.
The Buddha overhears some heated arguments between various speculative philosophers.
The Buddha praises a monk for practicing jhana.
The Buddha is inspired by reports of deadly battles over the affections of a certain courtesan.
We are drawn by sense desire to our doom, like moths to the flame.
Ven. Sariputta helps guide Ven. Bhaddiya to the brink of arahantship.
Ven Sariputta, failing to see that Ven. Bhaddiya is now an arahant, continues instructing him.
Two occasions in which the Buddha is inspired by the sight of laypeople and their addictions to sensuality.
The Buddha is inspired by the sight of Ven. Añña Kondañña seated in meditation.
In a rare display of his supernatural powers, the Buddha makes a point of Dhamma to Ven. Ananda.
500 women, all of whom had attained at least stream-entry, perish in a fire.
Four suttas in which the Buddha describes the nature of Nibbana.
The laywoman Visakha, grieving over the death of a grandchild, receives a powerful teaching concerning clinging and death.
The Buddha is inspired by Ven. Dabba Mallaputta's spectacular death and attainment of Parinibbana.