The Short Readings: Khuddakapatha as a Daily Practice

The smallest collection of suttas in the Pail canon is the Khuddhakapāṭha, “The Short Readings.” It is the first book of the Khuddaka Nikaya. Although it is small, it contains some very important suttas. Three of the most famous suttas—Mangala, Ratana, and Karaniyametta—are found here. These three suttas are commonly recited in the morning in devout Buddhist families. The Beyond the Walls Discourse is frequently chanted after a meal offering to share merits with departed relatives. And the thirty two parts of the body are the traditional parts of one of the mindfulness of the body reflections.

1. Going for Refuge
2. The Ten Training Rules
3. The Thirty Two Fold Nature (Foulness of the body)
4. The Questions to the Boy
5. The Discourse on the Blessings (Mangala Sutta)
6. The Discourse on the Treasures (Ratana Suttus)
7. The Beyond the Walls Discourse
8. The Discourse on the Amount of Savings
9. The Discourse on Friendliness Meditation (Karaniya-metta Sutta)

As a Daily Practice

This is the perfect text to get the ball rolling on your daily practice. Even the longest sutta takes only a few minutes to read. And after nine days you will have completed the book.

Available Translations

Because this collection is so small there are no stand alone print editions.

By Ānandajot Bhikkhu

Short Readings Cover Image

You can download this translation as a PDF (20 pages) or as an epub or Kindle file. There is also an edition that includes the Pali as well as English. This may be of interest because the texts included are so often chanted. 

By Thanissaro Bhikkhu

In print, this translation is included at the end of The Sutta Nipata translation that you can request for free from Metta Forest Monastery. You can also download it as a stand alone ebook in epub, Kindle, or PDF format.

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