<p>I personally use the following translations:</p>

<ul>
<li>Paper copies of Bhikkhu Bodhi's translations of Nikayas (for example <a href="https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/086171072X" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Majjhima</a>) for nice smooth English rendition.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Access To Insight</a> for quick and convenient search.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/sutta-titles-2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Dharmafarer</a> for in-depth analysis.</li>
</ul>

<p>When in doubt, I do my own translation with a dictionary (<a href="http://spokensanskrit.de/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Sanskrit</a>, <a href="http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Pali</a>, I also use a number of Pali-Russian dictionaries). For this, <a href="http://suttacentral.net/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Sutta Central</a> is a good source of well-formatted Pali texts (it also has translations but I don't like their renditions).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-11T14:39:43.530Z
2014-10-11T14:39:43.530Z
2018-08-14T22:06:13.773Z
Andriy Volkov
<p>Perhaps this should be closed as <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/158810/139866">a 'shopping' question</a>, but maybe translations take a long time to make and therefore there are not too many of them, and they don't go out of date quickly.</p>

<p>The English texts I use seem unreliable. For example:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>One book I have (using a 1925 CE translation) has a translation which (because it uses an abstract noun "the lovely") <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/4053/compassion-to-friends-stepping-in-vs-letting-them-learn-on-their-own#comment5397_4055">I had thoroughly failed</a> to understand.
In that case, <a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn45/sn45.002.than.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the 'Access to Insight' translation</a> was clearer (using concrete nouns like 'with people' and 'with friends' instead of abstractions like "with what is lovely").
So I have been using <strong>Access to Insight</strong>.</p></li>
<li><p>However when I wanted the Samuddo Sutta, the <a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.187.wlsh.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Access to Insight version</a> is (in my opinion) relatively very inadequate compared to <a href="http://www.buddha-vacana.org/sutta/samyutta/salayatana/sn35-229.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this <strong>Buddha Vacana</strong> version</a>.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>I only found these using Google, i.e. I have no expertise about what translations exist.</p>

<ul>
<li>Can you recommend <strong>any (single) specific translations</strong>?</li>
<li>Can you give <strong>any survey of what (many) is available</strong>?</li>
<li>Or should I ask about <strong>translators</strong> instead of translations (I'd prefer 'the best' translation rather than the 'historically-first' translation)?</li>
</ul>

<p>Even if there are too many, are there <strong>great/classic resources</strong> that any Anglophone should know?</p>

<ul>
<li><p><strong>Printed</strong> books would be on-topic, though I'm warned that such things might be <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/4019/254">ten times the size of a bible</a>.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Online</strong> or (at least) <strong>digital</strong> references might be convenient. For example the side-by-side (hyper-linkable) translation feature found on the <em>Buddha Vacana</em> site helped me understand (by linking to the Pali word) what it meant when it said "mental phenomena".</p></li>
<li><p>A resource for any <strong>European</strong> language (English, French, German, etc) would be interesting</p></li>
<li><p>Google Translate doesn't do Pali or Sanskrit, but if there's a (free or affordable) semi-competent <strong>machine-based</strong> translator (accurate although not poetic or idiomatic), that might be good (though it may be hoping too much, to hope for the existence of such a thing yet).</p></li>
</ul>

<pali-canon><modern-world><teaching><terminology><learning-materials>
English (or other European) translations of Pali Canon
# English (or other European) translations of Pali Canon

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-10-11)

Perhaps this should be closed as [a 'shopping' question](https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/158810/139866), but maybe translations take a long time to make and therefore there are not too many of them, and they don't go out of date quickly.

The English texts I use seem unreliable. For example:

* One book I have (using a 1925 CE translation) has a translation which (because it uses an abstract noun "the lovely") [I had thoroughly failed](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/4053/compassion-to-friends-stepping-in-vs-letting-them-learn-on-their-own#comment5397_4055) to understand.
  In that case, [the 'Access to Insight' translation](http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn45/sn45.002.than.html) was clearer (using concrete nouns like 'with people' and 'with friends' instead of abstractions like "with what is lovely").
  So I have been using **Access to Insight**.
* However when I wanted the Samuddo Sutta, the [Access to Insight version](http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.187.wlsh.html) is (in my opinion) relatively very inadequate compared to [this **Buddha Vacana** version](http://www.buddha-vacana.org/sutta/samyutta/salayatana/sn35-229.html).

I only found these using Google, i.e. I have no expertise about what translations exist.

* Can you recommend **any (single) specific translations**?
* Can you give **any survey of what (many) is available**?
* Or should I ask about **translators** instead of translations (I'd prefer 'the best' translation rather than the 'historically-first' translation)?

Even if there are too many, are there **great/classic resources** that any Anglophone should know?

* **Printed** books would be on-topic, though I'm warned that such things might be [ten times the size of a bible](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/4019/254).
* **Online** or (at least) **digital** references might be convenient. For example the side-by-side (hyper-linkable) translation feature found on the *Buddha Vacana* site helped me understand (by linking to the Pali word) what it meant when it said "mental phenomena".
* A resource for any **European** language (English, French, German, etc) would be interesting
* Google Translate doesn't do Pali or Sanskrit, but if there's a (free or affordable) semi-competent **machine-based** translator (accurate although not poetic or idiomatic), that might be good (though it may be hoping too much, to hope for the existence of such a thing yet).

**Tags:** pali-canon, modern-world, teaching, terminology, learning-materials


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-10-11. Score: 13 | Accepted answer

I personally use the following translations:

* Paper copies of Bhikkhu Bodhi's translations of Nikayas (for example [Majjhima](https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/086171072X)) for nice smooth English rendition.
* [Access To Insight](http://www.accesstoinsight.org/) for quick and convenient search.
* [Dharmafarer](http://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/sutta-titles-2) for in-depth analysis.

When in doubt, I do my own translation with a dictionary ([Sanskrit](http://spokensanskrit.de/), [Pali](http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/), I also use a number of Pali-Russian dictionaries). For this, [Sutta Central](http://suttacentral.net/) is a good source of well-formatted Pali texts (it also has translations but I don't like their renditions).


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