Tripitaka

The canonical texts of Theravāda Buddhism, divided into three parts: the Vinaya-pitaka, containing the rules governing the monastic community; the Sūtra-pitaka, a collection of scriptures recording the teachings of the Buddha; and Abhidharma-pitaka, a collection of Buddhist philosophical writings.

The texts were established at group councils of the Sangha (monastic orders), the first being held within months of the Buddha's death. A senior monk would ask a series of questions to which the assembled monks, sometimes numbering thousands, would reply by reciting the appropriate portion of the canon. The Buddha's teachings were preserved and passed on in this way for about 400 years, until Theravāda monks wrote them down in Pali script in the 1st century AD.

The Tripitaka was possibly named after the pitaka (baskets) used to hold the set of palm leaves on which the texts were written.