Where can I find a copy of the complete Pali Canon (Tipitaka)?
If you’re thinking of purchasing your own printed copy of the Tipitaka, be forewarned: the Pali Canon is huge. The Pali Text Society’s edition of the Tipitaka (English translation) fills over 12,000 pages in approximately fifty hardbound volumes, taking up about five linear feet of shelf space, and costing about US$2,000. Owning a complete set of these texts is thus a serious commitment. Moreover, a few of the more obscure books in the Tipitaka are simply unavailable in English translation, so if you really must read the entire Tipitaka, you’ll simply have to learn Pali. Although the PTS has for over a century been the leading publisher of the Tipitaka, both in romanized Pali and in English translation, many of their translations are now badly out of date. Much better translations of several portions of the Canon are now available from other publishers. Here are my recommendations for printed translations that add up to a useful — if incomplete — version of the Tipitaka: Vinaya Pitak
