thezensite: translation and sutras

General Buddhist Texts

The Awakening Of Faith In Mahayana (Mahayana-Sraddhotpada Shastra) This famous and influential commentary is atributed to the Indian poet and Mahayana philosopher Asvaghosa.

Dhammapada: This is the complete translation in 26 chapters by Max Muller, 1881, as part of the Sacred Books of the East project. Another version, translated by Ven. Thanrissano, Bikkhu in .pdf

Diamond Sangha Sutras: these are the sutras and chants translated by Robert Aitken and chanted by the Diamond Sangha. Includes the Heart Sutra, the Sho- Sai Myo- Kichijo- Darani, Emmei Jikku Kannon Gyo, Hakuin's Song of Zazen as well as many others.

English Translations of Mahayana Sutras: this site has an extensive selection of translated sutras. For example, it has 15 translations of the Heart Sutra. All the major sutras are here. Well worth visiting, a bodhisattva site.

A huge collection of sutras in English is here.

Fodian.net: This is an excellent source of English translations of Buddhist texts. Many of the sutras are translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. A very big site that has all the major sutras here. Recommended.

D.T. Suzuki's Manual of Zen Buddhism, first published in 1935; includes sutras, gathas, dharanis, translations of some of the writings of Chinese Zen masters and more.

The Pali Canon: Tipitaka: A wide selection, free for downloading.

Siddham.org: there are a number of sutra translations here. Most are links to other sites.

The Gospel of Buddha: this is an electronic version of Paul Carus' 1894 translations of some essential Buddhist teachings.

The Great Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra

chanted daily in almost every Zen temple in the world.
Here you can find 42 different English translations.
Commentary by Grand Master T'an Hsu. Translated into English by Venerable Dharma Master Lok To, Young Men's Buddhist Association, New York
There's quite a good rendering of the Japanese Hannya Shingo with a word-by-word translation here.
The Heart Sutra used by the Diamond Sangha is here.
Translation by E. Conze is here.
The version used by the Western Ch'an Fellowship is here, includes links to other translations.
The English version used by the Dzogchen Center is here, including a RealAudio listening.
A number of talks on this fundamental text by Sojun Mel Weitsman of the Berkeley Zen Center.
The Allen Ginsburg translation of the Heart Sutra.
Commentary by the Venerable Master Hsüan Hua, translated by Ron Epstein

Other Specific Sutras

Decline of the Dharma: Not a genuine sutra but a "spurious scripture" from possible 6th Century China. Full title: The Scripture Preached by the Buddha on the Total Extinction of the Dharma. This one includes a useful introduction by Randall L Nadeau Originally published: B.C. Asian Review, Vol. 1, 1987 original source

Diamond Sutra: a new translation by Alex Johnson. This is the complete version online.

Faith in Mind ( Hsin-hsin Ming): a much loved writing attributed to Seng T'san, the Third Patriarch. This site has everything you ever wanted to know about this poem, and more! Here's a talk on this by Master Sheng-Yen
Sacred Texts has an excellent site on this writing including details (or lack thereof) of T'san, various translations, including Chinese scripts, and academic notes about this central text. Recommended.
Prof. Dusan Pajin of Belgrade University has a translation and a detailed academic commentary on this poem. Also availble here.
Translation by Zen teacher Richard B Clarke and a selected commentary by R H Blythe

Lotus Sutra: translated by The Buddhist Text Translation Society (USA) in 28 chapters.

Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra (Nirvana Sutra) from the introduction page: "The present website offers the complete Kosho Yamamoto English translation of the "Southern" edition of the Dharmakshema Nirvana Sutra, in a version revised and edited by Dr. Tony Page, as well as Dr. Page's German translation (the first ever carried out) of the Tibetan version of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, based on the English translation by Buddhist scholar, Stephen Hodge."

Nagarjuna: romanized Tibetan text of Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika together with a literal English translation by Stephen Batchelor

Shurangama Sutra: Text, Commentaries, and Articles: this web site has a complete translation of this sutra as well as commentaries by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua.

Shodoka (song of enlightement) attributed to the Zen Master Yung-chia Hsuan-chueh (665-713),

Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra translation by Robert A F Thurman

Hakuiin Zenji

Song of Zazen, translated by Norman Waddell and a version by Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun.
A brief bio and a nice collection of Hakuin's paintings here.
Hakuin's Letter in Answer to an Old Nun of the Hokke Sect Actually, two letters. In the first, Hakuin talks about the Lotus Sutra. In the second he discusses his own experiences. translated by Philip Yampolsky

Hui Neng

Hui Neng: The Sixth Patriarch's Platform Sutra, translated by A.F.Price and Wong Mou-Lam.
Philip Yampolsky's masterful translation of the Tun-Huang text (the oldest extant version of the Platform Sutra) is here for downloading. This is the entire Tun-Huang text, complete with Yampolsky's footnotes. The classic version. You have to buy the book to get Yampolsky's informative introductory material.
Another complete version, translated by The Buddhist Text Translation Society with commentary by Tripitaka Master Hua is also available. Here you will find it in plain text. Here as a 454 page .pdf document (not recommended for slow connections)

Carl Bielefeldt and Lewis Lancaster: T'an Ching (Platform Scripture) Bielefeldt and Lancaster give an excellent overview of state of current (1975) translations and scholarship of the Platform Sutra. from Philosophy East and West Vol. 25, No. 2, 1975

Autobiography of Hui Neng translated by A.F.Price and Wong Mou-Lam This is an excerpt from the Platform Sutra

Huang Po

Huang Po: (J. Obaku) a small sample of some of the teachings of this great master. He is believed to have died in 850 A.D. and many consider him the founder of the Lin Chi (J. Rinzai) school. The only complete translation is John Blofeld's The Zen Teachings of Huang Po. Read a "gonzo review" here.

Other Zen Masters

Han Shan: The Autobiography & Maxims of Chan Master Han Shan (1546-1623) The complete book (60 pages in pdf) available here. An interesting account of life in 17th Century China. Reads very much like Xu Yun's Empty Cloud: "in my fifty-first year, I..."

Hui Hai: The Essential Gateway to Truth by Means of Instantaneous Awaking. An English translation but unfortunately, it doesn't say who translated this.

Hsi Yun: The Ultimate Reality Transcends What Can Be Expressed in Words "The document, here employed, in abbreviated form, presents the teaching of Hsi Yun, one of the Ch’an (or Zen) masters who lived about 840 A.D. His teaching is reported by P’ei Hsiu, an official and scholar who became a student under Hsi Yun. It gives a more or less sympathetic disclosure of Ch’an philosophy."

Hsuan-Tsang: Verses Delineating The Eight Consciousnesses by Tripitaka Master Hsuan-Tsang Of The Tang Dynasty translation and commentary by Ronald Epstein. The entire book is available for downloading as a pdf document.

Lin Chi (J. Rinzai) Irmgard Schloegl's classic translation of The Zen Teachings of Rinzai is available in its entirety here as a .pdf document. Free. (86 pages--be patient)

Nagarjuna: The Precious Garland Ratnavali of Nagarjuna also known as Nagarjuna's Letter to a Friend, this is advice given by Nagarjuna to the Southern Indian King Surabhidhadra in 123 four-line verses. This version has broken the writing down into 500 verses.