Āgamas and Nikāyas
The four Āgamas correspond to four Nikāyas of the Pāli Canon: the Dīrgha to the Long Discourses, the Madhyama to the Middle-Length, the Saṃyukta to the Connected and the Ekottarika to the Numerical Discourses. Many discourses appear in both traditions, so reading them side by side shows the teaching early Buddhism shared.
Each page below is one scroll of the Chinese text, not a single discourse; a scroll usually holds several discourses. Scroll titles are shown as the library records them.
What the four Āgamas in the library contain
The Dīrgha Āgama has 22 scrolls holding 30 long discourses. Scroll 1 opens with the Discourse on the Great Lineage, where monks ask each other how the Buddha knows the Buddhas of the past; the Discourse on the Journey, which tells of the Buddha's last journey and his parinirvāṇa, runs from scroll 2 to scroll 4. The collection includes the Discourse to Sigālaka (no. 16, scroll 11), the Brahmajāla (no. 21, scroll 14) and the Fruits of the Contemplative Life (no. 27, scroll 17); the last, the Account of the World (no. 30), fills scrolls 18–22 and describes the world as the sūtras see it.
The Madhyama Āgama has 60 scrolls with 222 discourses in 18 sections. The first section is on sets of seven; its first discourse lists seven things that let a monk live happily in the noble Dharma: knowing the teaching, its meaning, the right time, moderation, oneself, assemblies and the differences between people.
The Saṃyukta Āgama has 50 scrolls with 1,362 short discourses grouped by subject. Scroll 1 opens the section on the five aggregates: the first discourse teaches to see form, feeling, perception, formations and consciousness as impermanent, so that disenchantment arises, delight and desire end and the mind is freed. The library's text is a revised edition with notes under each discourse.
The Ekottarika Āgama has 51 scrolls, arranging its discourses by increasing number. Scroll 1 begins with an introduction in verse telling how Venerable Kāśyapa and Venerable Ānanda gathered the assembly to recite the Buddha's words after his passing, followed by the section on ten recollections.
Reading alongside the Pāli Long Discourses
Many discourses of the Dīrgha Āgama have a counterpart in the Pāli Long Discourses, also in the library: the Brahmajāla of the Āgama with DN 1, the Fruits of the Contemplative Life with DN 2, the Discourse on the Journey with the Great Discourse on the Buddha's Extinguishment (DN 16), the Discourse to Sigālaka with DN 31. Reading the two side by side shows the shared core and the differences in detail, order and wording.
Newcomers can start with scroll 1 of the Saṃyukta Āgama: short discourses on the five aggregates, a few paragraphs each. For one continuous story, choose the Discourse on the Journey in scrolls 2–4 of the Dīrgha Āgama. Each scroll is one reading page with a chanting mode; the index below lists all 183 scrolls of the four collections in order.
