Sivuttas

Sivuttas are a small collection of early Buddhist discourses found in the Pali Canon. In Theravāda tradition, the Sivuttas (Sivuttā) are characterized by their brevity and directness; many texts are concise, often in prose or verse, and revolve around practical moral and meditative instruction. The collection is regarded as a unit within the broader Sutta Pitaka, though its exact placement can vary in different canons and translations.

The suttas typically present a single clear theme or teaching, framed as a dialogue, a short exhortation, or a pithy statement attributed to the Buddha or to enlightened disciples. Common topics include ethical conduct, restraint in speech and action, mindfulness, impermanence, contentment, and wise living in daily activities. Because of their compact form, the Sivuttas are frequently studied for accessible entry points into Buddhist ethics and practice, as well as for linguistic and stylistic features of early Buddhist prose and verse.

Authorship and dating within the canon are traditional rather than precise in the modern scholarly sense. The texts are generally regarded as part of the early Buddhist corpus, though some scholarship suggests that the collection may have been compiled or edited over time. Translations and commentaries on the Sivuttas are widely available, and they continue to be used in doctrinal study, monastic education, and lay practice.

See also: Itivuttaka, Suttanipata, Sutta Pitaka, Khuddaka Nikaya.