Getting Started

Release notes describing details about the installation and use of this CD-ROM may be found in the "Readme" file on this disk. Additional late-breaking information about the CD may be found online at the »  Access to Insight website (the symbol "»", which appears here and there throughout this website, indicates a link that requires a connection to the Internet).

This is a fairly large and complex website, containing hundreds of books, articles, sutta translations, and more. If you're new to the site -- or to the teachings of Theravada Buddhism -- you may find the starting points listed below helpful in getting yourself oriented.

General information about Theravada Buddhism:

• What is Theravada Buddhism?
• Theravada Buddhism: A Chronological History
• A Sketch of the Buddha's Life: Readings from the Pali Canon

Introduction to the Buddha's teachings:

• The Path to Freedom: A Self-guided Tour of the Buddha's Teachings
• The Nobility of the Truths, by Bhikkhu Bodhi
• Refuge: an Introduction to the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
• Study Guides: anthologies of short passages suitable for individual or group study.

Beginning meditation:

• Basic Breath Meditation Instructions, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
• Buddho, by Ajaan Thate
• Starting Out Small: A Collection of Talks for Beginning Meditators, by Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo

Reading the Suttas:

• Befriending the Suttas:
  • Why should I read the suttas?
  • Which suttas should I read?
  • How should I read a sutta?
• The Buddha's first sermon

Finding your way around the website:

• Just about everything is indexed:
  • Index by Subject
  • Index by Author
  • Index by Title
  • Index of Suttas
  • Index of Proper Names
  • Index by Number
  • Index of Similes
• Map of the website
• Frequently-asked questions about the website

Need more help?

Help is always just a click away: click on the Help link at the top left corner of each page.