Dòng Pháp

A library of Theravāda teaching drawn from the Pāli Canon — the Four Noble Truths, mindfulness and the path of practice — explained clearly, with sources, and made practical for everyday life.

Dòng Pháp began as a Vietnamese-language Buddhist library. We are now translating its foundational articles into English, starting with the reading path below. Each article links back to its Vietnamese original.

Start here: Buddhism basics for beginners

What Theravāda is, the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the five aggregates, dependent origination, kamma and mindfulness — in the order we recommend reading them. New translations are added regularly.

1. What Is Theravāda Buddhism? A Complete Guide
   What is Theravāda Buddhism? Origins, core teachings, the Pāli Canon and the path of practice of the oldest Buddhist tradition, clearly explained.
2. What Is the Pāli Canon (Tipiṭaka)? A Complete Guide
   What is the Pāli Canon (Tipiṭaka)? The three baskets of Theravāda scripture—Vinaya, Sutta, Abhidhamma—their structure, how to read them, why they matter.
3. What Are the Four Noble Truths? The Heart of Buddhism
   The Buddha's first and most essential teaching, set out like a doctor's diagnosis: suffering, its cause, its cessation, and the path that leads there.
4. What Is Dukkha? A Complete Guide to the Truth of Suffering
   What is dukkha? A clear guide to suffering in Buddhism — realistic, not pessimistic: its three levels, its cause, and why it is good news.
5. What Is the Noble Eightfold Path? The Way to End Suffering
   The Buddha's fourth noble truth as a practical path: eight interwoven factors grouped into wisdom, virtue and concentration, and how to begin.
6. What Are the Five Aggregates? The Five Parts of a “Person”
   The five aggregates—form, feeling, perception, formations, consciousness—reveal that no fixed self stands behind what we call a “person.”
7. The Three Marks of Existence: Impermanence, Dukkha, Non-Self
   Impermanence, dukkha and non-self: the three universal marks of all existence, the seal of the true Dhamma, and how seeing them clearly leads to freedom.
8. What Is Dependent Origination (Paṭiccasamuppāda)?
   "This is, because that is." Dependent origination is the Buddha's deepest insight into how things arise from conditions—and how suffering ends.
9. What Are the Five Precepts? Buddhist Ethics for Modern Life
   The five precepts aren't harsh prohibitions but five gifts to yourself and the world — the foundation of a peaceful mind and a trustworthy life.
10. What Is Ānāpānasati? Mindfulness of Breathing for Beginners
    A beginner's guide to mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati): why the breath, posture, step-by-step practice, a wandering mind and a lasting habit.
11. What Is Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels? Relying on the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha
    Taking refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha is not a plea for protection but choosing a trustworthy path and walking it yourself.
12. The Ten Wholesome Actions: Goodness in Body, Speech, and Mind
    Beyond avoiding wrongdoing, the Buddha taught ten wholesome actions to cultivate — through our deeds, our words, and even our thoughts.
13. What Are the Four Immeasurables? Loving-Kindness, Compassion, Joy, Equanimity
    Loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity: four noble qualities of the heart that can grow without limit to embrace all beings.
14. Greed, Hatred and Delusion: The Three Poisons and the Three Unwholesome Roots
    Greed, hatred and delusion—the three poisons—are the roots of all affliction. Understanding them shows how suffering is made and where to transform it.
15. Is Kamma Fate? What Karma Really Means in Buddhism
    Many think kamma means a fixed, unchangeable fate. That is a serious misunderstanding—rightly understood, kamma opens a door to freedom and responsibility.
16. The Middle Way: The Balanced Path That Avoids Two Extremes
    The Middle Way, found by the Buddha through his own experience, avoids both sensual indulgence and self-mortification — and it is the Noble Eightfold Path.
17. Virtue, Concentration, Wisdom: The Three Steps of the Threefold Training
    Virtue, concentration and wisdom—the Threefold Training—map the whole Buddhist path: three steps that support one another like the legs of a tripod.
18. Non-Self: Then Who Is Reborn, and Who Bears the Kamma?
    If there is no self, who makes kamma, who is reborn, who reaps the fruit? Buddhism answers with a law of cause and effect that needs no "person."
19. Theravāda vs. Mahāyāna: What Is the Fundamental Difference?
    Theravāda and Mahāyāna share one root but grew in different directions; understanding how they differ helps us respect both without confusing them.
20. The Ten Fetters (Saṃyojana): Ten Bonds That Tie Us to Saṃsāra
    The ten fetters are subtle defilements that bind beings to saṃsāra; cutting them one by one marks the four stages of awakening.
21. The Four Stages of Awakening: From Stream-Entry to Arahantship
    Stream-entry, once-returning, non-returning and arahantship: the four noble fruits that map the path from ordinary person to full liberation.
22. Rebirth and the Soul: What Does Buddhism Say?
    If Buddhism denies an unchanging soul, what is reborn? Rebirth as a conditioned stream of mind carried by kamma, not a migrating soul.
23. Why Do Good People Suffer? Where Is Karma in All This?
    Good people meet misfortune while wrongdoers seem to thrive — Buddhism answers this age-old question with a wider, deeper view of kamma.
24. Does “Letting Go” Mean Giving Up and Not Caring About Anything?
    In Buddhism, letting go means releasing clinging, not responsibility: we still act, love and strive, but with an open hand instead of a clenched fist.
25. The Five Faculties and Five Powers: The Five Strengths of a Practitioner
    Faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom are both roots that nourish practice and powers that hold firm — and the secret is keeping them in balance.
26. The Four Nutriments (Āhāra): Four Kinds of Food That Sustain Life
    Not only physical food feeds us: the Buddha named four nutriments that sustain existence — and invites us to ask what we are feeding the mind with.
27. Conventional and Ultimate Truth: Two Levels of Truth in Buddhism
    Is the “table” real? Is the “self” real? Telling conventional truth from ultimate truth dissolves many seeming contradictions in the Buddha's teaching.
28. The Ten Pāramīs: Ten Perfections on the Path of Practice
    The ten pāramīs—from generosity and virtue to wisdom and equanimity—are the noble qualities we perfect, step by step, on the long path.
29. What Are the Four Bases of Sympathy? Four Ways to Win and Bond Hearts
    Generosity, kindly speech, beneficial action and equal treatment: the four bases of sympathy the Buddha taught for bonding with and winning over others.
30. Merit and Wisdom: The Two Provisions of a Buddhist Practitioner
    Merit (puñña) creates favorable conditions; wisdom (paññā) leads to liberation. A practitioner needs both, like a bird needs two wings to fly.