Earth's Sacred Texts

The central book of laws written by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. Presents the complete authorized 1992 English translation (Universal House of Justice / Bahá'í World Centre), including the Questions and Answers appendix.

A mystical text outlining the journey of the soul through seven stages to reach its ultimate goal.

Meaning "Three Baskets," the foundational collection of Buddhist scriptures prominent in Theravada Buddhism: rules for monks and nuns (Vinaya), discourses of the Buddha (Sutta), and philosophical analysis (Abhidhamma). Presents the complete Dhammapada, the complete Digha Nikaya and Majjhima Nikaya, and a substantial selection from the Samyutta and Anguttara Nikayas, in Bhikkhu Sujato's translation (SuttaCentral, CC0) plus 19th-century selections -- not the full Pali Canon, which runs to many millions of words.

A broad collection of teachings central to Mahayana Buddhism. Presents the complete Diamond Sutra, Heart Sutra, and Lotus Sutra in 19th-century Sacred Books of the East translations.

The central religious text, divided into the Old Testament, which shares its foundation with the Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament, which focuses on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the early Christian church.

The oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the most authoritative texts in Hinduism. Presents all four complete Vedas -- Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Atharva -- in Ralph T.H. Griffith's 1890s translations.

The later portions of the Vedas, focusing on philosophy, meditation, and the nature of ultimate reality (Brahman) and the self (Atman). Presents the twelve principal Upanishads in Max Müller's translation (Sacred Books of the East, 1879/1884).

A 700-verse scripture from the Mahabharata, taking the form of a dialogue between the warrior Arjuna and the god Krishna on duty, righteousness, and spiritual liberation.

The primary and most sacred text in Islam, believed by Muslims to be the literal, immutable word of God as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over 23 years.

Secondary but highly influential collections of reports documenting the sayings, actions, and approvals of the Prophet Muhammad. Presents Book I ("On Faith") of A.N. Matthews's 1809-1810 translation of Mishkat al-Masabih, plus Stanley Lane-Poole's 1882 Table-Talk anthology -- a modest selection, not the full canonical collections (Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, etc.), whose standard translations are commercially copyrighted.

The original texts based on the teachings of Mahavira, detailing Jain cosmology, philosophy, and the path to spiritual liberation through non-violence (ahimsa). Presents four of the Svetambara canon's roughly 45 Agamas -- the Acaranga Sutra, Kalpa Sutra, Uttaradhyayana Sutra, and Sutrakritanga Sutra -- in Hermann Jacobi's 1884/1895 translations.

The canonical collection of Jewish texts: the Torah (the Five Books of Moses), the Nevi'im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings, such as Psalms and Proverbs).

A massive, multi-volume compendium of rabbinic debates and commentary on the Torah that forms the basis of Jewish religious law, ethics, and practice. Presents all 37 tractates with Gemara, via Sefaria's William Davidson Talmud (the Koren Talmud Bavli translation, CC BY-NC), plus Avot and Eduyot (which have no Gemara) via Michael L. Rodkinson's 1896-1918 translation.

The oldest surviving historical records of Japan, containing the mythology surrounding the origins of the Japanese islands, the kami (spirits/deities), and the imperial lineage. Presents the complete Kojiki (Basil Hall Chamberlain, 1919) and the complete Nihon Shoki (W.G. Aston, 1896).

The central religious scripture of Sikhism, revered not merely as a holy book but as the final, sovereign, and eternal living Guru following the lineage of the ten human Gurus. Presents the complete text -- all 1,430 Angs -- in Bhai Sant Singh Khalsa's English translation.

The foundational text attributed to the sage Laozi, focusing on living a life of simplicity, naturalness, and harmony with the "Tao" (the Way).

A compilation of anecdotes, allegories, and fables that illustrate the carefree nature of the ideal Taoist sage.

The primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, containing hymns (the Gathas, attributed to Zoroaster himself), laws, and rituals. Presents the Vendidad, Yasna, Visperad, Yasts, Sirozahs, and Nyayis in James Darmesteter's and L.H. Mills's 1880s Sacred Books of the East translations.

A collection of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus, part of the 1945 Nag Hammadi find and heavily favored by Gnostic scholars for its emphasis on inward spiritual enlightenment over physical resurrection. Presents Thomas O. Lambdin's translation (from James M. Robinson's The Nag Hammadi Library in English).

A fragmentary Gnostic text, several pages of which are lost, portraying Mary Magdalene as a spiritual leader receiving private teachings from Jesus. Presents the George W. MacRae and R. McL. Wilson translation, with the manuscript's gaps noted rather than smoothed over.

A Gnostic text, from the separate Codex Tchacos manuscript, that reinterprets Judas Iscariot not as a traitor but as the disciple who alone understood Jesus's mission. Presents Mark M. Mattison's translation from the Coptic, explicitly released to the public domain.

A collection of Gnostic codices discovered in Egypt in 1945, outlining a dualistic cosmology with a lesser creator deity (the Demiurge). Presents eight tractates -- including the Apocryphon of John, the Gospel of Truth, and the Gospel of Philip -- from James M. Robinson's The Nag Hammadi Library in English (the Gospel of Thomas is listed separately above).

An ancient Jewish text of fallen angels (the Watchers), heavenly realms, and apocalyptic visions, excluded from standard Jewish and most Christian canons but still part of the Ethiopian Orthodox canon. Presents the complete text -- all 108 chapters -- in R.H. Charles's 1917 translation.

Known as the "Little Genesis," this text retells the events of Genesis and Exodus with additional detail said to have been revealed to Moses by angels. Presents the complete text -- all 50 chapters -- in R.H. Charles's 1902 translation.

A foundational text of Jewish Kabbalah outlining an esoteric creation cosmology through Hebrew letters and numbers, distinct from mainstream rabbinic commentary. Presents Wm. Wynn Westcott's 1887 translation of the short recension, with his appended "Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom."

A Sufi poem by Attar of Nishapur that uses allegory and mystical poetry to describe the soul's journey outside mainstream legalistic theology. Presents Edward FitzGerald's 1889 "Bird Parliament" -- an abridged poetic paraphrase, not a literal translation.

A text from the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism intended to guide consciousness through the intermediate state (bardo) between death and rebirth. Presents Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup's translation as compiled and edited by W.Y. Evans-Wentz (1927).