ARIYAPARIYESANĀSUTTA
The Noble Search
This is one of the most important biographical discourses, telling the Buddha's experiences from leaving home to realizing awakening. Throughout, he was driven by the imperative to fully escape from rebirth and suffering.
Translations
CŪĻAHATTHIPADOPAMASUTTA
The Shorter Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant's Footprint
The Buddha cautions against swift conclusions about a teacher's spiritual accomplishments, comparing it to the care a tracker would use when tracking elephants. He presents the full training of a monastic.
Translations
MAHĀHATTHIPADOPAMASUTTA
The Greater Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant's Footprint
Sāriputta gives an elaborate demonstration of how, just as any footprint can fit inside an elephant's, all the Buddha's teaching can fit inside the four noble truths. This offers an overall template for organizing the Buddha's teachings.
Translations
MAHĀSĀROPAMASUTTA
The Greater Discourse on the Simile of the Heartwood
Following the incident with Devadatta, the Buddha cautions the mendicants against becoming complacent with superficial benefits of spiritual life and points to liberation as the true heart of the teaching.