The Majjhima Nikaya contains 152 suttas in the Pali Canon tradition.
The Majjhima Nikaya, the second major collection in the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali Canon, contains 152 individual suttas or discourses. This collection is organized into three vaggas, or sections: the Mulapannasa (Root Fifty), the Majjhimapannasa (Middle Fifty), and the Upariapannasa (Further Fifty). The division reflects both structural organization and traditional teaching groupings rather than chronological or thematic unity.
This count of 152 suttas is consistent across all major editions of the Pali Canon, including those published by the Pali Text Society, the Thai Tipitaka, and the Sinhalese versions. Scholars and translators working from these sources—including T.W. Rhys Davids, Henry Clarke Warren, and Bhikkhu Bodhi—all reference this same number when discussing the collection's scope.
The first vagga, the Mulapannasa, contains 50 suttas numbered 1 through 50. These include foundational teachings such as the Sammasambuddha Sutta on the qualities of a fully awakened Buddha, and the Vitarka Sutta on applied and sustained attention in meditation.
The Majjhimapannasa comprises suttas 51 through 100, also fifty discourses. This section contains important suttas like the Kacchayanagotta Sutta on dependent origination and the Culasuññata Sutta on emptiness.
The Upariapannasa, the final section, contains 52 suttas numbered 101 through 152. This section includes the Dvedhavitakka Sutta on two kinds of thinking and the Indriyabhavana Sutta on the development of faculties. The slightly uneven distribution across the three sections explains the collection's alternative names.
The Majjhima Nikaya occupies a crucial position in the Pali Canon. It is considered the middle length collection—longer than the Samyutta Nikaya with its shorter suttas, and shorter than the Digha Nikaya with its extended discourses. Many scholars regard it as containing some of the most accessible and representative teachings of the Buddha, making it a primary source for understanding core Buddhist doctrines.
Because of this prominence, the 152 suttas of the Majjhima Nikaya have been extensively translated into English and other modern languages. Complete English translations include those by I.B. Horner, Bhikkhu Bodhi, and others, making this collection particularly important for Western students of Buddhism.
Unlike some other portions of Buddhist texts where traditions diverge, the sutta count in the Majjhima Nikaya remains consistent. The Theravada tradition, which preserves the Pali Canon, maintains this figure of 152 suttas. While other Buddhist traditions preserved texts in Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan versions, these alternate texts are generally considered translations or related versions of the same original collection rather than fundamentally different compilations.
The consistency of this number across all known Pali manuscripts and printed editions suggests early standardization of the collection. By the time of the major councils and subsequent transmission, the Majjhima Nikaya had already achieved its established form of 152 suttas.