People often ask me where can they find the Buddhist Pali Tripitaka, in English. Many spiritual teachers often refer to the Tripitaka to make their point. The Pali Tripitaka is clearly the first and last stop for anyone to learn the dhamma through the buddha's words. The Dhamma again is a timeless teaching in itself, in that it is always applicable , at any time , to any human condition. It truly is a complete doctrine in itself. And I would always request people to read the original scriptures(be it any religion/practice/doctrine) before reading any third-party commentary.


The entire Pali Tripitaka collection itself is very very huge, and it can almost cover five feet of shelf space. The entire HardBound Tripitaka collection is available for about 1000-2000$ from the Pali Text Society. i must emphasise the fact that not all of the Tripitaka has been translated into english uptill now.


I would personally suggest you to go for an Online version, it has certain advantages such as fast searching,and better cross-indexing. According to my knowledge 'Access to Insight' is the most comprehensive collection of English translations of the Pali Tripitaka. it also has an extensive list of all terravadan teachers and their important writings.

Upon visiting the site and after reading a few suttas , you might naturally have the tendency to locate a complete EBook version of the translations for off-line viewing. In the Home page of 'Access to Insight' there is link to download the whole Website for offline viewing (Note: its about 100 MB). Please keep in mind that you are downloading html files and not a PDF format of the Tripitaka.


Another method for you have an organized offline version of 'Access to Insight' is to get a free software called HTTrack, which allows you to easily download and view an entire website(including it sub-pages and linked pages). And after that your would have your very own offline electronic version of the Pali Tripitaka in English.


Hope this was helpful,
Sachin

Related Links:
1. www.accesstoinsight.org
2.HTTrack Free Website capture Software
3.http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Tipitaka