The Pali Text Society (PTS) was founded in 1881 by T. W. Rhys Davids ‘to foster and promote the study of Pali texts’. To this end it publishes editions of Pali texs in Roman script, English translations and ancillary works, including dictionaries, grammars, a Pali primer and a journal.

Since its foundation the Society has published editions and translations of nearly all the Pali canonical texts, as well as editions of most of the principal commentaries and translations of some. The Society aims to keep almost all its publications in print and to produce at least two new books and a volume of its Journal each year. Alongside its publishing activities, it offers research grants to support scholars working in the field of Pali studies around the world.

The Society is a registered charity and a non-profit-making organization: it  depends on the sale of its publications, on members’ subscriptions and on the generosity of donors.

The Society is governed by a Council, which meets twice a year. Membership is available to all those interested in the study of Pali texts who wish to support the Scociety in its aims. Paid up members, both ‘ordinary’ and ‘sponsoring’, receive a 20% reduction on the purchase of all PTS publications and are entitled to attend the AGM, which takes place in London each September.

The Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge holds archives relating to the Pali Text Society.