The Dighajanu Sutta (Pali ), also known as the Byagghapajja Sutta or Vyagghapajja Sutta, is part of the Anguttara Nikaya (AN 8.54). For

Theravadin ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

scholars, this discourse of the

Pāli Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During th ...

is one of several considered key to understanding Buddhist lay ethics. In this discourse, the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

instructs a

householder Householder may refer to: *Householder, a person who is the head of a household *Householder (Buddhism), a Buddhist term most broadly referring to any layperson * Householder (surname), notable people with the surname *''The Householder'', a 1963 I ...

named , a

Koliya Koliya (Pāli: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan clan of north-eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Koliyas were organised into a (an aristocratic oligarchic republic), presently referred to as the Koliya Republ ...

n householder, on eight personality traits or conditions that lead to happiness and well-being in this and future lives.

Text

Dighajanu seeks householder happiness

In this discourse (

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

: '' sutta''), the townsman Dighajanu says to the Buddha the following: :'We are lay people enjoying sensuality; living crowded with spouses & children; using Kasi fabrics & sandalwood; wearing garlands, scents, & creams; handling gold & silver. May the Blessed One teach the

Dhamma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ''d ...

for those like us, for our happiness & well-being in this life ... ndin lives to come.'

Happiness in this life

In response, the Buddha first identifies four traits conducive to happiness (Pali: ''

sukha ''Sukha'' (Pali and ) means happiness, pleasure, ease, joy or bliss. Among the early scriptures, 'sukha' is set up as a contrast to 'preya' (प्रेय) meaning a transient pleasure, whereas the pleasure of 'sukha' has an authentic state h ...

'') in this life: * hard-working ('), being skilled and diligent in ones livelihood; * vigilance (''ārakkha-sampadā''), protecting ones wealth from theft and disaster; * virtuous friendship ( '), associating with and emulating those embodying faith, virtue, generosity and wisdom; and, * balanced living (''sama-jīvikatā''), abstaining from womanizing, drunkenness, gambling and evil friendships. In this discourse, the Buddha describes wealth worthy of the householder's protection as being: :'wealth acquired by energetic striving, :amassed by the strength of his arms, :earned by the sweat of his brow, :righteous wealth righteously gained.'

Happiness in future lives

Regarding four traits conducive to happiness in future lives, the Buddha identifies accomplishments (''sampadā'') in: * faith (''saddhā''), in the fully enlightened Buddha; * virtue (''sīla''), as exemplified by

the Five Precepts The Five precepts ( sa, pañcaśīla, italic=yes; pi, pañcasīla, italic=yes) or five rules of training ( sa, pañcaśikṣapada, italic=yes; pi, pañcasikkhapada, italic=yes) is the most important system of morality for Buddhist lay peo ...

; * generosity (''cāga''), giving charity and

alms Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of virtue or Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving, and it is a widespread p ...

; and, * wisdom (''paññā''), having insight into the arising and passing of things. This discourse ends with the following refrain: :Thus to the layman full of faith, :By him, so truly named 'Enlightened,' :These eight conditions have been told :Which now and after lead to bliss.

Context

This discourse is one of the core texts in the Pali canon for understanding the Buddha's moral expectations of his lay followers.

Right conduct

Bhikkhu Bodhi Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944), born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publica ...

describes this discourse as one of "a number of texts dealing with different aspects of household life united by an emphasis on

right livelihood The Noble Eightfold Path (Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana. The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: ri ...

" (Pali: ''sammājiva''). Bodhi identifies a common thread among such texts as being an emphasis on right conduct, as exemplified by adherence to the

Five Precepts The Five precepts ( sa, pañcaśīla, italic=yes; pi, pañcasīla, italic=yes) or five rules of training ( sa, pañcaśikṣapada, italic=yes; pi, pañcasikkhapada, italic=yes) is the most important system of morality for Buddhist lay peo ...

. In addition to the precepts, as in the Sigalovada Sutta, this discourse also warns against the dangers of libertinism and commends the keeping of good-hearted friends.

Understanding kamma

In suttas such as this one, Bodhi identifies a second common thread to what might be referred to as the pursuit of a kammic consciousness. Discussing the broader context of Buddhist ethics, Ven.

Narada Mahathera Narada Mahathera ( si, නාරද මහා ස්ථවිරයන් වහන්සේ), born Sumanapala Perera (14 July 1898 – 2 October 1983) was a Theravada Buddhist monk, scholar, translator, educator and Buddhist missionary who w ...

states: :The question of incurring the pleasure or displeasure of a God does not enter the mind of a Buddhist. Neither hope of reward nor fear of punishment acts as an incentive to him to do good or to refrain from evil. A Buddhist is aware of future consequences, but he refrains from evil because it retards, does good because it aids progress to Enlightenment.... In this sutta in particular such an awareness is underlined by Dighajanu's concern for happiness in ones ''future''

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

. Bodhi notes: :For

Early Buddhism The term Early Buddhism can refer to at least two distinct periods in the History of Buddhism, mostly in the History of Buddhism in India: * Pre-sectarian Buddhism, which refers to the teachings and monastic organization and structure, founded by Ga ...

, the ideal householder is not merely a devout supporter of the monastic order but a noble person who has attained at least the first of the four stages of realization, the fruition of stream-entry (''sotāpatti'').

Wisdom

Such a realization on the Buddhist path requires more than ethical business conduct. Narada comments: :Conduct, though essential, is itself insufficient to gain one's emancipation. It should be coupled with wisdom or knowledge (''pañña''). The base of Buddhism is morality, and wisdom is its apex.Narada (1995), Ch. IV. Likewise, in his discourse to Dighajanu, the Buddha identifies wisdom as the ultimate trait for a householder to nurture and embody.

Notes

Bibliography

* Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2005). ''In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon''. Boston: Wisdom Publications. . *Indaratana Maha Thera, Elgiriye (2002). ''Vandana: The Album of Pali Devotional Chanting and Hymns''. Penang, Malaysia:Mahindarama Dhamma Publication. Available on-line at https://web.archive.org/web/20121114032020/http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/vandana02.pdf. *Narada Mahathera (1995). ''Buddhism in a Nutshell''. Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/narada/nutshell.html. *Narada ahahera (trans.) (1997). ''Dighajanu (Vyagghapajja) Sutta: Conditions of Welfare'' ( AN 8.54). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an08/an08.054.nara.html. *Nyanaponika Thera & Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.) (1999). ''Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: An Anthology of Suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya''. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. . * Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). ''The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English dictionary''. Chipstead:

Pali Text Society The Pali Text Society is a text publication society founded in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pāli texts". Pāli is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism are preserved. The Pā ...

. A general on-line search engine for the PED is available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/. *Saddhatissa, Hammalawa (1987). ''Buddhist Ethics''. London: Wisdom Publications. . * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1995). ''Dighajanu (Vyagghapajja) Sutta: To Dighajanu'' (AN 8.54). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an08/an08.054.than.html. *Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997). ''Anana Sutta: Debtless'' (AN 4.62). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.062.than.html. *www.metta.lk (Mettanet-Lanka) (''undated''). ''Gotamīvaggo'' (AN 8.2.6). omanized Pali Available on-line at https://web.archive.org/web/20170621032625/http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara5/8-atthakanipata/006-gotamivaggo-p.html. The ' is identified as "8. 2. 6. 4".

External links

With Dīghajāṇu
translation by

Bhikkhu Sujato Bhante Sujato, known as Ajahn Sujato or Bhikkhu Sujato (born Anthony Best), is an Australian Theravada Buddhist monk ordained into the Thai forest lineage of Ajahn Chah. Life Bhante Sujato identifies as an anarchist. A former musician with t ...

(2018). {{Buddhism topics Anguttara Nikaya