Sigalovada Sutta is the 31st Sutta described in the

Digha Nikaya Digha is a seaside resort town in the state of West Bengal, India. It lies in Purba Medinipur district and at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal. It has a low gradient with a shallow sand beach. It is a popular sea resort in West Bengal. H ...

("Long Discourses of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a 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 born in L ...

"). It is also known as the Sīgāla Sutta, the Sīgālaka Sutta, the Sigālovāda Sutta, and the Sigālovāda Suttanta ("The Sigāla Homily"). Buddhaghosa has referred to this sutta as "the Vinaya uddhist code of disciplineof the householder." In modern times,

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 Publ ...

has identified this sutta as the "most comprehensive

Nikāya ''Nikāya'' () is a Pāli word meaning "volume". It is often used like the Sanskrit word '' āgama'' () to mean "collection", "assemblage", "class" or "group" in both Pāḷi and Sanskrit. It is most commonly used in reference to the Pali Buddhist ...

text" which pertains "to the happiness directly visible in this present life."

Sutta summary

Sigala's honoring his father

The Sigalovada Sutta takes place when Buddha encountered a youth called Sigala in his morning stroll. The young man, in drenched attire, prostrated and worshipped the four compass directions (East, South, West, and North), plus the Earth (Down) and the Sky (Up). When asked by Buddha why he did so, the youth Sigala replied that he had been told by his late father to do so and he thought that it was right to uphold his father's wishes. Buddha then, based on Sigala's point of view, taught him how a noble one (Pali: ''ariya'') should worship the Six directions.

Avoid evil ways

The Buddha first describes fourteen evil ways that should be avoided by a householder. The Buddha enumerates these evil ways to be avoided as: *the four defilements of action: :#taking life (''panatipata'') :#stealing (''adinnadana'') ;#sexual misconduct (''kamesu micchacara'') :#lying (''musavada'') *the four causes of evil action: :#sensual desire (''kama chanda'') :#hate (''dosa'') :#ignorance (''moha'') :#fear (''bhaya'') *the six ways of squandering wealth: :#indulging in intoxicants :#wandering the streets at inappropriate times :#frequenting public spectacle :#compulsive gambling :#malevolent companionship :#habitual idleness

Choose true friends

The Buddha then elaborated on the importance of having and being a true friend, as he described what true friends are; and what true friends are not; and, how true friends will aid in attaining a blissful life.

Protect close relationships

Finally, returning to the topic of the six directions, the Buddha described the Four Compass Direction as : parents (East), teachers (South), spouse (West), and friends and colleagues (North), and the two vertical directions as: ascetics (Up) and the Servants (Down). He elaborated on how to respect and support them, and how in turn the Six will return the kindness and support. The householder's commitments and the reciprocal acts of those he honors, as identified by the Buddha, are represented below in accordance with the four directions on the horizontal plane (east, south, west and north):

Contemporary commentaries

Bhikkhu Bodhi has contrasted the Buddha's responsibility-reciprocity statements with modern-day social theory, stating:

"This practice of 'worshipping the six directions,' as explained by the Buddha, presupposes that society is sustained by a network of interlocking relationships that bring coherence to the social order when its members fulfill their reciprocal duties and responsibilities in a spirit of kindness, sympathy, and good will.... Thus, for Early Buddhism, the social stability and security necessary for human happiness and fulfillment are achieved, not through aggressive and potentially disruptive demands for 'rights' posed by competing groups, but by the renunciation of self-interest and the development of a sincere, large-hearted concern for the welfare of others and the good of the greater whole."Bodhi (2005), pp. 109-10.

Notes

References

*Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (2005), ''In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon''. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications. . *Hinüber, Oskar von (2000). ''A Handbook on Pāli Literature''. Berlin: de Gruyter. . *Kelly, John, Sue Sawyer & Victoria Yareham (2005). ''DN 31, Sigalovada Sutta: The Buddha's Advice to Sigalaka''. Available on-line at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.31.0.ksw0.html. *Law, Bimala Churn (1932–33), "Nirvana and Buddhist Laymen" in the ''Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute'', Vol. 14, 1932-1933, pp. 80–86. Available on-line at: http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-ENG/lawn.htm. *Narada Thera (1995). ''Everyman's Ethics: Four Discourses of the Buddha''. Available on-line at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/narada/wheel014.html. *Narada Thera (trans.) (1996). ''DN 31, Sigalovada Sutta: The Discourse to Sigala, The Layperson's Code of Discipline''. Available on-line at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.31.0.nara.html. *Walshe, Maurice (1995). ''The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya''. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications. . {{Buddhism topics Digha Nikaya Buddhist ethics