The ''Dīgha Nikāya'' ("Collection of Long Discourses") is a Buddhist scriptures collection, the first of the five Nikāyas, or collections, in the Sutta Piṭaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipiṭaka of Theravada Buddhism. Some of the most commonly referenced

suttas Buddhist texts are religious texts that belong to, or are associated with, Buddhism and Schools of Buddhism, its traditions. There is no single textual collection for all of Buddhism. Instead, there are three main Buddhist Canons: the Pāli C ...

from the Digha Nikaya include the '' Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta'' (DN 16), which describes the final days and passing of the Buddha, the ''

Sigālovāda Sutta ''Sigālovāda Sutta'' is the 31st Sutta described in the Digha Nikaya ("Long Discourses of Gautama Buddha, Buddha"). It is also known as the ''Sīgāla Sutta'', the ''Sīgālaka Sutta'', the ''Sigālovāda Sutta'', the ''Sigāla Sutta,'' and t ...

'' (DN 31) in which the Buddha discusses

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

and practices for lay followers, and the '' Samaññaphala Sutta'' (DN 2) and '' Brahmajāla Sutta'' (DN 1) which describe and compare the point of view of the Buddha and other ascetics in India about the universe and time (past, present, and future); and the '' Poṭṭhapāda'' (DN 9) Sutta, which describes the benefits and practice of Samatha meditation.

Overview

The Digha Nikaya consists of 34 discourses, broken into three groups: *Silakkhandha-vagga—The Division Concerning Morality (suttas 1-13); named after a tract on monks' morality that occurs in each of its suttas (in theory; in practice it is not written out in full in all of them); in most of them it leads on to the jhānas (the main attainments of samatha meditation), the cultivation of psychic powers and attaining the fruit of an Arhat. *Maha-vagga—The Great Division (suttas 14-23) *Patika-vagga—The Patika Division (suttas 24-34)

Parallel

The Digha Nikaya corresponds to the '' Dīrgha Āgama'' found in the Sutta Piṭakas of various Sanskritic early Buddhist schools, fragments of which survive in Sanskrit. A complete version of the Dīrgha Āgama of the Dharmagupta school survives in Chinese translation by the name ''Zhǎng Āhánjīng'' (長阿含經). It contains 30 sūtras in contrast to the 34 suttas of the Theravadin Dīgha Nikāya. In addition, portions of the Sarvāstivādin school's Dīrgha Āgama survive in Sanskrit and in Tibetan translation.''A Dictionary of Buddhism,'' by Damien Keown, Oxford University Press: 2004

Translations

Complete translations

*
Dīgha Nikāya , The Long Collection
' by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu * ''Dialogues of the Buddha'', tr T. W. and C. A. F. Rhys Davids, 1899–1921, 3 volumes, Pali Text Society
Vol. 1Vol. 2Vol. 3
* ''Thus Have I Heard: the Long Discourses of the Buddha'', tr Maurice Walshe, Wisdom Pubs, 1987; later reissued under the original subtitle; *''The Long Discourses,'' tr Bhikkhu Sujato, 2018
published online at SuttaCentral
and released into the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

Selections

* ''The Buddha's Philosophy of Man'', Rhys Davids tr, rev Trevor Ling, Everyman, out of print; 10 suttas including 2, 16, 22, 31 * ''Long Discourses of the Buddha'', tr Mrs A. A. G. Bennett, Bombay, 1964; 1-16 * ''Ten Suttas from Digha Nikaya'', Burma Pitaka Association, Rangoon, 1984; 1, 2, 9, 15, 16, 22, 26, 28-9, 31

Notes

External links

Very accurate and complete Digha Nikaya in Pali and a Sinhala translation at tipitaka.lkFree listing of all the Suttas (Alpha by sutta title)Digha Nikaya in English, Nepali and Nepalbhasha
{{Buddhism topics Theravada Buddhist texts Pali Buddhist texts