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]
Contents
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 SocietyVol. 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 SuttaCentraland 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
See also
*The other Nikayas of the
Sutta Piṭaka, in their traditional order:
**
Majjhima Nikaya
**
Samyutta Nikaya
**
Anguttara Nikaya
**
Khuddaka Nikaya
*
Pali Canon
The Pāḷi Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...
*
Early Buddhist texts
*
List of suttas in the Pali Canon
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