Digha_Nikāya

<i>Dīgha Nikāya</i>

Dīgha Nikāya

1st Buddhist Scriptures Collection in Pāli Canon


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 from the Digha Nikaya include the Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta (DN 16), which describes the final days and passing of the Buddha, the Sigālovāda Sutta (DN 31) in which the Buddha discusses ethics 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.

Structure and contents

The Digha Nikaya consists of 34[1] discourses, broken into three groups:

  • Silakkhandha-vagga—The Division Concerning Morality (suttas 1-13);[1] 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 Arahant.
  • Maha-vagga—The Great Division (suttas 14-23)[1]
  • Patika-vagga—The Patika Division (suttas 24-34)[1]

Suttas of the Digha Nikaya

More information Sutta number, Pali title ...

Correspondence with the Dīrgha Āgama

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 Cháng Ahánjīng (ch: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.[14]

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. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3.
  • Thus Have I Heard: the Long Discourses of the Buddha, tr Maurice Walshe, Wisdom Pubs, 1987; later reissued under the original subtitle; ISBN 0-86171-103-3
  • The Long Discourses, tr Bhikkhu Sujato, 2018, published online at SuttaCentral and released into the public domain.

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


Notes

  1. "Digha Nikaya: The Long Discourses". www.accesstoinsight.org. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  2. "Brahmajāla Sutta: The All-embracing Net of Views". www.accesstoinsight.org. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  3. "English translation of DN 3, "To Ambaṭṭha"". Sutta Central. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  4. "English translation of DN 4, "To Soṇadaṇḍa"". Sutta Central. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  5. "English translation of DN 9, "To Poṭṭhapada"". Sutta Central. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  6. "English translation of DN 12, "Lohicca"". Sutta Central. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  7. Gombrich, Richard (1997), How Buddhism Began: The Conditioned Genesis of the Early Teachings, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., ISBN 81-215-0812-6
  8. Journal of the Pali Text Society, volume XXVIII
  9. Malalasekera, Dictionary of Pali Proper Names, volume II, page 564
  10. Skilling, Mahasutras, volume II, parts I & II, 1997, Pali Text Society, Bristol, pages 84n, 553ff, 617ff
  11. Pali oral literature, in Buddhist Studies, ed Denwood & Piatigorski, Curzon, London, 1982/3
  12. "DN34 Dasuttara Sutta: Expanding Decades". www.palicanon.org. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  13. A Dictionary of Buddhism, by Damien Keown, Oxford University Press: 2004

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