Digha Nikaya
Encyclopedia
The Digha Nikaya is a Buddhist
scripture, the first of the five nikaya
s, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka
, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali
Tipitaka of Theravada
Buddhism. Some of the most commonly referenced suttas
from the Digha Nikaya include the Maha-parinibbana Sutta (DN 16), which described the final days and death of the Buddha, the Sigalovada Sutta
(DN 31) in which the Buddha discusses ethics and practices for lay followers, and the Samaññaphala
(DN 2), Brahmajala Sutta
(DN 1) which describes and compares the point-of-view of Buddha and other ascetics in India about the universe and time (past, present, and future); and Potthapada (DN 9) Suttas, which describe the benefits and practice of samatha
meditation.
Selections (more than one sutta):
The individual discourses are:
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
scripture, the first of the five nikaya
Nikaya
Nikāya is a word of meaning "collection", "assemblage", "class" or "group" in both Pāḷi and Sanskrit. It is most commonly used in reference to the Buddhist texts of the Sutta Piṭaka, but can also refer to the monastic divisions of Theravāda Buddhism...
s, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka
Sutta Pitaka
The Sutta Pitaka is the second of the three divisions of the Tipitaka or Pali Canon, the Pali collection of Buddhist writings, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism...
, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
Tipitaka of Theravada
Theravada
Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
Buddhism. Some of the most commonly referenced suttas
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
from the Digha Nikaya include the Maha-parinibbana Sutta (DN 16), which described the final days and death of the Buddha, the Sigalovada Sutta
Sigalovada Sutta
Sigalovada Sutta is the 31st Sutta described in the Digha Nikaya . It is also known as the Sīgāla Sutta, the Sīgālaka Sutta, the Sigālovāda Sutta, and the Sigālovāda Suttanta ....
(DN 31) in which the Buddha discusses ethics and practices for lay followers, and the Samaññaphala
Samaññaphala Sutta
The Samaññaphala Sutta is the second discourse of all 34 Digha Nikaya discourses. The title means, "The Fruit of Contemplative Life Discourse."...
(DN 2), Brahmajala Sutta
Brahmajala Sutta (Theravada)
The Brahmajala Sutta is the first of 34 suttas in the Digha Nikaya . The name comes from 'brahma' and 'jala'...
(DN 1) which describes and compares the point-of-view of Buddha and other ascetics in India about the universe and time (past, present, and future); and Potthapada (DN 9) Suttas, which describe the benefits and practice of samatha
Samatha
Samatha , śamatha "calm abiding," comprises a suite, type or style of Buddhist meditation or concentration practices designed to enhance sustained voluntary attention, and culminates in an attention that can be sustained effortlessly for hours on end...
meditation.
Translations
- Dialogues of the Buddha, tr T. W. and C. A. F. Rhys Davids, 1899–1921, 3 volumes, Pali Text SocietyPali Text SocietyThe Pali Text Society was founded in 1881 by T.W. Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pali texts".Pali is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism is preserved...
http://www.palitext.com - 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
Selections (more than one sutta):
- 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
Correspondence with the Dīrgha Āgama
The Digha Nikaya corresponds to the Dīrgha Āgama found in the Sutra Pitikas of various Sanskritic early Buddhists 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 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.Divisions
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 jhanas (the main attainments of samathaSamathaSamatha , śamatha "calm abiding," comprises a suite, type or style of Buddhist meditation or concentration practices designed to enhance sustained voluntary attention, and culminates in an attention that can be sustained effortlessly for hours on end...
meditation), the cultivation of psychic powers and becoming an arahant - Maha-vagga—The Great Division (suttas 14-23)
- Patika-vagga—The Patika Division (suttas 24-34)
The individual discourses are:
- Brahmajala SuttaBrahmajala SuttaThe Brahmajala Sutta is the first of 34 suttas in the Digha Nikaya . The name comes from 'brahma' and 'jala'...
(-jāla-): mainly concerned with 62 types of wrong view - Samannaphala SuttaSamaññaphala SuttaThe Samaññaphala Sutta is the second discourse of all 34 Digha Nikaya discourses. The title means, "The Fruit of Contemplative Life Discourse."...
(sāmañña-): King Ajatasattu of Magadha asks the Buddha about the benefits in this life of being a samanaShramanaA shramana is a wandering monk in certain ascetic traditions of ancient India including Jainism, Buddhism, and Ājīvikism. Famous śramaṇas include Mahavira and Gautama Buddha....
(most often translated as "recluse"); the Buddha's main reply is in terms of becoming an arahant by the path outlined above - Ambattha Sutta : Ambattha the brahmin is sent by his teacher to find whether the Buddha possesses the 32 bodily marks, but on arrival he is rude to the Buddha on grounds of descent; the Buddha responds that he is actually higher born than Ambattha and that society treats aristocrats like himself as higher ranking than brahmins, but that he considers those fulfilled in conduct and wisdom as higher, and he explains conduct and wisdom as above
- Sonadanta Sutta : the Buddha asks Sonadanda the brahmin what are the qualities that make a brahmin; Sonadanda gives five, but the Buddha asks if any can be omitted and beats him down to two, morality and wisdom, which he explains as above
- Kutadanta Sutta : Kutadanta the brahmin asks the Buddha how to perform a sacrifice (Rhys Davids considers this an example of a peculiar straight-faced sort of humour to be found in texts such as this); the Buddha replies by telling of one of his past lives, as chaplain to a king, where they performed a sacrifice which consisted of making offerings, with no animals killed; Kutadanta asks whether there are any better sacrifices, and the Buddha recommends in succession going to the Three Refuges, taking the Five Precepts and the path as above
- Mahali Sutta (mahāli-): in reply to a question as to why a certain monk sees divine sights but does not hear divine sounds, the Buddha explains that it is because of the way he has directed his meditation; he then reports the following sutta
- Jaliya Sutta (jāliya-): asked by two brahmins whether the soul and the body are the same or different, the Buddha describes the path as above, and asks whether one who has fulfilled it would bother with such questions
- Kassapa Sihanada Sutta (-sīhanāda-),Maha Sihanada Sutta (mahā-) or Sihanada Sutta; the word sihanada literally means lion's roar: this discourse is concerned with asceticism
- Potthapada Sutta : asked about the cause of the arising of saññā, usually translated as perception, the Buddha says it is through training; he explains the path as above up to the jhanas and the arising of their perceptions, and then continues with the first three formless attainments; the sutta then moves on to other topics, the self and the unanswered questions
- Subha Sutta: AnandaAnandaĀnanda was one of the principal disciples and a devout attendant of the Buddha. Amongst the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda had the most retentive memory and most of the suttas in the Sutta Pitaka are attributed to his recollection of the Buddha's teachings during the First Buddhist Council...
explains the path as above - Kevaddha Sutta (or ) or Kevatta Sutta : Kevaddha asks the Buddha why he does not gain disciples by working miracles; the Buddha explains that people would simply dismiss this as magic and that the real miracle is the training of his followers
- Lohicca Sutta: on good and bad teachers
- Tevijja Sutta: asked about the path to union with Brahma, the Buddha explains it in terms of the path as above, but ending with the four brahmaviharas; the abbreviated way the text is written out makes it unclear how much of the path comes before this; Professor Gombrich has argued that the Buddha was meaning union with Brahma as synonymous with nirvana
- Mahapadana Sutta (mahāpadāna-): mainly telling the story of a past Buddha up to somewhat after his enlightenment; the story is similar to that of "our" Buddha
- Maha Nidana Sutta (-nidāna-): on dependent originationPratitya-samutpadaDependent origination or dependent arising is a cardinal doctrine of Buddhism, and arguably the only thing that holds every Buddhist teaching together from Theravada to Dzogchen to the extinct schools. As a concept and a doctrine it has a general and a specific application, both being integral to...
- Maha Parinibbana SuttaMahaparinibbana SuttaFor the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra see Nirvana Sutra.----The Mahaparinibbana Sutta is a Theravada Buddhist sutta in the Digha Nikaya of the Tipitaka...
(-nibbāna-): story of the last few months of the Buddha's life, his death and funeral and the distribution of his relics - Mahasudassana Sutta: story of one of the Buddha's past lives, as a king; the description of his palace has close vebal similarities to that of the Pure LandPure landA pure land, in Mahayana Buddhism, is the celestial realm or pure abode of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. The various traditions that focus on Pure Lands have been given the nomenclature Pure Land Buddhism. Pure lands are also evident in the literature and traditions of Taoism and Bön.The notion of 'pure...
, and Dr Rupert GethinRupert GethinDr. Rupert Mark Lovell Gethin is a Lecturer in Indian Religions in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and codirector of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol, and president of the Pali Text Society...
has suggested this as a precursor - Janavasabha Sutta: King Bimbisara of Magadha, reborn as the god Janavasabha, tells the Buddha that his teaching has resulted in increased numbers of people being reborn as gods (according to the Buddhist scriptures, Bimbisara was a Buddhist, but the Jain scriptures say he was a Jain)
- Maha-Govinda Sutta: story of a past life of the Buddha
- Mahasamaya Sutta: long versified list of gods coming to honour the Buddha
- Sakkapanha Sutta (-pañha-): the Buddha answers questions from Sakka, ruler of the gods (a Buddhist version of IndraIndra' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...
) - Maha Satipatthana Sutta : the basis for one of the present-day Burmese vipassanaVipassanaVipassanā or vipaśyanā in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the true nature of reality. A regular practitioner of Vipassana is known as a Vipassi . Vipassana is one of the world's most ancient techniques of meditation, the inception of which is attributed to Gautama Buddha...
meditation traditions; many people have it read or recited to them on their deathbeds - Payasi Sutta (pāyāsi-) or Payasi Rajanna Sutta (-rājañña-): dialogue between the sceptical prince of the title and a monk
- Patika Sutta or Pathika Sutta (pāthika-): a monk has left the order because he says the Buddha does not work miracles; most of the sutta is taken up with accounts of miracles the Buddha has worked
- Udumbarika Sihanada Sutta or Udumbarika Sutta: another discourse on asceticism
- Cakkavatti Sihanada Sutta or Cakkavatti Sutta: story of humanity's decline from a golden age in the past, with prophecy of eventual return
- Agganna SuttaAggañña SuttaAggañña Sutta is the 27th Sutta of Digha Nikaya collections. The sutta describes a discourse imparted from the Buddha to two brahmins, Bharadvaja and Vasettha, who left their family and caste to become monks. The two brahmins are insulted and maligned by their own caste for their intention to...
(aggañña-): another decline story - Sampasadaniya Sutta (-pasādaniya- or -pasādanīya-): Sariputta praises the Buddha
- Pasadika Sutta (pāsādika-): the Buddha's response to the news of the death of his rival, the founder of JainismJainismJainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
, covering various topics - Lakkhana Sutta : explains the actions of the Buddha in his previous lives leading to his 32 bodily marks; thus it describes practices of a bodhisattvaBodhisattvaIn Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
(perhaps the earliest such description) - Singalovada SuttaSigalovada SuttaSigalovada Sutta is the 31st Sutta described in the Digha Nikaya . It is also known as the Sīgāla Sutta, the Sīgālaka Sutta, the Sigālovāda Sutta, and the Sigālovāda Suttanta ....
, Singala Sutta, Singalaka Sutta or Sigala Sutta: traditionally regarded as the lay vinayaVinayaThe Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline... - Atanatiya SuttaAtanatiya SuttaAtanatiya Sutta is the 32nd Sutta described in the Digha Nikaya . The King Vessavana give the Buddha a poem for his followers, male and female, monastic and lay, to recite for protection from evil spirits.-King Vessavana:...
: gods give the Buddha a poem for his followers, male and female, monastic and lay, to recite for protection from evil spirits; it sets up a mandalaMandalaMaṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...
or circle of protection and a version of this sutta is classified as a tantraTantraTantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
in Tibet and Japan - Sangiti Sutta ; L. S. Cousins has tentatively suggested that this was the first sutta created as a literary text, at the Second Council, his theory being that sutta was originally a pattern of teaching rather than a body of literature; it is taught by Sariputta at the Buddha's request, and gives lists arranged numerically from ones to tens (cf. Anguttara NikayaAnguttara NikayaThe Anguttara Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the fourth of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that comprise the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
); a version of this belonging to another school was used as the basis for one of the books of their Abhidharma Pitaka - Dasuttara Sutta: similar to the preceding sutta but with a fixed format; there are ten categories, and each number has one list in each; this material is also used in the PatisambhidamaggaPatisambhidamaggaThe Patisambhidamagga is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there as the twelfth book of the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya. Tradition ascribes it to the Buddha's disciple Sariputta...
See also
- Agama
- Anguttara NikayaAnguttara NikayaThe Anguttara Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the fourth of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that comprise the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
- Buddhist textsBuddhist textsBuddhist texts can be categorized in a number of ways. The Western terms "scripture" and "canonical" are applied to Buddhism in inconsistent ways by Western scholars: for example, one authority refers to "scriptures and other canonical texts", while another says that scriptures can be categorized...
- Khuddaka NikayaKhuddaka NikayaThe Khuddaka Nikaya is the last of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism...
- List of Digha Nikaya suttas
- List of suttas
- Majjhima NikayaMajjhima NikayaThe Majjhima Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
- Samyutta NikayaSamyutta NikayaThe Samyutta Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the third of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism. Because of the abbreviated way parts of the text are written, the total number of suttas is...