Dīgha Nikāya
The Dīgha Nikāya 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 Pāli Tipiṭaka of Theravāda Buddhism. Some of the most commonly referenced suttas from the Dīgha Nikāya include the Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta, which describes the final days and passing of the Buddha, the Sigālovāda Sutta in which the Buddha discusses ethics and practices for lay followers, and the Samaññaphala Sutta and Brahmajāla Sutta which describe and compare the point of view of the Buddha and other ascetics in India about the universe and time ; and the Poṭṭhapāda Sutta, which describes the benefits and practice of Samatha meditation.
Overview
The Dīgha Nikāya consists of 34 discourses, broken into three groups:- Silakkhandha-vagga—The Division Concerning Morality ; named after a tract on monks' morality that occurs in each of its suttas ; in most of them it leads on to the jhānas, the cultivation of psychic powers and attaining the fruit of an Arhat.
- Maha-vagga—The Great Division
- Patika-vagga—The Patika Division
Parallel
The Dīgha Nikāya corresponds to the Dīrgha Āgama found in the Sūtra 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 under the name Zhǎng Āhánjīng. 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.Translations
Complete translations
by Ṭhānissaro BhikkhuDialogues of the Buddha, tr T. W. and C. A. F. Rhys Davids, 1899–1921, 3 volumes, Pali Text Society,,, .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, and released into the public domain.