Digha Nikaya
The Long Discourses
© 2005
The Digha Nikaya, or “Collection of Long Discourses” (Pali digha = “long”) is the first division of the Sutta Pitaka, and consists of thirty-four suttas, grouped into three vaggas, or divisions:
Silakkhandha-vagga — The Division Concerning Morality (13 suttas)
Maha-vagga — The Large Division (10 suttas)
Patika-vagga — The Patika Division (11 suttas)
An excellent modern translation of the complete Digha Nikaya is Maurice Walshe’s The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya (formerly titled: Thus Have I Heard) (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1987). A fine anthology of selected suttas is Handful of Leaves (Vol. 1), by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (distributed by the PTS).
The Digha Nikaya (dīghanikāya; “Collection of Long Discourses”) is a Buddhist scripture, the first 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. 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[1] (DN 9) Suttas, which describe the benefits and practice of samatha meditation.