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Some Important Features of the Dīgha-Nikāya

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Some Important Features of the Dīgha-Nikāya CHAPTER THREE: SOME IMPORTANT FEATURES OF THE DĪGHA-NIKĀYA I. The General Outlook The Dīgha-Nikāya (D), the first book of the Sutta Piṭaka is a collection of 34 suttas most of which are considerably long (dīgha) and hence its name. The whole collection is divided into three parts (vagga). They are Sīlakkhandha-Vagga, Mahā-Vagga, and Pāṭika-Vagga which contain thirteen (D1-13), ten (D14-23) and eleven (D24-34) suttas respectively. The arrangement of the suttas points to an attempt by the compilers to group together, as far as possible, suttas related in content. The heterogeneous character of the suttas seems to have made the compiler’s task difficult. Not only in content, even in form the D is of heterogeneous character.192 In form the Sīlakkhandha-Vagga on the whole is in prose, while the suttas of other two vaggas are a mixture of prose and verse, a form so popular in India. Winternitz points out, “The verses are either ballad verses (as in D16, D18, D19, and D21) or momentous utterances (as in D16, D17). Elsewhere we find (as in D30, D31) a consonant interchange between prose and gāthās, such as we shall frequently come across in Sanskrit and half Sanskrit Buddhist texts. Suttas D20 and D32 193 are almost entirely in verse.” 192 EB. IV. p. 610 193 Winternitz, M., A history of Indian literature, Vol. II. Eng. Trans. By Srinivasa Sarma, V., Motilal, Rep. 1993, Delhi. p. 35 81 G. K. Wijesekera comments, “A perusal of the text reveals that unlike the other four divisions of the sutta-piṭaka, the D on the whole abounds with material ABOUT Buddhism than ON Buddhism itself. This becomes very obvious when one compares the contents of the D with that of the Majjhima-Nikāya, consisting of a large number of suttas devoted to the discussion of doctrinal problems forming the crux of the Buddha’s teaching. It is not suggested that the D is completely devoid of doctrinal discussion; what is meant is that, on the whole, background information about the Buddhism preponderate over doctrinal discussion.”194 The D, thus, could justifiably be called a mine of information about the religious, social, economic and political conditions of India prior to and during the time of the Buddha. It also helps one to get an idea of the numerous forces the Buddha had to contend with, the prevalent social and religious views which he had to debunk and the methods he had to adopt in successfully propagating his teaching.195 Each individual sutta treats intensively some particular points of doctrine and could be as well considered as an independent work. Therefore some suttas such as Brahmajāla (D1), Mahānidāna (D15), Mahāparinibbāna (D16), Siṇgālovāda (D31) and so on are separately translated by various translators in China and prevailed to the northern Buddhist countries.196 The chronology of the suttas in the D is a much vexed problem. Yet, however, there is no consensus of opinion among scholars with regard to 194 EB. IV. p. 611 195 Ibid. 196 Cf. Chizen Akanuma, The Comparative Catalogue of Chinese Āgamas & Pāli Nikāyas, Hajinkaku-Shobo, 1958, Tokyo 82 the exact chronological order of the suttas. Winternitz says, “The three vaggas of the D contain earlier and later strata of tradition. The earliest stratum is represented principally in the first book, and the later one, mainly in the third book, whilst the second book is composed of the longest suttas, some of which have grown into their present bulk owing to interpolation”.197 P.V. Bapat is of opinion, “the whole work differs in contents and character, but all of which contain earlier and later strata of tradition.”198 G.C. Pande making a general observation states, “the order of the Pāli sutta groups seem to show roughly the historical phenomena of later writings being added to earlier ones since the third and the second books of the Pāli Dīgha-Nikāya are on the whole recognizably later than the first”.199 B.C. Law also remarks, “We may, then, be justified in assigning the whole of the Dīgha-Nikāya to a pre-Aśokan age, there being no trace of any historical event or development which might have happened after King Aśoka. The only exception that one has to make is in the case of the concluding verses of the Mahāparinibbāna suttanta200 which were interpolated, according to Buddhaghosa, in Ceylon by the teachers of that island. Like the first volume of the D, the whole of the Majjhima-Nikāya strikes us as the most authoritative and original among 201 the collection of the Buddha’s teaching”. 197 Winternitz, M., ibid., p. 35 198 Bapat, P. V., Different Strata in the Literary Material of the Dīgha-Nikāya, BORI. Vol. VIII. 1926, Pune, p. 1 ff. 199 Pande, G.C., Studies in Origin of Buddhism, Motilal, 1974, Delhi, p. 79 200 In Pāli Suttanta and Sutta are the same, having equal sense of a thread, string, a dialogue, a discourse, a rule, or an aphorism. 201 Law, B.C., A history of Pāli literature, Indica Publication, Ed. 2000, Varanasi. p. 56 83 The problem of chronology becomes still complicated by the fact that certain suttas are remade up of portions belonging to early and late periods and this is exemplified by the Mahāparinibbāna sutta (D16) which contains a fairly detailed account of the last year of Buddha’s life. Suttas such as the Mahāpadāna (D14) and Lakkhaṇa (D30) whose contents reflect a stage in the development of Docetism could reasonably say to be of comparatively late origin. Perhaps, the Saṇgīti (D33) and Dasuttara (D34) suttas drawn up in a new format resembling the plan adopted regularly in the Aṅguttara-nikāya which enumerate and group main items numerically, in arithmetic progression could be justifiably assigned to a late period.202 II. The Formation of the Dīgha-Nikāya The standard for being included in the D is merely being ‘long’. All the 34 suttas of the D meet this standard. They are divided into three divisions and the lines below are for the statement of the formation of the D. The places where the suttas are preached are: Magadha fourteen times, Kosala ten, Sakka, Kuru, Campā and Malla twice each, Vesālī and Kosāmbi once each. Those who preach the suttas are: Buddha twenty eight times, Sāriputta thrice, Ānanda, Kumāra-Kassapa, and deva (Pañcassika of the gandhabbas) once. The people who listen to the teaching of the suttas are: bhikkhus fourteen times, brahmins seven, ascetics five, king or governor thrice, wealthy householder twice, deva 202 EB. IV. p. 611 84 (Inda) once, and the Buddha twice. Furthermore the following table would be supportive of the account given above.203 No. Division Sutta Place Preacher Listener Remark 1 Brahmajāla Magadha Buddha Bhikkhus Bhikkhu 2 Sāmaññaphala Magadha Buddha Ajātasattu King 3 Ambaṭṭha Kosala Buddha Ambaṭṭha Brahmin 4 Soṇadaṇḍa Campā Buddha Soṇadaṇḍa Brahmin 5 Kūṭadanta Magadha Buddha Kūṭadanta Brahmin 6 Sīla Mahāli Vesālī Buddha Mahāli Governor 7 Khandha Jāliya Kosāmbi Buddha Jāiya etc. Ascetic 8 Vagga Kassapa-Sīhanāda Kosala Buddha Kassapa Ascetic 9 Poṭṭhapāda Kosala Buddha Poṭṭhapāda Ascetic 10 Subha Kosala Ānanda Subha Brahmin 11 Kevaddha Magadha Buddha Kevaddha Householder 12 Lohicca Kosala Buddha Lohicca Brahmin 13 Tevijja Kosala Buddha Vāseṭṭha etc. Brahmin 14 Mahāpadāna Kosala Buddha Bhikkhus Bhikkhu 15 Mahānidāna Kuru Buddha Bhikkhus Bhikkhu 16 Mahā-parinibbāna Magadha Buddha Bhikkhus Bhikkhu 17 Mahāsudassana Magadha Buddha Ānanda Bhikkhu Mahā 18 Janavasubha Magadha Buddha Ānanda Bhikkhu Vagga 19 Mahāgovinda Magadha Pañcassika Buddha Buddha 20 Mahāsamaya Sakka Buddha Bhikkhus Bhikkhu 21 Sakkapañha Magadha Buddha Sakka deva 22 Mahā-satipaṭṭhāna Kuru Buddha Bhikkhus Bhikkhu 203 Kyak-Muk, Dīgha-Nikāya, Vol. I., The Early Buddhist’s Text Institute, 2006, Ulsan, pp.19-23 85 Kumāra- 23 Pāyāsi Kosala Pāyāsi Governor Kassapa Bhaggava- 24 Pāṭika Malla Buddha Ascetic gotta Udumbarika- 25 Magadha Buddha Nigrodha Ascetic Sīhanāda Cakkavatti- 26 Magadha Buddha Bhikkhus Bhikkhu Sīhanāda 27 Pāṭika Aggañña Kosala Buddha Vāseṭṭha etc. Brahmin 28 Vagga Sampasādanīya Magadha Sāriputa Buddha Buddha 29 Pāsādika Sakka Buddha Cunda Bhikkhu 30 Lakkhaṇa Kosala Buddha Bhikkhus Bhikkhu 31 Siṇgālovāda Magadha Buddha Siṇgāla Householder 32 Āṭānāṭiya Magadha Buddha Bhikkhus Bhikkhu 33 Sangīti Malla Sāriputta Bhikkhus Bhikkhu 34 Dasuttara Campā Sāriputta Bhikkhus Bhikkhu The six suttas out of thirty-four in the D are preached by Buddha’s great disciples, Sāriputta, Ānanda, and Kumāra-Kassapa and devas, which could be called supplementary suttas. One may think the whole of Sutta- Piṭaka is the word of the Buddha. The sutta, just like the Vinaya, should have only contained Buddha’s teaching. But it is not the case. If we compare the D with the Vinaya, we find that Vinaya is established by the Buddha alone in view of transgression by monks and nuns. The questionable point is about putting disciples’ discourses in the D. If we examine a bit closely, then we find that there is some historical significance of including these six suttas into the D. According to T.W. Rhys Davids the four great Nikāyas cannot have reached their final form 86 till about fifty years afterwards (Buddha’s passing). Other sayings and verses, most of them ascribed not to the Buddha himself, but to the disciples, were put into a supplementary Nikāya. We know of slight additions made to this Nikāya (D) as late as the time of Aśoka.204 According to Buddhist tradition the record of the first Buddhist council owns some doubtful issues.205 The reason why has two grounds. First, it is too early to put disciple’s sermon into the collection of sutta because it was the time when the tradition was so strong and a mainstream of the Saṅgha, and the community of the Buddhist monks and nuns.
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