Ten Suttas From Digha Nikaya,Long Discourses of the Buddha by Sri Satguru Publication

Ten Suttas From Digha Nikaya,Long Discourses of the Buddha

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Ten Suttas From Digha Nikaya,Long Discourses of the Buddha
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Introduction

The Burma Pitaka Association was founded on 20th August,1980, by U Nu, former Prime Minister of Burma, with the concurrence of the Government of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma headed by the then President, U Ne Win. The primary aim of the Association is to promote through translations in English an understanding of the Pitaka texts as interpreted and accepted in Theravada Buddhism. After this translation of the original sources is completed, it is intended further to translate the Commentaries and the Sub-Commentaries of the Theravada school of Buddhism, as well as explications and expositions by eminent scholar-monks of Burma.

The Burma Pitaka Association now has twenty-nine members, thirteen from Rangoon and sixteen from the districts. To supervise the work being done under its sponsorship, the Association holds two (sometimes three) meetings a month, but members from the districts attend only quarterly meetings to hear reports and to decide on policy matters. They may also attend other meetings of the Association if they happen to be in Rangoon.

As is generally known, the Pitaka texts are in the Pali language. These texts are divided into three Divisions which are known as the Three Pitakas. (Pitaka literally means ‘basket’.) Thus they are called Tipitaka in Pãli, (ti meaning ‘three’). The three Pitakas are the Vinaya (containing the Rules of Discipline for the Order of monks), the Suttanta (consisting of Suttas or Discourses), and the Abhidhamma (which deals with more profound philosophical and psychological aspects of Buddhism). The overall term for all the texts in these three Pitakas is just Pitaka.

According to this Pitaka classification the Suttanta Pitaka consists of five Nikãyas or Collections. These five Nikayas are: Digha NikAya or Collection of long discourses of the Buddha; Majjhima NikAya or Collection of middle-length discourses; Samyutta Nikäya or Collection of groups of connected discourses; Añguttara Nikaya or Collection of numerically graduated discourses; and lastly. Khuddaka Nikaya or Collection of miscellaneous works or books, an omnibus Collection which contains compilations of Suttas (ie. Discourses and Narrative Accounts).

The Digha Nikaya or Collection of the long discourses of the Buddha has three compilations, which we can call books, known as the Silakkhandha Vagga or Division of discourses on morality (containing thirteen sutas or discourses), the Maha Vagga or Large Division (containing ten suttas) and the Pãthika Vagga or the Pathika Division (containing eleven suttas). This last Division takes its name from the first sutta in this Division.

The Majjhima Nikáya also has three compilations, each containing a fair number of suttas. The Samyutta Nikaya is divided into five compilations, each called a Division (Vagga), and each has a large number of short suttas. The Anguttara Nikaya, Collection of numerically graduated discourses, has eleven parts or books, ranging from the first part consisting of discourses dealing with just one point or subject-matter, to the eleventh containing discourses each enumerating eleven things or points The Khuddaka Nikãya contains eighteen books of miscellaneous suttas, as accepted by the Sixth international Buddhist Synod of 1954-56.

When the Pali Texts as a whole are divided into Nikãyas, the five books of Vinaya and the seven books of Abhidhamma are included in the Khuddaka Nikaya Thus there are fifty-two Pali works or books which are collectively termed the Pitaka. Of these, all but seven have been officially translated into Burmese.

After the Burma Pitaka Association was founded, there was an intensive search in Burma for qualified translators into English. The whole of the year 1981 was taken up with this task and with the assigning of particular books to these translators who were accepted after some testing. Translation manuscripts started coming in towards the and of 1981, and continued coming in through the year 1982. Not all translators completed their assignments, and a fair number of the completed assignments were found to be unsatisfactory on subsequent examination. However, twenty translators completed the translation of thirty-two books. Eleven more books are works-in-progress. The remaining nine books have not yet been assigned for translation.

From the beginning the translations were regarded as raw material which would need to be processed considerably. An editorial board was formed early. One method after another of editing the translation manuscripts was tried. Towards the end of 1982, a new editorial committee was formed with U Shwe Mra as Chairman.

Three staff-members were assigned to the editorial committee to assist in the work of editing, and another staff-member was assigned the task of card-indexing translated terms. Sayadaw U Kumara of Bhamo Monastery, Mandalay, a member of the Samgha Advisory Board of the Association, acted as Adviser throughout the editing period of these ten suttas, and the final drafts were submitted to this learned Sayadaw for scrutiny.

A very important member of the editorial committee was the Consultant on doctrinal points of the Dhamma, Sayagyi U Kyaw Htut, a very learned scholar who early in life passed the highest examinations in the Dhamma and had earned the title Dhammacariya (Teacher of Dhamma). In editing a translation manuscript it was collated with the Pali text officially approved by the Sixth International Buddhist Synod held in Rangoon (1954-56). The Burmese Version of the text was also used as an aid. When difficult points on the Dhamma arose in the course of editing, or when doubtful renderings of a word, or a sentence, or a passage were in question, the relevant Atthakatha (the Commentary) and the Tikä (the Sub-Commentary) were constantly referred to, and the Dhamma Consultant had a busy time explaining points of significance to the other members of the editorial committee. Sometimes when such difficult points could not be resolved by the committee, or when there was disagreement amongst the members on a particular point, the matter was put up for decision to one of the eminently learned chief monks on the Samgha Advisory Board of the Association.

From the time the translation work started, early in 1981, four learned Dhamma Consultants were always on hand at the headquarters of the Association, and were available for consultation by the translators who were strongly exhorted to seek their guidance on doctrinal matters, to ask them for elucidation of perplexing words, phrases or passages, to obtain from them explanation of difficult Dhamma concepts, and to approach them for amplification upon points which needed to be explicated according to the Commentaries. Nevertheless, much editing work remained to be done on the translation manuscripts.

When the editorial committee was formed towards the end of 1982, it was decided to take ten suttas from the three books of the Digha Nikäya, (comprising three from the first book, three from the second book and four from the third book), and to edit their translations first so as to be able to publish these ten sutta-translations in collected form by the middle of 1983. Although the first editing process was finished by the middle of 1983, it was felt necessary to revise and review those edited versions again and again. Even after that, it was found that many of the sentences and passages in the translation text needed to be expanded and elucidated according to the Commentary, if they were to be understood fully. Therefore, it is only now (November, 1983) that we have completed the work of editing the ten sutta-translations to be published in this collection.

The above editorial procedure has been described rather fully, because a new editorial and translation scheme is to be introduced in order to speed up the editing process and publication.

We should now like to describe our approach to the editing process. Our aim generally has been to produce a translation which is not too literal but which is as close as possible to the original Pali text. We have done our best to realize this aim.

Since, however, we are fully conscious of the fact that the reader we have in mind is a person who knows English fairly well, and who is interested in finding out from the primary sources what Buddhism says, but who is not familiar with Buddhist concepts or with the way these concepts are expressed, we have endeavoured, to help him, This means that sometimes an approximation in English to the Pali expression, amounting to a paraphrase, has had to be preferred to a strictly exact rendering. It also means that sometimes explicatory material from the Commentary has to be incorporated in the translation text itself, since if that is not done what is read by the kind of reader we have in mind would be mere words, without conveying the cense intended. This will be seen especially in the translation of the Mahasatipatthãna Sutta.

We find that in several places of the translations the reader we have in mind will be unable to understand correctly and completely what is intended to be conveyed, unless he is helped. Footnotes and appendices do not seem to be sufficient to meet the case. He will have no one to turn to for explanation, no readable annotations explaining the very points that puzzle him in the phraseology or the subject-matter of the passage before him.

The need is immediate for our reader who has a particular translation before him and who wants to understand what a certain phrase or a certain passage signifies. Therefore we have tried to help him in several places in the translations. In our anxiety to help such a reader, we have inserted in the body of the translation, either in a paragraph or between paragraphs, explanatory or amplificatory materia or synopses, in brackets.

We wish to assure the readers that in the coming publications, we will do our very best to give them better help, so that they will be in a good position to understand what they read.

As in the case of some people engaged in a similar task, but for a different religion, we have not felt obliged to make an effort to render the same’Pali word everywhere by the same English word. By exploiting a wide range of English words covering a similar area of meaning and association, we feel that the meaning of the sentence as a whole is conveyed more effectively. This sort of approach applies also to structure. For instance, we have felt free to use the Active Voice where the Pali text uses the Passive Voice, and vice versa. To try to follow closely the idiom of PAU in an English rendering is to make it, at the least, awkward reading. But we have tried to keep a little of the flavour of Pali, if not the flavour of words or tone, at least the flavour of mode. of thought or modes of exposition, the latter being due to the early tradition of oral transmission. Thus, the reader will find many repetitious phrases, paragraphs and passages. But where the Pali text has a letter-symbol indicating the omission of a repeated passage, we have used either the symbol (p), standing for the Pali word peyyala, or dots.

The reader may be puzzled by the numbering sequence of the paragraphs in some places. The actual numbering follows that of the Pall text as approved by the Sixth International Buddhist Synod held at Rangoon. This numbering is consecutive for all the suttas in a particular book. But for this first publication of translations by the Association, we have taken the first, the second and the ninth Sutlas from Book One of the Dlgha Nikaya. Thus there is a gap in paragraph numbers between the second and the following sutta. The first sutta from Mahavagga in this publication, the fourth one here, starts with paragraph No.95, because this actually is the second sutta in Book Two. When the three books of the Digha Nikaya are published in their entirety, the suttas in the present publication will come in their proper place and the numbering of the paragraphs will be consecutive in each book.

Wherever we have used Pali words, and this we have done fairly liberally, English renderings of these Pali words are provided the first few times. The use of Pali words, we hope, will help to obviate ambiguity for those who have some knowledge of Pall, and secondly, we again hope, will help the reader who is keenly interested in Buddhism to familiarise himself with significant terms, each of which carries a whole bundle of meaning in Buddhism.

We are glad to acknowledge our debt to both western and oriental writers on Buddhism from the Theravada point of view, and to previous translators of Pali texts, especially those from Sri Lanka, even though in many places we have diverged. Also, Pall-English dictionaries compiled by both western and oriental scholars have been of great help in our task.

We have tried to avoid using English words or terms which carry connotations or associations closely connected, especially in the mind of a western reader, with fundamental ideas or practices in another religion. Thus, we have avoided words such as ‘sin’, ‘salvation’, ‘deliverance’ and ‘Heaven’. In the Mahanidãna Sutta, the sutta which sets forth the Doctrine of Dependent Origination, Paticcasamuppada, we have deliberately avoided the term ‘becoming’ or ‘the process of becoming’ for bhava, in spite of a whole book justifying the term, which was published by an eminent western scholar in 1937, but which, in our opinion, is not in conformity with the ‘Theravada view. This term has been accepted and used even by later Theravada scholars and translators who have overlooked the implications of the term, and we can only think that this is due to etymological considerations which, we venture to say, are sometimes misleading.

We have had to weigh carefully the choice of English equivalents for certain Paji words. To give only one or two instances, the Pali word nibbida, which is on the surface very simple and is usually translated as ‘disgust’ or ‘weariness’, cannot be translated adequately by a single word; a phrase should really be used, but that is awkward sometimes since the smooth flow of the text is disturbed. Another word that has often been superficially translated because of etymological considerations is abhinna. Since it has more than one meaning, we have rendered it ‘Magga Insight’, following the Commentary, where the context calls for such a rendering.

We say in all humility and without false modesty that the translations as edited by us must necessarily be inadequate. Burma is a land of many eminent scholars of Buddhism, ranging from the very learned and revered Sayadaws (chief monks) to the Dhammacariyas (i.e., those who have been awarded the title of Teacher of the Dhamrna, both monks and laymen), and these eminent scholars have a profound understanding of the Dhamma and can interpret it effectively in Burmese. But with a very few exceptions, they are not able to translate the Pali texts into English as they do not have an adequate command of English for this task. Because of this situation, the members of this editorial committee have had to attempt an uphill task. We are conscious of our short-comings and our limitations. Our task has been made possible only because of the guidance we have had from our Dhamma Consultants and because of the support we have had from members of our Advisory Body of Revered Samghas.

We do not regard the translations we have edited and produced as the final word on the subject. We therefore sincerely invite scholars of the Dhamma from all over the world to assist us by sending in criticisms, comments and suggestions, so that later editors of these translations issued by us may be better and more correct.

 

Contents

 

I Brahmajäla Sutta
1 Paribbãjaka Katha 3
2 Minor Morality 6
3 Middle Morality 8
4 Major Morality 12
5 Exposition on Wrong Views 16
6 Eighteen Wrong Views Relating to the Past 16
7 Four Categories of Eternity View 18
8 The First Category of Eternity View 19
9 The Second Category of Eternity View 20
10 The Third Categoty of Eternity View 22
11 The Fourth Category of Eternity View 23
12 Four Views of Eternity and Non eternity 25
13 The First Category of Ekacea Sassata Ditthi 25
14 The Second Category of Ekacea Sassata Ditthi 27
15 The Third Category of Ekacca Sassata Ditthi 28
16 The Fourth Category of Ekacca Sassata Ditthi 30
17 Four Views of the World being Finite or Infinite 31
18 The First Antänanta Ditthi 32
19 The Second Antänanta Ditthi 32
20 The Third Antãnanta Ditthi 33
21 The Fourth Antananta Ditthi. 34
22 Four Kinds of Indecisive Evasion 35
23 The First Amarävikkhepa Ditthi 36
24 The Second Amaravikkhepa Ditthi. 37
25 The Third Amaravikkhepa Ditthi ... 38
26 The Fourth Amarãvikkhepa Ditthi .. 39
27 Two Doctrines of Non-causality ... 42
28 The First Adhiccasamuppanna Vada . 42
29 The Second Adhiccasaniuppanna Vada 43
30 Forty-four Views Relating to the Future 44
31 Sixteen Kinds of Belief in the Existence of Sanna after Death 45
32 Eight Kinds of Belief in the Non-existence of Sanna after Death 49
33 Eight Kinds of Belief in the Existence of neither Sañna nor Non- Sanna after Death 51
34 Seven Kinds of Belief in Annihilation 52
35 Five Kinds of Belief in (Mundane) Nibbana as Realizable in this Very Life 56
36 Agitation Conditioned by Wrong Views and Craving 59
37 Contact as Cause 62
38 No Possibility of Feeling Without Contact 64
39 Of the Round of Suffering caused by Wrong Views 67
40 Discourse on the Cessation of the Round of Rebirths 68
41 Conclusion 69
II Simañnaphala Sutta
1 Of the King and His Ministers 73
2 Concerning Jivaka, adopted Son of a Prince 75
3 Questions on the Fruits of the Life of a Samana 77
4 The Creed of Purana Kassapa 79
5 The Creed of Makkhali Gosala 81
6 The Creed of Ajita Kesakambal 82
7 The Creed of Pakudha Kaccayana 84
8 The Creed of Nigatha Nataputta 85
9 The Creed of Sancaya Belatthaputta 86
10 First Advantage of a Samana’s Life Experienced Here and Now 88
11 Second Advantage of a Samana’s Life Experienced Here and Now 91
12 Higher and Better Advantage of a Samana’s Life 92
13 Minor Morality 94
14 Middle Morality 96
15 Major Morality 99
16 Guarding the Sense-Faculties 103
17 Mindfulness and Awareness 103
18 Contentment 104
19 Dissociation from the Five Hindrances. 104
20 The First Jhãna as an Advantage for a Samana 107
21 The Second Jhãna as an Advantage for a Samana 107
22 The Third Jhana as an Advantage for a Samana 108
23 The Fourth Jhana as an Advantage for a Samana 109
24 (I) Insight-Knowledge 109
II Power of Creation by Mind 110
III Psychic Powers 111
IV Divine Power of Hearing 113
V Knowledge of the Minds of Others 113
VI Knowledge of Past Existences 115
Vii Divine Power of Sight 117
VIII Knowledge of Extinction of Moral Intoxicants 118
25 Ajatasattu Becomes a Lay-Disciple 120
IX Potthapada Sutta
1 Discourse on Pohapada, the Wandering Ascetic 125
2 Cessation of Sanna 126
3 Existence of Cause in the Arising and Cessation of Sanna 127
4 Whether Sanna is Atta or Not 133
5 About Citta, Son of an Elephant Trainer, and Pothapada 137
6 Dhammas Not Certain (to Lead to Nibbãna) 139
7 Dhammas Certain (to. Lead to Nibbana) 139
8 Arising of Three Forms of. Attabhava 144
9 Citta, Son of Elephant Trainer Requests Admission into the Order 153
II Mahanidana Sutta
1 Paticca-samuppãda 157
2 Definition of Atta 172
3 Non-Definition of Atta 174
4 Consideration of Atta 175
5 The Seven Areas of Consciousness 179
6 Eight Stages of Release 182
III Mahãpariuibbana Sutta
1 Seven Factors of Non-Decline of Kings and Princes 188
2 Seven Factors of Non-Decline of Bhikkkus 191
3 A Second Set of Seven Factors of Non-Decline 193
4 A Third Set of Seven Factors of Non-Decline 194
5 A Fourth Set of Seven Factors of Non-Decline 195
6 A Fifth Set of Seven Factors of Non-Decline 196
7 Six Factors of NonDeeljne of Bhikkhus 198
8 The Venerable Sariputta’s Brave Utterance 200
9 The Disadvantages to an Immoral Man 203
10 Advantages Accruing to a Man of Virtue 205
11 Founding of the (fortified) city of Pata1putta 206
12 The Four Noble Truth 210
13 Those who will reach the Higher Levels of Magga-ln3ight without the Possibility of Returning 211
14 Exposition of the ‘Mirror of Wiglom’ 214
15 Ambapaji, the Courtesan 219
16 Spending the Vassa at Veluva village 222
17 Spoken Signs and Intimations 226
18 Mãra’s Request 228
19 Renunciation of the Life-sustaining Mental Process 232
20 Causes of Earthquakes 233
21 Eight Categories of Assemblies 235
22 Eight Ways of Mastery 236
23 Eight Stages of Release 239
24 The Venerable Ananda’s Appeal 244
25 Thirty-seven Elements of the Perpetuation of the Teaching 249
26 Looking Back Like a Noble Tusker 251
27 Discourse on Four Great Authorities 253
28 Account Concerning Cunda the Goldsmith’s Son 257
29 Having Drinking Water Brought 259
30 Account Concerning Pukkusa the Malla Prince 261
31 The Twin Sal Trees 268
32 Upavaa the Bhikkhu Elder 270
33 Four Places Arousing Apprehensionof the Nature of Impermanence 271
34 The Venerable Ananda’s Question 273
35 Persons Worthy of a Stupa 274
36 The Venerable Ananda 276
37 Four Marvellous Qualities of Ananda 277
38 Former Grandeur of Kusinarã 279
39 Homage by the Malla Princes 281
40 Subhadda the Wandering Ascetic 282
41 Last Words of the Tathagata 287
42 The Buddha’s Parinibbana 289
43 Last Rites for the Remains of the Buddha. 293
44 The Venerable Mahakassapa 296
45 Distribution of the Relics 299
46 Raising the Relic Stupas in Reverence 301
IX Mahisatipatthãna Sutta
1 Summary (on the Four Methods of Steadfast Mindfulness) 307
2(I) Perception of the True Nature of the body (i) Section on Breathing 308
II Section on Body Movements and Posture 310
III Section on Clear Comprehension 312
IV Section on Consideration of Repulsiveness 312
V Section on Consideration of the Primary Elements 313
VI Section on Nine Kinds of Corpses. 315
3 Perception of the True Nature of Sensation 317
4 Perception of the True Nature of Mind 318
5 Perception of the True Nature of Dhamma 321
I Section on the Hindrances 321
II Section on the Five Khandhas 323
III Section on the Twelve Sense-Bases 325
IV Section on Bojjhanga 327
V Section on the Four Noble Truths 331
6 Exposition of the Noble Truth of Dukkha 331
7 Exposito of the Noble Truth of the Origin of Dukkha 334
8 Exposition of the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Dukkha 337
9 Exposition of the Noble Truth of the Path Leading to the Cessation of Dukkha 340
III Cakkavatti Sutta
1 Being One’s Own Firm Support1 Being One’s Own Refuge 347
2 Dalhanemi the Universal Monarch 348
3 The Noble Duties of a Universal Monarch 350
4 The Wheel Treasure Appears 351
5 The Second and Subsequent Universal Monarchs 353
6 Decline in Life Expectation and Deterioration in Physical Appearance 355
7 Life Span of Ten Years 362
8 Increase in Life Span and Improvement in Physical Appearance 364
9 The Universal Monarch Sankha 365
10 Appearq of Metteyya Buddha 366
11 Increase in Length of Life and Improvement in Physical Appearance of BhikkhUs 369
V Sampasdaniya Sutta
1 Brave Utterance of the Venerable Sãriputta 373
2 Exposition on the Faultless Dhammas 376
3 Exposition on Classification of the Ayatanas, the Sense- Bases 376
4 Exposition on the Modes of Taking Conception in a Mother’s Womb 377
5 Exposition on Modes of Reading Another Person’s Mind 378
6 Exposition on Attainment of Insight 379
7 Exposition on Classification of Individuals 380
8 Exposition on Striving for Development of Factors of Enlightenment 381
9 Exposition on practice of the paith 382
10 Exposition on Practice of the Path Exposition on Right Conduct in Speech 382
11 Exposition on Right Moral Conduct 383
12 Exposition on Modes of Instruction 383
13 Exposition on Emancipation-Knowledge Attainable by other Individuals 384
14 Exposition on Eternity view 385
15 Exposition on Knowledge of Past Existences 388
16 Exposition on Knowledge of the Passing away and Arising of Beings 389
17 Exposition on Supernormal Psychic Powers 390
18 Other Virtues of the Teacher 392
19 Answer to Different Questions 392
20 Marvellous arid Unprecedented Event 394
VI Pasadika Sutta
1 After Nigautha Nataputta’s Death 399
2 The Teaching of One who is not Perfectly Enlightened 400
3 The Teaching of One who is Perfectly Enlightened 402
4 The Teacher over whose Death the Disciples become anguished 404
5 The Teacher over whose Death the Disciples do not get anguished 405
6 Imperfections of a System of Teaching 406
7 The Dhamma which should be recited and imparted uniformly 412
8 On Handling Differences of Opinions 413
9 Sanctioning of (Four) Requisites 415
10 .Enjoyment of Pleasure 416
11 Benefits of Enjoyment of Pleasure 418
12 Evil Deeds not Committed by One Free of Moral Intoxicants 419
13 Dealing with Problems 421
14 What is not Explained 422
15 What is Explained 424
16 Wrong Views based on Speculations about the Past 424
17 Wrong Views based on Speculations about the Future 427
VIII Siñgäla Sutta
1 The Six Directions 433
2 The Four Acts of Defilement 434
3 Four Factors Instigating Evil Acts 434
4 Six Practices Causing Dissipation of Wealth 435
5 Six Ec11 Consequences of Indulgence in Intoxicants 435
6 Six Evil Consequences of Sauntering in Streets at Unseemly Hours 436
7 Six Evil Consequences of Frequenting Shows and Entertainments 436
8 Six Evil Consequences of Gambling 436
9 Six Evil Consequences of Associating with Bad Companions 436
10 Six Evil Consequences of Habitual Idleness 437
11 False Friend 438
12 True Friend 440
13 Covering the Six Direction 441

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