The Dëgha NikÃÂya ("Collection of Long Discourses") is a Buddhist scriptures collection, the first of the five NikÃÂyas, or collections, in the Sutta Piá¹Âaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the PÃÂli Tipiá¹Âaka of TheravÃÂda Buddhism. Some of the most commonly referenced suttas from the Dëgha NikÃÂya include the MahÃÂparinibbÃÂá¹Âa Sutta (DN 16), which describes the final days and passing of the Buddha, the SigÃÂlovÃÂda Sutta (DN 31) in which the Buddha discusses ethics and practices for lay followers, and the Samaññaphala Sutta (DN 2) and BrahmajÃÂla Sutta (DN 1) which describe and compare the point of view of the Buddha and other ascetics in India about the universe and time (past, present, and future); and the Poá¹Âá¹ÂhapÃÂda (DN 9) Sutta, which describes the benefits and practice of Samatha meditation.
The Dëgha NikÃÂya consists of 34 discourses, broken into three groups:
The Dëgha NikÃÂya corresponds to the Dërgha ÃÂgama found in the Sà «tra Piá¹Âakas of various Sanskritic early Buddhist schools, fragments of which survive in Sanskrit. A complete version of the Dërgha ÃÂgama of the Dharmagupta school survives in Chinese translation under the name ZhÃÂng ÃÂhánjëng (é·é¿å«ç¶Â). It contains 30 sà «tras in contrast to the 34 suttas of the Theravadin Dëgha NikÃÂya. In addition, portions of the SarvÃÂstivÃÂdin school's Dërgha ÃÂgama survive in Sanskrit and in Tibetan translation.