Long Discourses
[intro TK]
Indications of Sectarian Affiliation
It has been well documented through comparative study of parallels of known sectarian texts that the provenance of the Long Discourses is that Dharmaguptaka sect.
One example argument made by Bareau[1] involved comparing the formulaic treatment of Ambapali's gift of her Mango Grove at Vaisali to the Buddha in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra. This episode only appears in DA 2 and DN 16 and isn't mentioned in the other four parallels to the same passage from other Buddhist canons. He shows that it indeed is a feature of the Mahisasaka line of canonical transmission, which is likely the progenitor of both the Dharmaguptaka and Theravada canons. His analysis proceeds by collecting passages from the Theravada, Mahisasaka, and Dharmaguptaka Vinayas, which contain parallels to the Mahaparinirvana passage. Each, however, is unique in that they treat the gift to the Buddha differently. He shows that the passage in DA 2 matches that found in the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, and not the other two Vinayas. That the passage is an example of a doctrinal difference between these three schools makes the identification all the more certain, for it must be quite intentional that the passages are written the way they are in each sectarian canon.
Table of Contents and Parallels
Below is a (work-in-progress) list of all the sutras contained in the Dirgha Agama.
Parallels listed in () are either only similar or they share templates with the subject but don't appear to be direct parallels.
| Part | DĀ No. | Taisho No. | Sutra Title | Parallels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I. | DĀ 1 | T1.1 | 1. The Great Legend | DN 14, SN 12.65, EA 48.4, T 2, T 3, T 4 |
| DĀ 2 | T1.2 | 2. The Sojourn | DN 16, DN 17, SN 47.9, AN 4.180, Snp 1.5, Skt Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, MA 68, EA 28.5, T 5, T 6, T 7, T 1451 | |
| DĀ 3 | T1.3 | 3. Govinda | DN 19, T 8 | |
| DĀ 4 | T1.4 | 4. Janavṛṣabha | DN 18, T 9 | |
| II. | DĀ 5 | T1.5 | 5. Smaller Teaching on Origination | DN 27, MA 154, T 10 |
| DĀ 6 | T1.6 | 6. The Noble Wheel-Turning King's Cultivation | DN 26, MA 70 | |
| DĀ 7 | T1.7 | 7. Pāyāsi | DN 23, MA 71, T 45 | |
| DĀ 8 | T1.8 | 8. Sandhāna | DN 25, MA 104, T 11 | |
| DĀ 9 | T1.9 | 9. The Gathered Saṅgha | DN 33, DN 34, DA 10, T 12 | |
| DĀ 10 | T1.10 | 10. Increasing to Ten | DN 34, DN 33, DA 11, DA 9, T12, T 13 | |
| DĀ 11 | T1.11 | 11. Increasing One by One | DN 34, DA 10, T 13 | |
| DĀ 12 | T1.12 | 12. Three Categories | ? | |
| DĀ 13 | T1.13 | 13. The Great Teaching on Origination | DN 15, T14, MA 97, T 52 | |
| DĀ 14 | T1.14 | 14. The Questions Asked by Śakra the Lord of Gods | DN 21, MA 134, T 15, T 203.73 | |
| DĀ 15 | T1.15 | 15. Anomiya | DN 24 | |
| DĀ 16 | T1.16 | 16. Sujata | DN 31, MA 135, T 16, T 17 | |
| DĀ 17 | T1.17 | 17. Purification | DN 29, AN 9.7-8 | |
| DĀ 18 | T1.18 | 18. Personal Gladness | DN 28, SN 47.12, T 18, T 99.498 | |
| DĀ 19 | T1.19 | 19. The Great Congregation | DN 20, SN 1.37, T 19, T 99.1192, T 100.105 | |
| III. | DĀ 20 | T1.20 | 20. Ambāṣṭha | DN 3, MN 36, T 20 |
| DĀ 21 | T1.21 | 21. Brahmā’s Shaking | DN 1, T 21 | |
| DĀ 22 | T1.22 | 22. Śroṇatāṇḍya | DN 4, MN 36 | |
| DĀ 23 | T1.23 | 23. [Kūṭadanta] | DN 5 | |
| DĀ 24 | T1.24 | 24. Dhruva | DN 11 | |
| DĀ 25 | T1.25 | 25. The Naked Wanderer | DN 8 | |
| DĀ 26 | T1.26 | 26. Knowledge of the Three Vedas | DN 13 | |
| DĀ 27 | T1.27 | 27. Fruits of the Ascetic | DN 2, EA 43.7, T 22, T 99.154-163 | |
| DĀ 28 | T1.28 | 28. [Poṭṭhapāda] | DN 9 | |
| DĀ 29 | T1.29 | 29. Lohitya | DN 12 | |
| IV. | DĀ 30 | T1.30 | 30. A Description of the World | T 23, T 24, T 25 |
