Long Discourses

[intro TK]

Indications of Sectarian Affiliation

It has been well documented through comparative study of parallels texts with known sectarian provenances that the Long Discourses was part of the Dharmaguptaka canon.

Gifts Made to the Buddha

One example argument made by Bareau relied on a comparison of a passage from the Mahaparinirvana Sutra (DA 2) which depicts the laywoman Ambapali giving her Mango Grove to the Buddha. This episode carried an important doctrinal significance for three early sects of Buddhism: The Mahisasaka, Dharmaguptaka, and Theravada. This doctrinal divergence is one piece of evidence that all three canons are related, with the Dharmaguptaka and Theravada canons being descendants of the Mahisasaka line of transmission.

The doctrinal issue was whether gifts to the Buddha were the same as gifts given to the sangha as a whole and whether any merit was gained from them. The Dharmaguptaka position was quite distinct and perhaps extreme compared to the other two canons. They believed the Buddha was not a part of the sangha he created and that any gifts given to him were the same as gifts placed in stupas or cetiyas dedicated to his relics. They could not be used by any other sentient beings and therefore would yield no merit to the donor. On the other hand, a donor would gain merit for gifts given to the sangha. Therefore, in the passage in DA 2, we find that the Buddha carefully instructs Ambapali to direct her gift to the sangha at large rather than to the Buddha. She then does so, saying the words that the Buddha suggests to her. This procedure, Bareau notes, is replicated in the case of Bimbisara donating the Bamboo Grove to the Buddha. Again, the Buddha tells Bimbisara to instead direct his gift to the sangha. Both of these episodes are found in the Chinese translation of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya.

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