The Long Discourses of the Buddha
The Dīgha Nikāya is the first of the five collections of discourses in the Pāli Canon — 34 suttas, the longest and most sweeping in the whole canon. Where the Majjhima Nikāya works through the practical texture of the path in shorter, tighter dialogues, the Dīgha Nikāya gives itself room: extended debates with rival ascetics, cosmological narrative, the fullest account of the Buddha's final months, and systematic doctrinal summaries built for oral recitation.
Each entry on this page links to a study page with three things: a reading guide in plain English, the full Sujato translation, and a 10-question self-check quiz.
Several of these discourses are landmark texts even for readers who have never opened the Pāli Canon before — the Buddha's final months, the systematic dismantling of two-hundred-odd wrong views, the fullest account of mindfulness meditation in the canon. A few good starting points:
Linked rows have a published reading guide. Unlinked rows are listed for navigation and will become available as the series progresses.
