Dīghajāṇu Sutta

In this discourse (Pali: sutta),^[4] the townsman Dighajanu says to the Buddha the following:

'We are lay people enjoying sensuality; living crowded with spouses & children; using Kasi fabrics & sandalwood; wearing garlands, scents, & creams; handling gold & silver.^[5] May the Blessed One teach the Dhamma for those like us, for our happiness & well-being in this life ... [and] in lives to come.'^[6]

In response, the Buddha first identifies four traits conducive to happiness (Pali: sukha) in this life:

• hard-working (uṭṭhāna-sampadā), being skilled and diligent in ones livelihood;
• vigilance (ārakkha-sampadā), protecting ones wealth from theft and disaster;
• virtuous friendship (kalyāṇa-mittatā), associating with and emulating those embodying faith, virtue, generosity and wisdom; and,
• balanced living (sama-jīvikatā),^[7] abstaining from womanizing, drunkenness, gambling and evil friendships.

In this discourse,^[8] the Buddha describes wealth worthy of the householder's protection as being:

'wealth acquired by energetic striving,

amassed by the strength of his arms,

earned by the sweat of his brow,

righteous wealth righteously gained.'^[9]

Regarding four traits conducive to happiness in future lives, the Buddha identifies accomplishments (sampadā) in:

• faith (saddhā), in the fully enlightened Buddha;^[10]
• virtue (sīla), as exemplified by the Five Precepts;
• generosity (cāga), giving charity and alms; and,
• wisdom (paññā), having insight into the arising and passing of things.

This discourse ends with the following refrain:

Thus to the layman full of faith,

By him, so truly named 'Enlightened,'

These eight conditions have been told

Which now and after lead to bliss.^[11]

This discourse is one of the core texts in the Pali canon for understanding the Buddha's moral expectations of his lay followers.^[12]

Bhikkhu Bodhi describes this discourse as one of "a number of texts dealing with different aspects of household life united by an emphasis on right livelihood" (Pali: sammājiva). Bodhi identifies a common thread among such texts as being an emphasis on right conduct, as exemplified by adherence to the Five Precepts.^[13]

In addition to the precepts, as in the Sigalovada Sutta, this discourse also warns against the dangers of libertinism and commends the keeping of good-hearted friends.

In suttas such as this one, Bodhi identifies a second common thread to what might be referred to as the pursuit of a kammic consciousness.^[14] Discussing the broader context of Buddhist ethics, Ven. Narada Mahathera states:

The question of incurring the pleasure or displeasure of a God does not enter the mind of a Buddhist. Neither hope of reward nor fear of punishment acts as an incentive to him to do good or to refrain from evil. A Buddhist is aware of future consequences, but he refrains from evil because it retards, does good because it aids progress to Enlightenment....^[15]

In this sutta in particular such an awareness is underlined by Dighajanu's concern for happiness in ones future life. Bodhi notes:

For Early Buddhism, the ideal householder is not merely a devout supporter of the monastic order but a noble person who has attained at least the first of the four stages of realization, the fruition of stream-entry (sotāpatti).^[16]

Such a realization on the Buddhist path requires more than ethical business conduct. Narada comments:

Conduct, though essential, is itself insufficient to gain one's emancipation. It should be coupled with wisdom or knowledge (pañña). The base of Buddhism is morality, and wisdom is its apex.^[17]

Likewise, in his discourse to Dighajanu, the Buddha identifies wisdom as the ultimate trait for a householder to nurture and embody.

• Three Refuges
• Five Precepts
• Noble Eightfold Path
• Upāsaka and Upāsikā
• Householder (Buddhism)
• Rebirth (Buddhism)
• Spiritual friendship
• Pāli Canon
• Sutta Piṭaka
• Anguttara Nikāya
• Related Suttas:
  • Dhammika Sutta (Sn 2.14)
  • Sigalovada Sutta (DN 31)

• Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2005). In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-491-1.
• Indaratana Maha Thera, Elgiriye (2002). Vandana: The Album of Pali Devotional Chanting and Hymns. Penang, Malaysia:Mahindarama Dhamma Publication. Available on-line at https://web.archive.org/web/20121114032020/http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/vandana02.pdf.
• Narada Mahathera (1995). Buddhism in a Nutshell. Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/narada/nutshell.html.
• Narada [Maha]thera (trans.) (1997). Dighajanu (Vyagghapajja) Sutta: Conditions of Welfare (AN 8.54). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an08/an08.054.nara.html.
• Nyanaponika Thera & Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.) (1999). Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: An Anthology of Suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. ISBN 0-7425-0405-0.
• Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English dictionary. Chipstead: Pali Text Society. A general on-line search engine for the PED is available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/.
• Saddhatissa, Hammalawa (1987). Buddhist Ethics. London: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-053-3.
• Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1995). Dighajanu (Vyagghapajja) Sutta: To Dighajanu (AN 8.54). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an08/an08.054.than.html.
• Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997). Anana Sutta: Debtless (AN 4.62). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.062.than.html.
• www.metta.lk (Mettanet-Lanka) (undated). Gotamīvaggo (AN 8.2.6). [Romanized Pali]. Available on-line at https://web.archive.org/web/20170621032625/http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara5/8-atthakanipata/006-gotamivaggo-p.html. The Vyagghapajja suttaṃ is identified as "8. 2. 6. 4".

• With Dīghajāṇu, translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (2018).