The second division of the Dīgha Nikāya, containing ten discourses that address grand themes in the Buddha's teachings. This division includes the Mahāpadāna Sutta on past Buddhas, the Mahānidāna Sutta on dependent origination, the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta recounting the Buddha's final days and passing, and the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta on the four foundations of mindfulness. These are among the most celebrated and extensive discourses in the Pāli Canon.
Mahāvagga - The Great Division
The Buddha corrects Ānanda’s assumption that dependent co-arising is easily understood. He provides a profound, detailed exposition of causality, tracing both the cycle of existential rebirth and the moment-to-moment roots of human conflict back to craving and felt experience. The discourse explores the intricacies of self-designation, the seven planes of consciousness, and the eight liberations.
PTS 2.55–2.71The Buddha’s final journey from Rājagaha to Kusinārā, detailing the conditions for non-decline, his illness and relinquishment of the life force, his last instructions to the Saṅgha, his final Nibbāna between the twin sāla trees, the cremation, and the distribution of the relics.
PTS 2.72–2.168Near his final days at Kusinārā, the Buddha relates to Ānanda the legend of King Mahāsudassana and his capital Kusāvati, endowed with the seven treasures and the four powers. Yet all these magnificent conditioned formations faded away and ceased, illustrating the truth of impermanence.
PTS 2.169–2.199Why do beings who long to live at peace constantly fall into conflict and hostility? Visiting the Buddha in a secluded mountain cave, Sakka, king of the gods, poses this timeless riddle.
PTS 2.263–2.289The Buddha’s most detailed exposition of the four establishments of mindfulness. This extended version includes comprehensive definitions of the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the four jhānas within the framework of mindfulness practice.
PTS 2.290–2.315