A fabulous courtesan, a guilty king, a know-it-all teen, learned sages and earnest fools, a silent meditation in a thunderstorm. The Long Discourses reveal a Buddha in vital engagement with his times, an ideal of humanity in whom the extraordinary comes alive. These thirty-four discourses are set in an age of wonder, when prophecy was fulfilled and the deep truth of humanity was spoken, laid bare with sparkling clarity and relentless insight. 

In these tales set in the slow paths, chaotic cities, and deep forests of northern India, in the shadowy past or even among the gods themselves, we see the humble monk Gotama, wise and compassionate teacher of mindfulness and morality, begin his long and storied transformation into the Buddha of legend.

The version of the Long Discourses found in the Chinese canon is known as the Dīrghāgama (Chang ahan jing, 長阿含經).