{"collection":"Sacred Texts: Buddhism","full_text_available":false,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/sacred_texts_v1_bud_etc_ssp14_htm/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/sacred_texts_v1_bud_etc_ssp14_htm","id":"sacred_texts_v1_bud_etc_ssp14_htm","license":"unknown_pending_legal_review","rights_basis":"sacred_texts_v1_preview_gate_primary_text_only; acquisition-method/ToS and compilation-copyright questions still open, not resolved by this gate","source":"sacred_texts_v1","source_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/bud/etc/ssp14.htm","summary":"This is a Buddhist canonical text, specifically a sutta (discourse) from the Pali canon known as the Sigalovada Sutta (or Singalaka Sutta), belonging to the Digha Nikaya. The text presents the Buddha (Bhagava) encountering a young householder named Singalo performing a ritual of bowing to the six directions as instructed by his dying father, which the Buddha reframes: rather than literal cardinal directions, the six \"quarters\" represent key social relationships \u2014 parents, teachers, spouse and children, friends and relatives, servants, and religious figures. The core argument is a practical ethics for lay Buddhist life, covering the four polluting actions to avoid (killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying), the four corrupting motivations (self-will, anger, fear, folly), and six destructive habits including drinking, gambling, idleness, and keeping bad company. Particularly distinctive is the text's systematic, enumerated approach to social ethics: it provides concrete checklists for identifying false friends (flatterers, sycophants, the self-interested, spendthrifts) versus true friends (those loyal in adversity, who give honest counsel, and guard your welfare). The discourse is notably worldly and pragmatic in tone \u2014 unusually so for religious literature \u2014 offering household financial advice such as dividing one's wealth into four portions for friendships, sustenance, business, and savings.","tags":["Buddhist Articles Collection","Chinese Buddhist Sutras","Nalanda Monastery"],"text":null,"title":"S\u00eeg\u00e2lo-v\u00e2da-sutta (D\u00eegha Nik&acir...","tradition":"Sacred Texts: Buddhism","translated_text":null,"word_count":3042}