The present book collects research papers by Bhikkhu Analayo containing translations of Dirgha-agama discourses and comparative studies of their Pali parallels (as well as relevant Sanskrit fragments), together with three appendices. Several chapters and the appendices are devoted to examining aspects of the early Buddhist oral transmission. In addition, topics taken up in the course of this book are the analysis of views in the Brahmajala, healing in early Buddhism, the Buddha's last meditation, his display of fire miracles, levitation, debating strategies, and the future Buddha Maitreya.
Ven. Anālayo, born in 1962, was ordained a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka in 1995, completing his Ph.D. on satipaṭṭhāna at the University of Peradeniya in 2000. He is a contributor to the Encyclopaedia of Buddhism.