Samyutta Nikaya The Grouped Discourses

38. Jambhukhadaka-samyutta — Jambhukhadaka the wanderer

SN 38.14: Dukkha Sutta — Stress

Ven. Sariputta describes three kinds of stress (dukkha) and how they should be comprehended.

39. Samandaka-samyutta — Samandaka the wanderer

40. Moggallana-samyutta — Ven. Moggallana

SN 40.9: Animitto Sutta — The Signless

Ven. Moggallana describes the concentration attainment beyond the eighth jhana.

41. Citta-samyutta — Citta the householder

SN 41.3: Isidatta Sutta — About Isidatta

On the origin of self-view. In this touching story, Ven. Isidatta, a wise young forest monk, declines his elders' invitation to become a Dhamma teacher, and instead quietly slips off into the forest and disappears.

SN 41.4: Mahaka Sutta — About Mahaka

How one monk misused his psychic powers.

SN 41.5: Pathama Kamabhu — About Kamabhu (1)

Citta the householder explains to a monk the meaning of a metaphorical verse previously uttered by the Buddha.

SN 41.6: Kamabhu Sutta — With Kamabhu (2)

Ven. Kamabhu answers a layperson's detailed questions concerning cessation-attainment (nirodha-samapatti), a state of profound — and potentially liberating — concentration whose prerequisite is full mastery of the jhanas.

SN 41.7: Godatta Sutta — To Godatta

A layperson points out the similarities and differences between several states of concentration.

SN 41.10: Gilana Sutta/Gilaana-dassana.m Sutta — Sick/Seeing the Sick (Citta)

While on his deathbed, Citta delivers an inspiring teaching on generosity to his friends, his family, and a gathering of devas.

42. Gamani-samyutta — Village headmen

SN 42.2: Talaputa Sutta — To Talaputa the Actor

Comedians and actors take heed: making others laugh may not always be a particularly commendable occupation, as Talaputa learns.

SN 42.3: Yodhajiva Sutta — To Yodhajiva (The Warrior)

The Buddha cautions a soldier against expecting a favorable rebirth because of his battlefield heroics.

SN 42.6: Paccha-bhumika Sutta — [Brahmans] of the Western Land

The Buddha explains how the principles of kamma and rebirth are as inviolable as the law of gravity. Choose your actions with care, lest you sink like a stone!

SN 42.7: Desanaa Sutta — Teaching

SN 42.8: Sankha Sutta — The Conch Trumpet

The Buddha clarifies a crucial point about kamma: although you can never undo a past misdeed, there are ways you can mitigate its inevitable harmful results.

SN 42.9: Kula Sutta — Families

A questioner challenges the Buddha: "If you're so supportive of familial harmony, then how can you justify accepting alms from poor families in times of famine?"

SN 42.10: Maniculaka Sutta — To Maniculaka

A questioner asks the Buddha: "Are monks allowed to use money?"

SN 42.11: Gandhabhaka (Bhadraka) Sutta — To Gandhabhaka (Bhadraka)

Why do we experience suffering and stress? Using simple analogies, the Buddha offers a clear and penetrating answer.

43. Asankhata-samyutta — The unfashioned (Nibbana)

44. Avyakata-samyutta — Undeclared

See Thanissaro Bhikkhu's Introduction to this samyutta.

SN 44.1: Khema Sutta — With Khema

Ven. Sister Khema explains to King Pasenadi why questions about the fate of the Tathagata after death are unanswerable.

SN 44.2: Anuradha Sutta — To Anuradha

Ven. Anuradha learns that if one can't even locate the Tathagata in the present life, how can one ever hope to answer questions about his fate after death?

SN 44.3: Sariputta-Kotthita Sutta — Sariputta and Kotthita (1)

The Buddha takes no position on questions about the fate of the Tathagata after death because each question is bound up in the five khandhas.

SN 44.4: Sariputta-Kotthita Sutta — Sariputta and Kotthita (2)

Questions regarding the fate of the Tathagata do not arise in those who see the aggregates as they actually are.

SN 44.5: Sariputta-Kotthita Sutta — Sariputta and Kotthita (3)

Questions regarding the fate of the Tathagata do not arise in those who have abandoned passion for the aggregates.

SN 44.6: Sariputta-Kotthita Sutta — Sariputta and Kotthita (4)

Questions regarding the fate of the Tathagata do not arise in those who no longer take delight in the aggregates, in clinging, in becoming, or in craving.

SN 44.7: Moggallana Sutta — With Moggallana

The Buddha takes no position on the ten speculative views because he does not identify any of the six senses as "self."

SN 44.8: Vacchagotta Sutta — With Vacchagotta

The Buddha takes no position on the ten speculative views because he does not identify any of the five aggregates as "self."

SN 44.9: Kutuhalasala Sutta — With Vacchagotta

The Buddha uses the image of a fire to explain what carries a being over into its next rebirth.

SN 44.10: Ananda Sutta — To Ananda

Why the Buddha did not take a position on the question of whether or not there is a self.

SN 44.11: Sabhiya Sutta — With Sabhiya

The fate of the Tathagata after death cannot be described because the causes for any worldly description of his fate would have totally ceased.

Maha Vagga — The Great Section

45. Magga-samyutta — The Noble Eightfold Path

SN 45.1: Avijja Sutta — Ignorance

The Buddha explains that ignorance is the cause of wrong view, wrong resolve, wrong speech, etc., whereas clear knowing gives rise to right view and all the factors of the eightfold path.

SN 45.2: Upaddha Sutta — Half (of the Holy Life)

In this famous sutta the Buddha corrects Ven. Ananda, pointing out that having "admirable" friends, companions, and comrades is not half but the whole of the holy life. (For more about this special kind of friendship, see the page on kalyanamittata.)

SN 45.8: Magga-vibhanga Sutta — An Analysis of the Path

A summary of the Noble Eightfold Path.

SN 45.159: Agantuka Sutta — For All Comers

The states that are to be comprehended, abandoned, experienced, and cultivated through the practice of the Eightfold Path.

SN 45.165: Dukkhata Sutta — Suffering

The three kinds of suffering.

SN 45.171: Ogha Sutta — Floods (1)

Many discourses speak of "crossing over the flood." This discourse lists the floods that should be crossed over, and how it should be done. [TB]

46. Bojjhanga-samyutta — The Seven Factors for Awakening

[See "The Seven Factors for Awakening" in The Wings to Awakening.]

SN 46.1: Himavanta Sutta — The Himalayas

A summary of the seven Factors for Awakening.

SN 46.14: Gilana Sutta — Ill

The Buddha instructs a very ill Ven. Maha Kassapa on the seven Factors for Awakening.

SN 46.16: Gilana Sutta — Ill

The Buddha, who is very ill, asks Ven. Maha Cunda to recite for him the seven Factors of Awakening.

SN 46.51: Ahara Sutta — Food

The Buddha describes how we can either "feed" or "starve" the wholesome and unwholesome tendencies in the mind according to how we apply our attention.

SN 46.53: Aggi Sutta — Fire

The right and wrong ways to respond to sluggishness or restlessness.

SN 46.54: Metta Sutta/Mettam Sutta — Good Will/The Brahma-viharas

How to develop the four brahma-viharas.

SN 46.55: Sangaravo Sutta — Sangarava

Why do some sacred texts seem clear, while others are muddled?

47. Satipatthana-samyutta — The Four Frames of Reference (Foundations of Mindfulness)

[See "The Four Frames of Reference" in The Wings to Awakening.]

SN 47.6: Sakunagghi Sutta — The Hawk

The Buddha uses a lovely parable — that of a hawk catching a quail far outside the quail's familiar hunting ground — to reveal the need for keeping the mind in its proper territory: the four frames of reference.

SN 47.7: Makkata Sutta — The Foolish Monkey/The Monkey

Keep your mind in its proper territory — the four frames of reference — lest you lose it altogether, like this pitiful monkey stuck in a tar trap.

SN 47.8: Suda Sutta — The Cook

How is meditation like cooking? The Buddha explains.

SN 47.10: Bhikkhunupassaya Sutta/Bhikkhunivasako Sutta — Directed and Undirected Meditation/Mindfulness

How to respond skillfully to distracted states of mind that interfere with concentration.

SN 47.13: Cunda Sutta — About Cunda

Ven. Ananda grieves over Ven. Sariputta's death, and the Buddha consoles him with Dhamma: make the Dhamma your island, your true refuge!

SN 47.14: Cunda Sutta — At Ukkacela

The Buddha's reaction to the death of Ven. Sariputta.

SN 47.19: Sedaka Sutta — The Bamboo Acrobat/At Sedaka

Is meditation a selfish endeavor? Using a famous simile of two acrobats, the Buddha resolves this question decisively.

SN 47.20: Sedaka Sutta — At Sedaka

How solid is your concentration? Try this test, proposed by the Buddha: Can you keep a glass of oil balanced on your head while your favorite movie star is singing and dancing right in front of you?

SN 47.35: Sata Sutta — Mindful

What does it mean to be mindful? What does it mean to be alert?

SN 47.37: Chanda Sutta — Desire

How mindfulness leads to freedom from desire — and beyond.

SN 47.38: Pariñña Sutta — Comprehension

Comprehension of these four things leads to Awakening.

SN 47.40: Satipatthana-vibhanga Sutta — Analysis of the Frames of Reference

A summary of the four Frames of Reference, and how they are to be developed.

SN 47.41: Amata Sutta — Deathless

Don't let the Deathless be lost to you!

SN 47.42: Samudaya Sutta — Origination

The origination and subsiding of the foundations of mindfulness.

SN 47.46: Paa.timokkha Sutta — Obligation

Success in meditation depends upon laying skillful foundations.

48. Indriya-samyutta — The Five Mental Faculties

[See "The Five Faculties" in The Wings to Awakening.]

SN 48.10: Indriya-vibhanga Sutta — Analysis of the Mental Faculties

A summary of the five mental faculties: conviction, persistence, mindfulness, concentration, and discernment.

SN 48.38: Vibhanga Sutta — An Analysis

On the Buddha's five-fold classification of feelings.

SN 48.39: Katthopama Sutta — The Fire-stick

On the Buddha's five-fold classification of feelings.

SN 48.41: Jara Sutta — Old Age

The Buddha, now a wrinkled old man, issues a stirring rebuke against old age.

SN 48.42: Unnabho Brahmano Sutta — The Brahman Unnabha

SN 48.44: Pubbakotthaka Sutta — Eastern Gatehouse

The Buddha and Ven. Sariputta discuss conviction, and whether it is present in those who have seen the Deathless. They concur that until one experiences the Deathless for oneself, one can only take its existence on faith.

SN 48.53: Sekha Sutta — The Learner

How can one tell if one is a "learner" (sekha; one who has attained at least stream-entry, but not yet arahantship) or an arahant?

SN 48.54: Pade Sutta — In the Foot

SN 48.56: Patitthita Sutta — Established

Heedfulness: the cornerstone upon which all other skillful qualities are based.

49. Sammappadhana-samyutta — The Four Right Exertions

[See "The Four Right Exertions" in The Wings to Awakening.]

50. Bala-samyutta — The Five Strengths

[See "The Five Strengths" in The Wings to Awakening.]

51. Iddhipada-samyutta — The Four Bases of Power

[See "The Four Bases of Power" in The Wings to Awakening.]

SN 51.15: Brahmana Sutta — To Unnabha the Brahman

Ven. Ananda explains to Unnabha that the path of Dhamma is one with a definite goal — the abandoning of desire — which can only be attained by developing a strong desire to end desire.

SN 51.20: Iddhipada-vibhanga Sutta — Analysis of the Bases of Power

The Buddha explains how the four bases of power are to be developed.

52. Anuruddha-samyutta — Ven. Anuruddha

SN 52.10: Gilana Sutta — Illness

Ven. Anuruddha explains to the other monks how he keeps the pain of his physical illness from invading the mind.

53. Jhana-samyutta — Jhana (mental absorption)

54. Anapana-samyutta — Mindfulness of breathing

SN 54.6: Arittha Sutta — To Arittha

The Buddha explains that success in meditation calls for more than simply being mindful; there are specific skills that must be developed.

SN 54.8: Dipa Sutta — The Lamp

No matter how far along you are in your meditation practice, the basic principle is the same: you should develop and sustain mindfulness of breathing.

SN 54.9: Vesali Sutta — At Vesali

How the practice of concentration through mindfulness of breathing clarifies the underlying purpose of other meditation practices.

SN 54.13: Ananda Sutta — To Ananda

The Buddha explains to Ven. Ananda how the sustained practice of mindfulness of breathing (anapanasati) leads, by stages, to full Awakening.

55. Sotapatti-samyutta — Stream-entry

SN 55.1: Raja Sutta — The Emperor

Which is better: being a world leader, or gaining the four factors of stream-entry?

SN 55.21: Mahanama Sutta — To Mahanama (1)

SN 55.22: Mahanama Sutta — To Mahanama (2)

Sometimes it is said that the last moment of consciousness is all-important in determining one's rebirth, but these suttas show that well-developed virtues in the mind can override even a muddled mind-state at death.

SN 55.24: Sarakaani Sutta — Sarakaani (Who Took to Drink)

SN 55.30: Licchavi Sutta — To the Licchavi

The Buddha instructs the layman Nandaka on the four factors of stream-entry.

SN 55.31: Abhisanda Sutta — Bonanzas (1)

SN 55.32: Abhisanda Sutta — Bonanzas (2)

SN 55.33: Abhisanda Sutta — Bonanzas (3)

The Buddha describes three variations on the four factors of stream-entry.

SN 55.40: Nandiya Sutta — To Nandiya

On what it means to live with heedfulness (appamada).

SN 55.54: Gilana Sutta — Ill

A short instruction manual on how to give comfort to a gravely ill lay follower.

56. Sacca-samyutta — The Four Noble Truths

SN 56.9: Viggahika Sutta — Wordy Warfare

Some kinds of speech are counterproductive.

SN 56.11: Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta — The Discourse on the Setting in Motion of the Wheel (of Vision) of the Basic Pattern: the Four True Realities for the Spiritually Ennobled Ones/Setting Rolling the Wheel of Truth/Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth/Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion

This is the Buddha's first discourse, delivered shortly after his Awakening to the group of five monks with whom he had practiced the austerities in the forest for many years. The sutta contains the essential teachings of the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. Upon hearing this discourse, the monk Kondañña attains the first stage of Awakening, thus giving birth to the ariya sangha (Noble Sangha).

SN 56.20: Tatha Sutta — Real

Four things whose fundamental reality makes them worthy of deep contemplation.

SN 56.22: Vijja Sutta — Knowledge

SN 56.31: Simsapa Sutta — The Simsapa Leaves

The Buddha compares the knowledge he gained in his Awakening to all the leaves in the forest, and his teachings to a mere handful of leaves. He then explains why he didn't reveal the remainder.

SN 56.35: Sattisata Sutta — One Hundred Spears

Life may be fraught with pain, but the breakthrough to Awakening is utterly painless.

SN 56.36: Pana Sutta — Animals

The path leading out of samsara springs from contemplation of the Four Noble Truths.

SN 56.42: Papata Sutta — The Drop-off

The Buddha reminds an anxious monk who stands with him at the edge of a high cliff that some dangers are far more worrisome than this precipice.

SN 56.44: Kuta Sutta — Gabled

Practicing Dhamma is like building a house: you have to start at the bottom and work your way up. You just can't do it the other way round.

SN 56.45: Vala Sutta — The Horsehair

It's easy to admire the skill required to master a sport or a feat of manual dexterity. But even more difficult is the skill required to master the Four Noble Truths.

SN 56.46: Andhakara Sutta — Darkness

A monk ponders the darkness of deep space and asks the Buddha: "Is there any darkness more frightening than this?" The Buddha asserts that yes, there most certainly is.

SN 56.48: Chiggala Sutta — The Hole

The Buddha's famous simile of the blind sea-turtle, illustrating the precious rarity of this human birth.

SN 56.102-113: Pansu Suttas — Dust

A fortunate rebirth is rare. Therefore: practice!

Source: "Samyutta Nikaya: The Grouped Discourses", edited by Access to Insight. Access to Insight (Legacy Edition), 21 December 2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/index.html . [This format has been produced by Alexander Peck.]

It is highly recommended to go to the website given above for the missing embedded links in the first six pages of this document – and also for other embedded links.

On the website, the suttas are numbered by samyutta (chapter) and sutta, with the suttas numbered sequentially from the start of each samyutta, using as a guide the Rhys Davis & Woodward PTS English translations of the Samyutta Nikaya (The Book of the Kindred Sayings). The braces {} that follow each sutta and samyutta title contain the corresponding volume and starting page number, first in the Pali Text Society (PTS) romanized Pali edition of the Samyutta Nikaya, then in Bhikkhu Bodhi's Connected Discourses of the Buddha ("CDB"). The translator appears in the square brackets [].

See also the handy table for converting between traditional (DPR, CSCD) and modern (ATI, CDB) samyutta numbering systems.

©2005 Access to Insight.

The text of this page ("Samyutta Nikaya: The Grouped Discourses", by Access to Insight) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions. Last revised for Access to Insight on 21 December 2013.