Saṃyutta Nikāya

The Samyutta Nikaya (Saṃyutta Nikāya SN, "Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings") is a Buddhist scripture, the third of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism. Because of the abbreviated way parts of the text are written, the total number of suttas is unclear. The editor of the Pali Text Society edition of the text made it 2889, Bodhi in his translation has 2904, while the commentaries give 7762. A study by Rupert Gethin[1] gives the totals for the Burmese and Sinhalese editions as 2854 and 7656, respectively, and his own calculation as 6696; he also says the total in the Thai edition is unclear. The suttas are grouped into five vaggas, or sections. Each vagga is further divided into samyuttas, or chapters, each of which in turn contains a group of suttas on a related topic.

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37
DHAMMĀ of
ENLIGHTENMENT		   4
Efforts		 4
Bases		  
5
Faculties		 5
Powers
  7
Factors		   
  8
Path Factors		  

Correspondence with the Saṃyukta Āgama

The Samyutta Nikaya corresponds to the Saṃyukta Āgama found in the Sutra Pitikas of various Sanskritic early Buddhists schools, fragments of which survive in Sanskrit and in Tibetan translation. A complete Chinese translation from the Sarvāstivādin recension appears in the Chinese Buddhist canon, where it is known as the Zá Ahánjīng (雜阿含經); meaning "the mixed agama". A comparison of the Sarvāstivādin, Kāśyapīya, and Theravadin texts reveals a considerable consistency of content, although each recension contains sutras/suttas not found in the others.[2] The Collation and Annotation of Saṃyuktāgama[3] (《<雜阿含經>校釋》,Chinese version) makes further comparison.

Dating

Bhante Sujato, a contemporary scholar monk, argues that the remarkable congruence of the various recensions suggests that the Samyutta Nikaya/Saṃyukta Āgama was the only collection to be finalized in terms of both structure and content in the pre-sectarian period.[4]

Translations

Full translations
  • The Book of the Kindred Sayings, tr C. A. F. Rhys Davids & F. L. Woodward, 1917–30, 5 volumes, Bristol: Pali Text Society
  • The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, tr Bhikkhu Bodhi, 2000, Wisdom Publications, Somerville, MA, ISBN 0-86171-331-1; the Pali Text Society also issues a private edition of this for members only, which is its preferred translation
  • Bhikkhu Sujato (trans.), The “Linked” or “Connected” Discourses, 2018, published online at SuttaCentral and released into the public domain.

Selections

Divisions


The vaggas contained in this nikaya are (the numbering of chapters [samyuttas] here refers to the PTS and Burmese editions; the Sinhalese[6] and Thai editions divide the text up somewhat differently):

Vagga NameDescriptionSamyutta Number
Part I. Sagatha-vaggaa collection of suttas containing verses (Pali, sagatha), many shared by other parts of the Pali canon such as the Theragatha, Therigatha, Suttanipata, Dhammapada and the Jatakas.[7]SN 1-11
Part II. Nidana-vaggaa collection of suttas primarily pertaining to causation (Pali, nidana)SN 12-21
Part III. Khandha-vaggaa collection of suttas primarily pertaining to the five aggregates (Pali, khandha)SN 22-34
Part IV. Salayatana-vaggaa collection of suttas primarily pertaining to the six sense bases (Pali, salayatana), including the "Fire Sermon" (Adittapariyaya Sutta)SN 35-44
Part V. Maha-vaggathe largest – that is, great (Pali, maha) – collectionSN 45. the Noble Eightfold Path
SN 46. the Seven Factors of Enlightenment
SN 47. the Four Establishment of Mindfulness
SN 48. the Faculties
SN 49. the Four Right Striving
SN 50. the Five Powers
SN 51. the Four Bases for Spiritual Power[8]
SN 52. Anuruddha discourses
SN h 53. the Jhanas
SN 54. Mindfulness of Breathing
SN 55. Factors of Stream-entry
SN 56. the Truths

See also

Notes
  1. Journal of the Pali Text Society, volume XXIX, pages 369, 381
  2. A Dictionary of Buddhism, by Damien Keown, Oxford University Press: 2004
  3. The Collation and Annotation of Saṃyuktāgama, by Wang Jianwei and Jin Hui, East China Normal University Press: 2014
  4. Sujato, Bhante (2012), A History of Mindfulness (PDF), Santipada, pp. 31, 37–52, ISBN 9781921842108
  5. The BPS anthology was published in three parts, edited by John D. Ireland (1981), Bhikkhu Ñanananda (1983) and Maurice O'C. Walshe (1985).
  6. While the PTS Samyutta Nikaya has 56 saṃyuttas (connected collections), the Sinhala Buddha Jayanti Tripitaka Series (BJT) print edition has 54 saṃyuttas and, based on the BJT edition, the softcopy Sri Lanka Tripitaka Project (SLTP) edition has 55 saṃyuttas. The reason for these differences are that:
    • the BJT and SLTP saṃyutta 12 (Abhisamaya-saṃyutta) combines the PTS saṃyuttas 12 (Nidana-saṃyutta) and 13 (Abhisamaya-saṃyutta), representing the latter saṃyutta as a final vaggo (chapter) in the former saṃyutta.
    • the BJT saṃyutta 34 (Vedanā-saṃyutta) combines the PTS saṃyuttas 35 (Salāyatana-saṃyutta) and 36 (Vedanā-saṃyutta).
  7. Bodhi (2000), p. 69.
  8. Bodhi (2000), pp. 1485-6, points out that the first seven chapters of the Maggavagga-samyutta pertain to the seven sets of qualities conducive to Enlightenment.

Bibliography
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