Saṃyutta Nikāya — The Connected Discourses – page 2
1,822 texts · page 2 of 19 (texts 101–200)
SN 2.20: With Anāthapiṇḍika
A deity who had been the Buddha’s supporter Anāthapiṇḍika in his former life comes to Buddha and speaks verses in celebration of the Jeta’s Grove monastery—which he had offered for the Buddha’s use—good deeds, the Dhamma, and Venerable Sāriputta.
SN 2.21: With Shiva
The deity Siva says one should associate only with the good, and this will lead to happiness. The Buddha adds that associating with the good leads to the end of suffering. Siva is the Pali spelling of Sanskrit Śiva, and this marks a rare appearance of a god of this name in the early texts.
SN 2.22: With Khema
The deity Khema utters a series of verses in praise of good deeds. The Buddha responds with a simile for someone who departs the path of the good.
SN 2.23: With Serī
The deity Serī speaks of how everyone loves food., to which the Buddha responds with verses in praise of giving. Serī speaks of his own generosity in a past life.
SN 2.24: With Ghaṭīkāra
The deity Ghaṭīkāra speaks of the seven mendicants reborn in the Aviha realm. The sutta is similar to SN 1.50.
SN 2.25: With Jantu
Some monks in Kosala fell into negligence, and were admonished by the deity Jantu.
SN 2.26: With Rohitassa
Rohitassa asks the Buddha if it is possible to reach the end of the world by traveling. The Buddha says no; and Rohitassa tells of how in a past life as a seer he had tried to accomplish this very feat and failed. The Buddha says the end of the world is found in this body.
SN 2.27: With Nanda
Nanda speaks of the transience of life, saying one should do good to be reborn in a happy future life. The Buddha replies that one should let go attachment.
SN 2.28: With Nandivisāla
The god Nandivisāla gives an elaborate metaphor for the body, and asks how to escape from it.
SN 2.29: With Susīma
The Buddha asks Ānanda if he likes Sāriputta, and when he replies that he does, the god Susīma and his assembly appear, rejoicing in Sāriputta’s praises, and radiating in lustrous colors.
SN 2.30: The Disciples of Various Monastics of Other Religions
A series of deities who had formerly been ascetics in the non-Buddhist sects came to the Buddha, speaking verses in praise—or occasional criticism—of their former teachers
SN 3.1: Young
King Pasenadi meets the Buddha for the first time. He wonders how the Buddha can claim to be awakened when he is still so young. The Buddha teaches him four things that should not be looked down on for their youth.
SN 3.2: A Person
Pasenadi asks of the things that cause suffering when they arise in oneself.
SN 3.3: Old Age and Death
Pasenadi asks if anything that is born can escape from old age and death.
SN 3.4: Loved
Reporting on a reflection that arose while on retreat, Pasenadi says that those who do bad deeds treat themselves as enemy. The Buddha expresses his agreement in verse.
SN 3.5: Self-Protected
Even if protected by an entire army, one who does bad deeds is still unprotected.
SN 3.6: Few
There are few in the world who do not become negligent and complacent once they obtain material luxuries.
SN 3.7: Judgment
Pasenadi laments how in his judgment hall he sees people lying all the time for the sake of sensual pleasures.
SN 3.8: With Queen Mallikā
Pasandi asks Queen Mallikā who is most dear. They both agree that the one most dear is oneself, and the Buddha agrees.
SN 3.9: Sacrifice
A great sacrifice involving the slaughter of many animals was being prepared for King Pasenadi. The Buddha condemns such sacrifices and says a fruitful sacrifice involves a blameless and harmless offering.
SN 3.10: Shackles
When many people are put in chains by Pasenadi, the matter is reported to the Buddha.
SN 3.11: Seven Matted-Hair Ascetics
A diverse group of ascetics passes by, and Pasenadi asks the Buddha if any of them are perfected ones. The Buddha says it is not easy for one such as Pasenadi to judge the spiritual achievements of others. Pasenadi reveals that the men are, in fact, his spies.
SN 3.12: Five Kings
Five kings including Pasenadi are enjoying themselves and wonder which of the senses affords the highest pleasure. They ask the Buddha, who replies that it is subjective, depending on a persons preferences. Inspired, the laymen Candanaṅgalika offers a verse in praise of the Buddha.
SN 3.13: A Bucketful of Rice
In what is probably the world’s first weight loss diet, when Pasenadi shows up overweight and out of breath, the Buddha advises him to cut down his eating. He gives a verse to one of the king’s attendants, and asks him to recite it whenever the king is eating.
SN 3.14: Battle (1st)
Pasenadi loses a battle against his nephew King Ajātasattu of Magadha.
SN 3.15: Battle (2nd)
In a battle subsequent to SN 3.14, Pasenadi defeats Ajātasattu and takes him prisoner. Acting compassionately, he confiscates Ajātasattu’s military assets but releases him alive.
SN 3.16: A Daughter
Pasenadi is disappointed to hear that Queen Mallikā has given birth to a daughter. But the Buddha consoles him, saying a woman may turn out better than a man.
SN 3.17: Diligence
Pasenadi asks the Buddha if there is one thing that secures benefit both in this life and the next.
SN 3.18: Good Friends
In answer to Pasenadi’s praise of good friendship, the Buddha recounts an earlier conversation with Ānanda on the topic. He then goes on to say that when one has good friends, it is important to develop diligence.
SN 3.19: Childless (1st)
A wealthy man dies childless, having not enjoyed his riches. The Buddha says that wealth should be properly enjoyed and shared.
SN 3.20: Childless (2nd)
A wealthy man dies childless, having not enjoyed his riches. The Buddha tells of how in the time of a solitary Buddha of the past named Tagarasikhī, a householder made an offering but later regretted it.
SN 3.21: Individuals
The Buddha teaches Pasenadi of four kinds of person, going from dark to dark, dark to light, light to dark, and light to light.
SN 3.22: Grandmother
Pasenadi laments the death of his aged grandmother.
SN 3.23: The World
How many things give rise to suffering in oneself?
SN 3.24: Archery
“Where should I give” and “Where is a gift is most fruitful” are two different questions.
SN 3.25: The Simile of the Mountain
Old age and death roll in upon all like mountains approaching from the four directions, crushing all in their path
SN 4.1: Mortification
Māra accuses the Buddha of having abandoned the path of true austerity.
SN 4.2: In the Form of an Elephant King
Māra manifests before the Buddha in the form of a ferocious elephant in order to scare him.
SN 4.3: Beautiful
Māra tries to scare the Buddha by taking on shifting forms both beautiful and hideous.
SN 4.4: Māra’s Snares (1st)
When the Buddha explains to the mendicants how he realized freedom, Māra claims he is still trapped.
SN 4.5: Māra’s Snares (2nd)
When the Buddha explains to the mendicants how he has realized freedom, and so have his mendicant followers, Māra claims he is still trapped.
SN 4.6: A Serpent
Māra manifests as a huge serpent, but the Buddha is unshaken.
SN 4.7: Sleeping
After meditating all night, the Buddha lies down to sleep at dawn, and Māra scolds him for being lazy.
SN 4.8: Delighting
The Buddha and Māra exchange verses on whether attachments are a source of delight or suffering.
SN 4.9: Lifespan (1st)
Though the Buddha says that life is short, Māra says it is long.
SN 4.10: Lifespan (2nd)
Though the Buddha says that life is short, Māra says it is long.
SN 4.11: Boulders
Māra smashes boulders in an attempt to scare the Buddha.
SN 4.12: Lion
Māra criticizes the Buddha for his lion’s roar, asserting that the Buddha is not in fact peerless.
SN 4.13: A Splinter
The Buddha rests after being struck by stone splinters, and Māra criticizes him for being lazy.
SN 4.14: Appropriate
Māra discourages the Buddha from teaching, warning him that he will become corrupted by favoritism.
SN 4.15: A Mental Snare
Māra threatens the Buddha with a “mental snare” in the sky.
SN 4.16: The Alms Bowls
While the mendicants are listening to the teachings, Māra takes the form of an ox and looks as if he will break their almsbowls.
SN 4.17: The Six Fields of Contact
While the mendicants are listening to the teachings, Māra makes an awful roar to distract them.
SN 4.18: Alms Food
Māra ensures that the Buddha fails to get alms, but the Buddha is happy to feed on joy.
SN 4.19: A Farmer
While the mendicants are listening to the teachings, Māra takes the form of a farmer looking for lost oxen and addresses the Buddha.
SN 4.20: Ruling
The Buddha wonders whether it is possible to rule justly, without violence. Māra appears and encourages the Buddha to pursue such a path.
SN 4.21: Several
Māra approaches some young mendicants as an old brahmin, and tries to tempt them with talk of the pleasures of youth.
SN 4.22: With Samiddhi
Māra repeatedly pesters the monk Samiddhi when he is on retreat. The Buddha encourages him, until eventually Samiddhi is able to recognize Māra for himself.
SN 4.23: With Godhika
Venerable Godhika finds himself repeatedly falling away from his meditation attainments due to severe illness. Eventually he considers suicide, and Māra tries to get the Buddha to deter him. But the Buddha says Godhika has already attained awakening and has died blamelessly.
SN 4.24: Seven Years of Pursuit
Māra has tried to distract the Buddha for seven years without success. He laments his failure with the similes of a crab whose limbs are smashed by a group of children, and a crow who tried to eat a stone.
SN 4.25: Māra’s Daughters
Depressed, Māra laments to his three daughters of his failure to distract the Buddha. So they take on the task themselves, and assume a variety of sensuous forms to tempt him. But they fail too, and Māra castigates them for being so presumptuous
SN 5.1: With Āḷavikā
The nun Āḷavikā has entered the Dark Wood seeking seclusion when Māra comes to threaten her, claiming there is no escape and no point in seclusion. She recognizes him instantly and dismisses his taunts, asserting that she is beyond his control.
SN 5.2: With Somā
When meditating in the Dark Wood, the nun Somā is taunted by Māra, who claims that a mere woman can never see the subtle truth. She rejects him, stating that gender does not matter when one is perceiving deep truths, and telling Māra to go see those still attached to gender.
SN 5.3: With Kisāgotamī
Māra taunts the nun Kisāgotamī, alleging she is mourning sons and longing for a man. She rejects him, stating that she has no need for men, as she has destroyed the mass of darkness and conquered the army of Death.
SN 5.4: With Vijayā
Māra comes to the nun Vijayā in the form of a handsome youth and tries to tempt her from her path. But she rejects sensual pleasures, as she delights in subtle meditation and has ended ignorance.
SN 5.5: With Uppalavaṇṇā
Uppalavaṇṇā is rebuked by Māra, who says a beautiful woman like her should fear rogues when alone in the forest. However, she dismisses such fears, saying she can use her psychic powers to defeat thousands of rogues like him.
SN 5.6: With Cālā
Māra asks the nun Cālā why she disapproves of rebith. She replies that it necessarily entails suffering.
SN 5.7: With Upacālā
Māra asks the nun Upacālā where she wishes to be reborn. But as the world everywhere is burning, she rejects all forms of rebirth.
SN 5.8: With Sīsupacālā
Māra asks the nun Sīsupacālā whose teaching she believes in. She replies that she rejects the various sectarians and follows the Buddha, as his teachings lead to freedom.
SN 5.9: With Selā
Māra asks the nun Selā about who has created this “puppet”, i.e. the form that has been reincarnated. She replies that there is no creator, but it arises as a result of conditions, like the growing of a seed in a field.
SN 5.10: With Vajirā
Māra asks the nun Vajirā about who has created this being. Recognizing him, she points out that the word “being” is nothing more than a convention used to designate the aggregates, just as the word “cart” is used when the parts are assembled
SN 6.1: The Appeal of the Divinity
After his awakening, the Buddha hesitated to teach, thinking that the Dhamma is too subtle for people to understand. But the high divinity Brahmā Sahampati appears and encourages him to teach, pointing out that there are some with “little dust in their eyes” who will understand.
SN 6.2: Respect
After his awakening, the Buddha reflects that one should live with reverence; but who is he to revere, since he is fully awakened? He realizes that he should live revering the Dhamma. Brahmā Sahampati appears and agrees with him, saying that this is how all Buddhas of past and future live too.
SN 6.3: With Brahmadeva
Brahmā Sahampati appears before a woman who is a devotee of his, and tells her to offer food instead to her son, a Buddhist monk, as Brahmās don’t eat the food she offers.
SN 6.4: With Baka the Divinity
Baka the Brahmā conceives the wrong view that his status is permanent and imperishable. The Buddha goes to dissuade him, and they have an exchange in verse, with the Buddha telling Baka of his past lives.
SN 6.5: A Certain Divinity
An unnamed brahmā god thinks to himself that he is so powerful no asectic can approach him. The Buddha goes straight to his realm and appears wrapped in flame above his head. Mahāmoggallāna and several other disciples follow him. The brahmā and his retinue are sutiably impressed.
SN 6.6: The Negligent Divinity
The brahmās Subrahmā and Suddhāvāsa note that a fellow-brahmā is living in negligence, overly impressed with his own glory, so they go to shake him from his complacence.
SN 6.7: About Kokālika
The brahmās Subrahmā and Suddhāvāsa come to the Buddha’s hut and speak on the monk Kokālika, a follower of Devadatta.
SN 6.8: About Katamorakatissaka
The brahmās Subrahmā and Suddhāvāsa come to the Buddha’s hut and speak on the monk Katamorakatissaka, a follower of Devadatta.
SN 6.9: With the Divinity Tudu
The brahmā Tudu tries to persuade Kokālika to have faith in Sāriputta and Moggallāna, but Kokālika wants none of it.
SN 6.10: With Kokālika
Kokālika goes to the Buddha and criticizes Sāriputta and Moggallāna. But having deliberately slandered such great monks, he dies and Brahmā Sahampati informs the Buddha he has been reborn in hell. The Buddha gives a memorable simile of the length of life in hell.
SN 6.11: With Sanaṅkumāra
Brahmā Sanaṅkumāra appears to the Buddha and asserts that the aristocrat or khattiya is the best caste, but the Buddha is the best of people.
SN 6.12: About Devadatta
Brahmā Sahampati, referring to Devadatta, points out that honors destroy a scoundrel.
SN 6.13: At Andhakavinda
Brahmā Sahampati appears to the Buddha and speaks in praise of the renunciates staying fearless in the deep forest, and celebrates the many who have found freedom.
SN 6.14: About Aruṇavatī
The Buddha tells a story of the past Buddha Sikhī and his disciple Abhibhū. They visit a brahmā realm where they perform many astounding feats and give teachings.
SN 6.15: Full Extinguishment
After the Buddha became finally extinguished, Brahmā Sahampati led a series of distinguished beings who uttered verses in commemoration
SN 7.1: With Dhanañjānī
When a brahmin lady expresses her confidence in the Triple Gem, her husband is annoyed. She encourages him to visit the Buddha, who soothes his anger.
SN 7.2: With Bhāradvāja the Rude
A brahmin visits the Buddha and unleashes a tirade of abuse, but the Buddha refuses to accept it, showing that he remains free of anger.
SN 7.3: With Bhāradvāja the Fiend
A brahmin visits the Buddha and abuses him, but the Buddha responds only with patience.
SN 7.4: With Bhāradvāja the Bitter
Hearing that a brahmin had gone forth under the Buddha, another brahmin was upset. But once again the Buddha calms him down, pointing out that anger only harms oneself.
SN 7.5: Harmless
A brahmin called “Harmless” visits the Buddha, who teaches him the true meaning of harmlessness.
SN 7.6: With Bhāradvāja of the Matted Hair
A brahmin with matted hair asks the Buddha how we can become disentangled. This short set of verses became one of the most important in all of Theravāda Buddhism when it was used as the cornerstone of the commentarial treatise Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification).
SN 7.7: With Bhāradvāja the Pure
The brahmin Suddhika makes the strikingly Buddhist assertion that mere austerities don’t lead to purity; only knowledge and conduct do.
SN 7.8: With Bhāradvāja the Fire-Worshiper
A brahmin conducting a fire sacrifice invites the Buddha to accept the blessed milk-rice, claiming that the Buddha is a true brahmin.
SN 7.9: With Bhāradvāja of Sundarikā
A brahmin conducting a fire sacrifice wishes to offer the sacrificial cake. He sees the Buddha meditating and wants to give it to him, but hesitates when he realizes he is a shaven-headed ascetic. He asks the Buddha’s caste, but the Buddha argues that conduct is the important thing, not caste. The Buddha gives a metaphorical reinterpretation of the elements of brahmanical ritual.
SN 7.10: Many Daughters
A brahmin is searching for his lost oxen when he sees the Buddha meditating peacefully in the forest. He laments the many sorrows of his life, celebrating the Buddha’s happiness and freedom from such sorrows.
SN 7.11: With Bhāradvāja the Farmer
A brahmin farmer criticizes the Buddha for failing to produce food, merely living off the work of others. But the Buddha shows that his true work is spiritual.
SN 7.12: With Udaya
A brahmin complains when the Buddha visits for alms again and again. The Buddha takes the chance to point out that all natural phenomena repeat in cycles, and only an awakened one escapes the cycle.
SN 7.13: With Devahita
The Buddha is ill and sends his attendant monk Upavāṇa to fetch some hot water. A brahmin gives him not just water, but also molasses to ease his stomach. Later the brahmin visits the Buddha to discuss generosity.
SN 7.14: A well-to-do brahmin
A brahmin in shabby clothes has been kicked out of his home by ungrateful sons. The Buddha gives him a verse to recite in the village council, comparing his faithless sons to his trusty wooden staff. Ashamed, the sons take back their father, bathe and dress him.