Saṃyutta Nikāya — The Connected Discourses
Over 2,889 short discourses grouped by topic (aggregates, senses, dependent origination…).
1,822 texts · page 1 of 19 (texts 1–100)
SN 1.1: Crossing the Flood
The Buddha crossed the flood of suffering by neither standing nor swimming.
SN 1.2: Liberation
Freedom comes when we end attachment to rebirth.
SN 1.3: Led On
Life is short, so we should drop the world’s bait.
SN 1.4: Time Flies
Time flies, so we should drop the world’s bait.
SN 1.5: Cut How Many?
A cryptic set of questions, which the Buddha answers equally cryptically.
SN 1.6: Awake
How many are awake while others are asleep?
SN 1.7: Not Comprehending
Those who comprehend the teachings live smooth amid the rough.
SN 1.8: Very Confused
Those who are unconfused live smooth amid the rough.
SN 1.9: Fond of Conceit
Unless you give up conceit you’ll be trapped in the domain of Death.
SN 1.10: Wilderness
Spiritual practitioners have clear complexions, despite their simple life.
SN 1.11: The Garden of Delight
Even the divine Garden of Delight is impermanent.
SN 1.12: Delight
We think our attachments bring us happiness, but they really bring sorrow.
SN 1.13: There’s Nothing Like a Child
Like many of these discourses, here the Buddha repeats a god’s verses with a subtle twist towards the Dhamma.
SN 1.14: Aristocrats
A god’s worldly values are improved by the Buddha’s version.
SN 1.15: Whispering
The quiet murmuring of the jungle can be scary—but not to the Buddha.
SN 1.16: Sleepiness and Sloth
Laziness is an obstruction to the path.
SN 1.17: Hard to Do
Life is hard for an unrestrained ascetic; they should draw in their thoughts like a tortoise.
SN 1.18: Conscience
Does anyone have a sense of conscience and shame?
SN 1.19: Little Hut
Do you have a little hut and a little nest—or are you free?
SN 1.20: With Samiddhi
A deity tries to tempt a monk to first enjoy sensual pleasures and then go forth.
SN 1.21: A Sword
A mendicant should live as if their head was on fire.
SN 1.22: Impact
The evil you do hurts yourself.
SN 1.23: A Tangle
This generation is all tangled up like a nest of matted hair. But who can unravel the tangle?
SN 1.24: Shielding the Mind
One should rein in the mind, but only from that which is evil.
SN 1.25: A Perfected One
If a perfected one has gone beyond all sense of self, would they still refer to themselves as “I”?
SN 1.26: Lamps
How many lights are there that light up the world?
SN 1.27: Streams
The stream of rebirth stops flowing when name and form ceases.
SN 1.28: Affluent
Even the rich are full of greed for more—is there anyone free of greed?
SN 1.29: Four Wheels
A riddle on the topic of escape.
SN 1.30: Antelope Calves
The Buddha is asked how to find release from suffering.
SN 1.31: Virtuous
A series of deities give verses praising association with the good, and the Buddha gives his own response.
SN 1.32: Stinginess
A series of deities give verses praising generosity, and the Buddha gives his own response.
SN 1.33: Good
A series of deities give verses praising generosity, and the Buddha gives his own response, saying that practice of the Dhamma goes beyond this.
SN 1.34: There Are None
Two deities exchange verses with the Buddha on how sensual pleasures give rise to suffering.
SN 1.35: Fault-Finding Deities
Some deities come to find fault with the Buddha. He responds to their critique, which stimulates a further discussion on wrong-doing and forgiveness.
SN 1.36: Faith
A series of Satullapa gods address the Buddha with verses on various topics. The identifications of the verses in this unclear, and comparison with the Chinese parallels suggests the Pali may have suffered textual loss.
SN 1.37: The Congregation
A vast congregation of deities assembles to see the Buddha and the Saṅgha at Kapilavatthu.
SN 1.38: A Splinter
A series of deities praise the Buddha’s resilience and composure when his foot is injured by a stone.
SN 1.39: With Pajjunna’s Daughter (1st)
A goddess identifying herself as Kokanadā claims to confirm with her own experience the Buddha’s teachings on karma.
SN 1.40: With Pajjunna’s Daughter (2nd)
A goddess identified as Kokanada, possibly the sister of the previous, sums up the teaching in a pithy verse.
SN 1.41: On Fire
A deity recites to the Buddha some verses
SN 1.42: Giving What?
Different kinds of gifts have different purposes.
SN 1.43: Food
Gods and humans love to eat, so what kind of being does not like food?
SN 1.44: One Root
A single verse in the form of a Dhamma riddle.
SN 1.45: Peerless
A verse in praise of the Buddha.
SN 1.46: Nymphs
To escape from the Forest of Delusion, one needs the vehicle of the Dhamma.
SN 1.47: Planters
For those who give the gift of a monastery, merit always grows.
SN 1.48: Jeta’s Grove
Verses in praise of the Jetavana monastery, the Dhamma, and venerable Sāriputta, apparently spoken by the deity Anāthapiṇḍika.
SN 1.49: Stingy
The Buddha is asked about the future destiny of people who are stingy and those who are generous.
SN 1.50: With Ghaṭīkāra
Ghaṭīkāra, a disciple of the former Buddha Kassapa, comes to the Buddha and speaks of his past life, and of the attainments of six friends.
SN 1.51: Old Age
Morality is good even in old age.
SN 1.52: Getting Old
Morality is good when it doesn’t decay.
SN 1.53: A Friend
Things that are friends in this life and the next.
SN 1.54: Grounds
What is it that sustains various beings? Unusually, this verse lacks a “Dhamma” counterpart.
SN 1.55: Gives Birth (1st)
A person is created by craving and fears suffering.
SN 1.56: Gives Birth (2nd)
A person is created by craving and is not freed from suffering
SN 1.57: Gives Birth (3rd)
A person is created by craving and their destiny is shaped by their deeds.
SN 1.58: Deviation
What is the wrong path?
SN 1.59: A Partner
A person’s true companion is their faith.
SN 1.60: A Poet
A pair of verses on the nature of poetry, and lacking a Dhamma counterpart.
SN 1.61: Name
“Name” weighs everything down.
SN 1.62: Mind
The mind leads the world around and controls it all.
SN 1.63: Craving
The mind leads the world around and craving controls it.
SN 1.64: Fetter
The world is fettered by craving.
SN 1.65: Bonds
The world is bound by craving.
SN 1.66: Beaten Down
The world is afflicted with death and old age, and burning with desire.
SN 1.67: Ensnared
The world is caught by craving and built on suffering.
SN 1.68: Fastened Shut
The world is shut in by death.
SN 1.69: Desire
The world is bound by desire.
SN 1.70: The World
A Dhamma riddle whose answer, enigmatically, is “six”.
SN 1.71: Slain
The killing of anger is the only killing praised by the noble ones.
SN 1.72: A Chariot
What is the sign or token of a chariot, a fire, a nation, and a woman?
SN 1.73: Wealth
A series of questions on what is best.
SN 1.74: Rain
A series of questions asked by one deity, answered by another, and then given a better answer by the Buddha.
SN 1.75: Afraid
Why is it that, though the path has been taught, people still fear?
SN 1.76: Getting Old
A series of questions on the path.
SN 1.77: Authority
A series of questions on diverse matters.
SN 1.78: Desire
What is it that one should not give away?
SN 1.79: Provisions
A series of questions on diverse topics.
SN 1.80: Lamp
A series of questions on diverse topics.
SN 1.81: Free of Strife
A series of questions on diverse kinds of people
SN 2.1: With Kassapa (1st)
A deity named Kassapa comes to the Buddha and speaks of the training of a mendicant in seclusion and right speech.
SN 2.2: With Kassapa (2nd)
The deity Kassapa speaks of how a mendicant should be a meditator, peaceful and free.
SN 2.3: With Māgha
The god Māgha asks the Buddha about what one should slay in order to sleep well and be without sorrow.
SN 2.4: With Maghada
The deity Māgadha asks the Buddha how many sources of light there are in the world. The Buddha speaks of five lights, but the Buddha is the best of them.
SN 2.5: With Dāmali
Dāmali the god suggests that a true brahmin must strive to abandon desire. The Buddha disagrees, saying that a true holy one has already completed their work.
SN 2.6: With Kāmada
The deity Kāmada addresses the Buddha with a series of cryptic statements lamenting the difficulty of spiritual practice. The Buddha agrees, but points out that true practitioners do it even though it’s hard.
SN 2.7: With Pañcālacaṇḍa
Pañcālacaṇḍa praises the Buddha for finding the opening amid the confinement of the world. But the Buddha affirms that anyone with mindfulness and stillness may find such an escape.
SN 2.8: With Tāyana
Tāyana, a deity who was in a past life was a leader of a non-Buddhist sect, speaks a series of verses in praise of strenuous exertion and discipline. These famous verses are commonly recited by Theravadin monks.
SN 2.9: The Moon
In a parable of a lunar eclipse, the moon god Candimā is swallowed by the demon lord Rāhu. Candimā appeals to the Buddha, who tells Rāhu to let go. This sutta is recited as a protection verse.
SN 2.10: The Sun
In a parable of a solar eclipse, the sun god Suriya is swallowed by the demon lord Rāhu. Suriya appeals to the Buddha, who tells Rāhu to let go. This sutta is recited as a protection verse.
SN 2.11: With Candimasa
The deity Candimasa says that those who practice absorption will surely find escape. The Buddha adds that they must also be diligent and discard flaws.
SN 2.12: With Vishnu
The deity Veṇhu celebrates the joy of those who follow the Buddha’s teaching. The Buddha affirms that such will escape death. Veṇhu is the Pali spelling of Sanskrit Viṣṇu, and this marks a rare appearance of a god of this name in the early texts.
SN 2.13: With Dīghalaṭṭhi
Dīghalaṭṭhi the god comes to the Buddha at Rājagaha and praises a mendicant who is a meditator.
SN 2.14: With Nandana
The deity Nandana asks the Buddha who is virtuous, wise, beyond suffering, worshiped by the gods themselves. The Buddha replies that such a person is an arahant.
SN 2.15: With Candana
Candana asks who crosses the flood. The Buddha replies that it is one who is virtuous , wise, peaceful, and beyond attachment to rebirth.
SN 2.16: With Vāsudatta
The deity Vasudatta says that a mendicant should live like their hair is on fire so as to give up lust. The Buddha changes his verse to emphasize giving up attachment to self.
SN 2.17: With Subrahmā
Subrahmā the god asks for the escape from fear. The Buddha says there is no escape from fear without letting go of everything.
SN 2.18: With Kakudha
At Sāketa the god Kakudha asks the Buddha if he delights or sorrows. The Buddha replies that since he has no attachments he neither delights nor sorrows.
SN 2.19: With Uttara
The god Uttara 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.