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Snp · 73 texts · 73 in English

Anthology of Discourses

Suttanipāta

The “Group of Discourses” contains 74 mostly short texts in verse or mixed prose and verse, arranged in five chapters. This contains some of the most beloved texts in popular Buddhism, such as the Ratana, Maṅgala, and Mettā Suttas, which are known to all Theravada Buddhists and recited as uplifting and protective chants at auspicious ceremonies. The collection as a whole is somewhat late; it is not found in northern scriptures, and some portions, such as the opening verses of the Nālaka Sutta, belong to the latest strata of the early texts. Nevertheless, certain sections—the “Rhinoceros Horn”, the “Chapter of the Eights”, and the “Way to the Beyond”—appear to have existed before being gathered into the collection, and are regarded as early. While the collection as a whole has no counterpart elsewhere, several portions have parallels in Chinese or Sanskrit.

The Serpent Chapter

Uragavagga

Twelve poems beginning with a set of similes comparing a liberated one with a serpent who sheds its skin. The poems are diverse in style and content, and appear to have been collected from different sources. This chapter includes many perennial favorites such as the Mettā Sutta on Love and the warnings of the Parābhava Sutta on downfalls.

  • Snp 1.1 The SnakeUragasutta

    One who advances far along the path sloughs off the near shore and far, like a snake who sloughs off its skin.

  • Snp 1.2 With Dhaniya the CowherdDhaniyasutta

    A poetic dialogue contrasting the wealth and security of lay life with the wealth and security of a person who has lived the renunciate life to its culmination. If you have trouble relating to someone like Dhaniya who measures his wealth in cattle, then when reading this poem substitute stocks and bonds for cows and bulls, and economic downturn for rain.

  • Snp 1.3 The Rhinoceros HornKhaggavisāṇasutta

    If you can’t find a good teacher, it’s better to wander alone.

  • Snp 1.4 With Bhāradvāja the FarmerKasibhāradvājasutta

    The Buddha answers a farmer who claims that monks do no useful work and so don’t deserve to eat.

  • Snp 1.5 With the Smith CundaCundasutta

    Four different types of contemplatives and how to recognize them.

  • Snp 1.6 Downfalls for a Lay FollowerParābhavasutta

    The various actions and attitudes that lead to spiritual decline.

  • Snp 1.7 The LowlifeVasalasutta

    Being an outcaste is a matter of behavior, not birth.

  • Snp 1.8 The Discourse on LoveMettasutta

    The practice of developing universal goodwill: the practices that form a foundation for the practice, the attitude of universal goodwill itself, and the steps that lead from goodwill to awakening.

  • Snp 1.9 The Buddha Teaches Sātāgira and Hemavata the Native SpiritsHemavatasutta

    The Buddha explains to a yakkha how one crosses over the flood.

  • Snp 1.10 Āḷavaka the Native SpiritĀḷavakasutta

    A yakkha challenges the Buddha with riddles and threatens to “hurl out his mind, rip open his heart, or hurl him across the River Ganges” if he doesn’t solve the riddles to the yakkha’s satisfaction.

  • Snp 1.11 VictoryVijayasutta

    Victory over the defilements through contemplation of the unattractiveness of the body.

  • Snp 1.12 The SageMunisutta

    The characteristics of the ideal sage, who finds happiness and security in living the solitary life. (This sutta is apparently one of the series of passages that King Asoka recommended for study and reflection by all practicing Buddhists.)

The Lesser Chapter

Cūḷavagga

Fourteen diverse poems similar to the previous chapter.

  • Snp 2.1 GemsRatanasutta

    The many treasures to be found in the Triple Gem.

  • Snp 2.2 CarrionĀmagandhasutta

    People are defiled, not by eating meat, but by engaging in evil conduct.

  • Snp 2.3 ConscienceHirisutta

    How to recognize a true friend.

  • Snp 2.4 True BlessingsMaṅgalasutta

    A list of the types of skillful behavior that give blessings and protection.

  • Snp 2.5 Spiky the Native SpiritSūcilomasutta

    Another yakkha challenges the Buddha with riddles and threatens to “hurl out his mind, rip open his heart, or hurl him across the River Ganges” if he doesn’t solve the riddles to the yakkha’s satisfaction.

  • Snp 2.6 A Righteous LifeKapilasutta (dhammacariyasutta)

    The Buddha encourages the monks to avoid monks who are evil in their desires.

  • Snp 2.7 Brahmanical TraditionsBrāhmaṇadhammikasutta

    How brahmans, through greed, abandoned the good principles of their ancestors.

  • Snp 2.8 The BoatDhamma (nāvā) sutta

    A good teacher, like a good boatman, is one who knows firsthand how to cross to the further shore.

  • Snp 2.9 What Morality?Kiṁsīlasutta

    The attitudes and behavior that enable one best to learn and benefit from the Dhamma.

  • Snp 2.10 Get up! Make an Effort!Uṭṭhānasutta

    Get up! Don’t let the opportunity for practice pass you by.

  • Snp 2.11 With RāhulaRāhulasutta

    Rāhula reflects on the teachings he received from his father, the Buddha.

  • Snp 2.12 Vaṅgīsa and his Mentor NigrodhakappaNigrodhakappa (vaṅgīsa) sutta

    Vaṅgīsa, the foremost poet among the Buddha’s disciples, praises the Buddha in verse.

  • Snp 2.13 The Right Way to WanderSammāparibbājanīyasutta

    The sort of person who, having gone forth, is fit to wander through the world.

  • Snp 2.14 With DhammikaDhammikasutta

    The proper code of conduct for lay followers of the Dhamma.

The Great Chapter

Mahāvagga

Twelve longer poems that expand into sometimes legendary narrative. The first two discourses and the Nalaka Sutta offer early glimpses at crucial episodes in the Buddha’s life. While some of these poems are found elsewhere in the canon, the Dvayatānupassanā offers a unique perspective on dependent origination and other topics typically found in prose texts.

  • Snp 3.1 The Going ForthPabbajjāsutta

    The young Bodhisatta (Buddha-to-be), soon after leaving home, explains why he refuses King Bimbisāra’s offer of a position in his court.

  • Snp 3.2 StrivingPadhānasutta

    Māra attempts to dissuade the Bodhisatta from his path.

  • Snp 3.3 Well-Spoken WordsSubhāsitasutta

    Four characteristics of well-spoken speech.

  • Snp 3.4 With Bhāradvāja of Sundarika on the Sacrificial CakePūraḷāsa (sundarikabhāradvāja) sutta

    A brahman questions the Buddha to see if the latter deserves to receive the cake resulting from his sacrifice.

  • Snp 3.5 With Māgha on GivingMāghasutta

    What are the qualities of a recipient that produce the most merit from a gift?

  • Snp 3.6 Sabhiya’s QuestionsSabhiyasutta

    A sutta dating from early in the Buddha’s teaching career. A wanderer, disappointed in the teachings he has received from other teachers, approaches the Buddha with his questions.

  • Snp 3.7 With SelaSelasutta

    Sela the brahman praises the Buddha to see how the latter responds to praise.

  • Snp 3.8 The DartSallasutta

    Death and loss are inevitable, but grief is not.

  • Snp 3.9 With VāseṭṭhaVāseṭṭhasutta

    Is one worthy of respect because of one’s birth, or because of one’s actions?

  • Snp 3.10 To Kokāliya on the Results of SlanderKokālikasutta

    A follower of Devadatta slanders Ven. Sāriputta and Ven. Moggallāna and, after suffering a painful disease, falls into hell. The sutta then gives a graphic description of the sufferings awaiting him there.

  • Snp 3.11 The Sages Asita and NālakaNālakasutta

    A sutta in two parts. The first part gives an account of events soon after the birth of the Bodhisatta. The second part describes the way of the sage.

  • Snp 3.12 Contemplating PairsDvayatānupassanāsutta

    Not all dualities are misleading. This sutta teaches ways to contemplate the duality of the origination and cessation of stress and suffering so as to reach awakening.

The Chapter of Eights

Aṭṭhakavagga

This chapter, which has parallels in Chinese, and received an early commentary in the Niddesa, is often regarded as one of the earliest texts in the canon. Shorn of literary embellishments, it is direct and powerful. A distinctive aspect is the critique of meaningless debates and attachments to views. The Attadaṇḍa Sutta gives an alternative account of the reasons for the Buddha’s going forth.

  • Snp 4.1 Sensual PleasuresKāmasutta

    The drawbacks of sensual desires.

  • Snp 4.2 Eight on the CaveGuhaṭṭhakasutta

    Those who remain attached to the body, to sensuality, and to their sense of “mine” will have a hard time freeing themselves from fear of death and from further becoming.

  • Snp 4.3 Eight on MaliceDuṭṭhaṭṭhakasutta

    Freedom isn’t to be found by boasting of your precepts and practices or by debating your views.

  • Snp 4.4 Eight on the PureSuddhaṭṭhakasutta

    How to avoid the trap of letting go of one thing only to cling to something more subtle.

  • Snp 4.5 Eight on the UltimateParamaṭṭhakasutta

    The conceit that comes from clinging to practices or views—even if they’re supreme—is a fetter preventing full freedom.

  • Snp 4.6 Old AgeJarāsutta

    Life is short. Possessiveness brings grief. Freedom comes from abandoning any sense of “mine.”

  • Snp 4.7 To Tissametteyya on the Dangers of SexTissametteyyasutta

    The drawbacks of falling away from the celibate life.

  • Snp 4.8 To Pasūra on DebatePasūrasutta

    The drawbacks of engaging in debates, for winners and losers alike.

  • Snp 4.9 With MāgaṇḍiyaMāgaṇḍiyasutta

    Māgandiya offers the Buddha his daughter in marriage. The Buddha refuses and further subdues Māgandiya’s pride by describing a state of peace that Māgandiya doesn’t understand.

  • Snp 4.10 Before the BreakupPurābhedasutta

    How to live at peace.

  • Snp 4.11 Quarrels and DisputesKalahavivādasutta

    The Buddha is questioned on the source of quarrels and disputes, and on the highest level of spiritual attainment.

  • Snp 4.12 The Shorter Discourse on Arrayed For BattleCūḷabyūhasutta

    If the truth is one, how should a person behave in a world where many different truths are taught?

  • Snp 4.13 The Longer Discourse on Arrayed For BattleMahābyūhasutta

    How to maintain freedom in a world full of disputes.

  • Snp 4.14 SpeedyTuvaṭakasutta

    The attitudes and behavior of a monk training for the sake of total release.

  • Snp 4.15 Taking Up ArmsAttadaṇḍasutta

    The Buddha speaks in poignant terms of the saṁvega that led him to leave the household life. He concludes with recommendations for practice and a description of the person who has attained the goal of true peace and security.

  • Snp 4.16 The Questions of SāriputtaSāriputtasutta

    When a monk, disaffected with the world, takes up the life of seclusion, what fears should he overcome? What dangers should he beware of? How should he train to blow away the impurities in his heart?

The Chapter on the Way to the Beyond

Pārāyanavagga

This is perhaps the most sophisticated and moving poetic composition in early Buddhism. It begins with a brahmin, suffering an unwanted curse, who sends his students to seek the Buddha. At the end of a long journey they ask questions, the nature of which indicate their subtle philosophy and deep meditation. It concludes with an emotional declaration of faith and determination.