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SN 45.42–471 min read

Six Discourses on Giving Up Fetters, Etc.

Saṁyojanappahānādisuttachakka

If others ask why you follow the spiritual path, say it’s for giving up fetters, etc.

Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 45.42–47Linked Discourses 45.42–47
  • 0.25. Aññatitthiyapeyyālavagga5. Abbreviated Texts on Followers of Other Religions

0.3SaṁyojanappahānādisuttachakkaSix Discourses on Giving Up Fetters, Etc.

1.1“Sace vo, bhikkhave, aññatitthiyā paribbājakā evaṁ puccheyyuṁ:“Mendicants, if wanderers who follow another religion were to ask you:1.2‘kimatthiyaṁ, āvuso, samaṇe gotame brahmacariyaṁ vussatī’ti, evaṁ puṭṭhā tumhe, bhikkhave, tesaṁ aññatitthiyānaṁ paribbājakānaṁ evaṁ byākareyyātha:‘Reverends, what’s the goal of leading the spiritual life under the ascetic Gotama?’ You should answer them like this:

1.3‘saṁyojanappahānatthaṁ kho, āvuso, bhagavati brahmacariyaṁ vussatī’ti …pe…‘The goal of leading the spiritual life under the Buddha is to give up the fetters.’ …1

1.4‘anusayasamugghātanatthaṁ kho, āvuso, bhagavati brahmacariyaṁ vussatī’ti …pe…‘… to uproot the underlying tendencies.’ …

1.5‘addhānapariññatthaṁ kho, āvuso, bhagavati brahmacariyaṁ vussatī’ti …pe…‘… to completely understand the course of time.’ …2

1.6‘āsavānaṁ khayatthaṁ kho, āvuso, bhagavati brahmacariyaṁ vussatī’ti …pe…‘… to end the defilements.’ …

1.7‘vijjāvimuttiphalasacchikiriyatthaṁ kho, āvuso, bhagavati brahmacariyaṁ vussatī’ti …pe…‘… to realize the fruit of knowledge and freedom.’ …

1.8‘ñāṇadassanatthaṁ kho, āvuso, bhagavati brahmacariyaṁ vussatī’ti …pe….‘… for knowledge and vision.’ …”

1.9Sattamaṁ.

Translator’s notes

  1. For the series listing the fetters, underlying tendencies, course of time, and end of defilements, see SN 48.64 and notes.

    ↩ sn45.42-47:1.3

  2. Addhāna (“course of time”) is a word for “transmigration” (saṁsāra), usually expressed as the “past (course)” and “future (course)” (SN 12.20:5.2). It is rooted in the metaphor of a journey, especially the long, dark road of the stars, sun and moon in the sky (eg. Rig Veda 1.113.3, 6.12.3, 6.29.2). Contrast the “first beginning” and “final end” (MN 79:7.5).

    ↩ sn45.42-47:1.5