Maha Vagga in Samyutta Nikaya

Category: Samyutta Nikaya

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

Maha Vagga — The Great Section (samyuttas 45-56) Samyutta: 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 45. Magga-samyutta — The Noble Eightfold Path

• Avijja Sutta — Ignorance [Thanissaro]. The Buddha explains that ignorance is the cause of wrong view, wrong resolve, wrong speech, etc., whereas clear knowing gives rise to right view and all the factors of the eightfold path.
• Upaddha Sutta — Half (of the Holy Life) SuttaReadings.net icon [Thanissaro]. In this famous sutta the Buddha corrects Ven. Ananda, pointing out that having "admirable" friends, companions, and comrades is not half but the whole of the holy life. (For more about this special kind of friendship, see the page on kalyanamittata.)
• Magga-vibhanga Sutta — An Analysis of the Path [Thanissaro]. A summary of the Noble Eightfold Path.

Ogha Sutta — Floods [Thanissaro]. Many discourses speak of "crossing over the flood." This discourse lists the floods that should be crossed over, and how it should be done.

• 46. Bojjhanga-samyutta — The Seven Factors for Awakening

[See "The Seven Factors for Awakening" in The Wings to Awakening.]

• Himavanta Sutta — The Himalayas (on the Factors for Awakening) *[Thanissaro]. A summary of the seven Factors for Awakening.
• Gilana Sutta — Ill [Piyadassi | Thanissaro]. The Buddha instructs Ven. Maha Kassapa, who is very ill, on the seven Factors for Awakening.
• Gilana Sutta — Ill [Piyadassi]. The Buddha, who is very ill, asks Ven. Maha Cunda to recite for him the seven Factors of Awakening.
• Ahara Sutta — Food (for the Factors for Awakening) [Thanissaro]. The Buddha describes how we can either "feed" or "starve" the wholesome and unwholesome tendencies in the mind according to how we apply our attention.

• 47. Satipatthana-samyutta — The Four Frames of Reference (Foundations of Mindfulness)

[See "The Four Frames of Reference" in The Wings to Awakening.]

• Sakunagghi Sutta — The Hawk [Thanissaro]. The Buddha uses a lovely parable — that of a hawk catching a quail far outside the quail's familiar hunting ground — to reveal the need for keeping the mind in its proper territory: the four frames of reference.
• Makkata Sutta — The Monkey [Olendzki (excerpt) | Thanissaro]. Keep your mind in its proper territory — the four frames of reference — lest you lose it altogether, like this pitiful monkey stuck in a tar trap.
• Suda Sutta — The Cook [Thanissaro]. How is meditation like cooking? The Buddha explains.
• Bhikkhunupassaya Sutta — Directed and Undirected Meditation (excerpt) [Olendzki]. The Buddha's advice on how a meditator should respond skillfully to distracted states of mind that interfere with concentration.
• Cunda Sutta — About Cunda (Sariputta's Passing Away)[Nyanaponika | Thanissaro]. Ven. Ananda grieves over Ven. Sariputta's death, and the Buddha consoles him with Dhamma: make the Dhamma your island, your true refuge!
• Ukkacela Sutta — At Ukkacela [Nyanaponika]. The Buddha's reaction to the death of Ven. Sariputta.
• Sedaka Sutta — At Sedaka (1: The Acrobat) SuttaReadings.net icon *[Olendzki (excerpt) | Thanissaro]. Is meditation a selfish endeavor? Using a lovely simile of two acrobats, the Buddha resolves this question decisively.
• Sedaka Sutta — At Sedaka (2: The Beauty Queen)[Thanissaro]. How solid is your concentration? Try this test, proposed by the Buddha: Can you keep a glass of oil balanced on your head while your favorite movie star is singing and dancing right in front of you?
• Satipatthana-vibhanga Sutta — Analysis of the Frames of Reference [Thanissaro]. A summary of the four Frames of Reference, and how they are to be developed.

• 48. Indriya-samyutta — The Five Mental Faculties

[See "The Five Faculties" in The Wings to Awakening.]

• Indriya-vibhanga Sutta — Analysis of the Mental Faculties [Thanissaro]. A summary of the five mental faculties: conviction, persistence, mindfulness, concentration, and discernment.
• Jara Sutta — Old Age [Thanissaro]. The Buddha, now a wrinkled old man, issues a stirring rebuke against old age.
• Pubbakotthaka Sutta — Eastern Gatehouse [Thanissaro]. The Buddha and Ven. Sariputta discuss conviction, and whether it is present in those who have seen the Deathless. They concur that until one experiences the Deathless for oneself, one can only take its existence on faith.
• Vibhanga Sutta — An Analysis (Of the Feeling Faculties)[Thanissaro]. On the Buddha's five-fold classification of feelings.
• Kotthapada Sutta — The Fire-stick [Thanissaro]. On the Buddha's five-fold classification of feelings.
• Sekha Sutta — The Learner [Thanissaro]. How can one tell if one is a "learner" (sekha; one who has attained at least stream-entry, but not yet arahantship) or an arahant?
• Patitthita Sutta — Established [Thanissaro]. Heedfulness: the cornerstone upon which all other skillful qualities are based.

• 49. Sammappadhana-samyutta — The Four Right Exertions

[See "The Four Right Exertions" in The Wings to Awakening.]

• 50. Bala-samyutta — The Five Strengths

[See "The Five Strengths" in The Wings to Awakening.]

• 51. Iddhipada-samyutta — The Four Bases of Power

[See "The Four Bases of Power" in The Wings to Awakening.]

• Brahmana Sutta — To Unnabha the Brahman [Thanissaro]. Ven. Ananda explains to Unnabha that the path of Dhamma is one with a definite goal — the abandoning of desire — which can only be attained by developing a strong desire to end desire.
• Iddhipada-vibhanga Sutta — Analysis of the Bases of Power [Thanissaro]. The Buddha explains how the four bases of power are to be developed.

• 52. Anuruddha-samyutta — Ven. Anuruddha

• Gilayana Sutta — Illness [Thanissaro]. Ven. Anuruddha explains to the other monks how he keeps the pain of his physical illness from invading the mind.

• 53. Jhana-samyutta — Jhana (mental absorption)
• 54. Anapana-samyutta — Mindfulness of breathing

• Arittha Sutta — To Arittha (On Mindfulness of Breathing) [Thanissaro]. The Buddha explains that success in meditation calls for more than simply being mindful; there are specific skills that must be developed.
• Dipa Sutta — The Lamp [Thanissaro]. No matter how far along you are in your meditation practice, the basic principle is the same: you should develop and sustain mindfulness of breathing.
• Ananda Sutta — To Ananda (On Mindfulness of Breathing) [Thanissaro]. The Buddha explains to Ven. Ananda how the sustained practice of mindfulness of breathing (anapanasati) leads, by stages, to full Awakening.

• Raja Sutta — The Emperor [Thanissaro]. Which is better: being a world leader, or gaining the four factors of stream-entry?
• Mahanama Sutta — To Mahanama (1) [Thanissaro].
• Mahanama Sutta — To Mahanama (2) [Thanissaro].

Sometimes it is said that the last moment of consciousness is all-important in determining one's rebirth, but these su55. Sotapatti-samyutta — Stream-entry ttas show that well-developed virtues in the mind can override even a muddled mind-state at death.

• Licchavi Sutta — To the Licchavi [Thanissaro]. The Buddha instructs the layman Nandaka on the four factors of stream-entry.

&Abhisanda Sutta — Bonanzas (1) [Thanissaro].

• Abhisanda Sutta — Bonanzas (2) [Thanissaro].
• Abhisanda Sutta — Bonanzas (3) [Thanissaro].

The Buddha describes three variations on the four factors of stream-entry.

• Nandiya Sutta — To Nandiya [Thanissaro]. On what it means to live with heedfulness (appamada).

• 56. Sacca-samyutta — The Four Noble Truths

• Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta — Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion SuttaReadings.net icon [Ñanamoli | Piyadassi | Thanissaro]. This is the Buddha's first discourse, delivered shortly after his Awakening to the group of five monks with whom he had practiced the austerities in the forest for many years. The sutta contains the essential teachings of the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. Upon hearing this discourse, the monk Kondañña attains the first stage of Awakening, thus giving birth to the ariya sangha (Noble Sangha).
• Simsapa Sutta — The Simsapa Leaves SuttaReadings.net icon [Thanissaro]. The Buddha compares the knowledge he gained in his Awakening to all the leaves in the forest, and his teachings to a mere handful of leaves. He then explains why he didn't reveal the remainder.
• Papata Sutta — The Drop-off [Thanissaro]. The Buddha reminds an anxious monk who stands with him at the brink of a high cliff that there are some dangers far more worrisome than this precipice.
• Kuta Sutta — Gabled [Thanissaro]. Practicing Dhamma is like building a house: you have to start at the bottom and work your way up. You just can't do it the other way round.
• Vala Sutta — Horsehair [Thanissaro]. It's easy to admire the skill required to master a sport or a feat of manual dexterity. But even more difficult is the skill required to master the four noble truths.
• Andhakara Sutta — Darkness [Thanissaro]. A monk ponders the darkness of deep space and asks the Buddha: "Is there any darkness more frightening than this?" The Buddha assures him that yes, there certainly is.
• Chiggala Sutta — The Hole [Thanissaro]. Here is the Buddha's famous simile of the blind sea-turtle, illustrating the precious rarity of this human birth.