Samyutta Nikaya

Category: Sutta Pitaka

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

Samyutta Nikaya (Connected Discourses) is the third of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the Three Baskets that compose the Pali Canon. This nikaya contains, according to one reckoning, 2,889 suttas grouped into five vaggas, or sections. Each vagga is further divided into samyuttas, or chapters, each of which in turn contains a group of suttas on a related topic.

A similar collection, apparently translated from an earlier Sanskrit version, appears in the Chinese Buddhist canon. This is known as the Samyuktāgama or Zá Ahánjīng (雜阿含經); the Chinese name means "the mixed agama".

Divisions

The vaggas contained in this nikaya are:

1. Sagatha Vagga (SN chapters 1-11)
   a collection of suttas containing verses (Pali, sagatha), many shared by other parts of the Pali canon such as the Theragatha, Therigatha, Suttanipata, Dhammapada and the Jatakas.
2. Nidana Vagga (SN chapters 12-21)
   a collection of suttas primarily pertaining to causation (Pali, nidana).
3. Khandha Vagga (SN chapters 22-34)
   a collection of suttas primarily pertaining to the five aggregates (Pali, khanda).
4. Salayatana Vagga (SN chapters 35-44)
   a collection of suttas primarily pertaining to the six sense bases (Pali, salayatana).
5. Maha Vagga (SN chapters 45-56)
   the largest – that is, great (Pali, maha) – collection with chapters related to:

• the Noble Eightfold Path
• the Seven Factors of Enlightenment
• the Establishment of Mindfulness
• the Six Faculties
• Right Striving
• the Five Powers
• the jhanas
• mindfulness of breathing
• factors of stream-entry
• the Truths