Saṃyutta Nikāya

The Saṃyutta Nikāya ("Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings") is a Buddhist scriptures collection, the third of the five Nikāyas, or collections, in the Sutta Piṭaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pāli Tipiṭaka of Theravāda Buddhism. Because of the abbreviated way parts of the text are written, the total number of suttas/sūtras is unclear. The editor of the Pali Text Society edition of the text made it 2889, Bodhi in his translation has 2904, while the commentaries give 7762. A study by Rupert Gethin gives the totals for the Burmese and Sinhalese editions as 2854 and 7656, respectively, and his own calculation as 6696; he also says the total in the Thai edition is unclear. The suttas/sūtras are grouped into five vaggas/vargas, or sections. Each vagga/varga is further divided into saṃyuttas/saṃyuktas, or chapters, each of which in turn contains a group of suttas/sūtras on a related topic.

History

Dating

Bhante Sujato, a contemporary scholar monk, argues that the remarkable congruence of the various recensions suggests that the Saṃyutta Nikãya/Saṃyukta Āgama was the only collection to be finalized in terms of both structure and content in the pre-sectarian period.

Correspondence with the Saṃyukta Āgama

The Saṃyutta Nikāya corresponds to the Saṃyukta Āgama found in the Sutra Piṭakas of various Sanskritic early Buddhists schools, fragments of which survive in Sanskrit and in Tibetan translation. A complete Chinese translation from the Sarvāstivādin recension appears in the Chinese Buddhist canon, where it is known as the Zá Āhánjīng (雜阿含經); meaning "the mixed āgama". A comparison of the Sarvāstivādin, Kāśyapīya, and Theravādin texts reveals a considerable consistency of content, although each recension contains suttas/sutras not found in the others. The Collation and Annotation of Saṃyuktāgama (《<雜阿含經>校釋, Chinese version) makes further comparison.

Divisions

The vaggas contained in this nikāya are (the numbering of chapters [saṃyutta] here refers to the PTS and Burmese editions; the Sinhalese and Thai editions divide the text up somewhat differently):

{| class="wikitable"

! Vagga Name !! Description !! Samyutta Number

!Samyutta Names

| Part I. Sagatha-vagga || a collection of suttas containing verses (Pāli, sagatha), many shared by other parts of the Pāli canon such as the Theragatha, Therīgatha, Suttanipāta, Dhammapada and the Jātakas.|| SN 1-11

|1.devatāsaṃyuttaṃ

2. devaputtasaṃyuttaṃ

3. kosalasaṃyuttaṃ

4. mārasaṃyuttaṃ

5. bhikkhunīsaṃyuttaṃ

6. brahmasaṃyuttaṃ

7. brāhmaṇasaṃyuttaṃ

8. vaṅgīsasaṃyuttaṃ

9. vanasaṃyuttaṃ

10. yakkhasaṃyuttaṃ

11. sakkasaṃyuttaṃ

| Part II. Nidana-vagga|| a collection of suttas primarily pertaining to causation (Pali, nidana)|| SN 12-21

|12. nidānasaṃyuttaṃ

13. abhisamayasaṃyuttaṃ

14. dhātusaṃyuttaṃ

15. anamataggasaṃyuttaṃ

16. kassapasaṃyuttaṃ

17. lābhasakkārasaṃyuttaṃ

18. rāhulasaṃyuttaṃ

19. lakkhaṇasaṃyuttaṃ

20. opammasaṃyuttaṃ

21. bhikkhusaṃyuttaṃ

| Part III. Khandha-vagga|| a collection of suttas primarily pertaining to the five aggregates (Pali, khandha)|| SN 22-34

|22. khandhasaṃyuttaṃ

23. rādhasaṃyuttaṃ

24. diṭṭhisaṃyuttaṃ

25. okkantasaṃyuttaṃ

26. uppādasaṃyuttaṃ

27. kilesasaṃyuttaṃ

28. sāriputtasaṃyuttaṃ

29. nāgasaṃyuttaṃ

30. supaṇṇasaṃyuttaṃ

31. gandhabbakāyasaṃyuttaṃ

32. valāhakasaṃyuttaṃ

33. vacchagottasaṃyuttaṃ

34. jhānasaṃyuttaṃ

| Part IV. Salayatana-vagga || a collection of suttas primarily pertaining to the six sense bases (Pali, salayatana), including the "Fire Sermon" (Adittapariyaya Sutta)|| SN 35-44

|35. saḷāyatanasaṃyuttaṃ

36. vedanāsaṃyuttaṃ

37. mātugāmasaṃyuttaṃ

38. jambukhādakasaṃyuttaṃ

39. sāmaṇḍakasaṃyuttaṃ

40. moggallānasaṃyuttaṃ

41. cittasaṃyuttaṃ

42. gāmaṇisaṃyuttaṃ

43. asaṅkhatasaṃyuttaṃ

44. abyākatasaṃyuttaṃ

| rowspan="12" |Part V. Maha-vagga|| rowspan="12" | the largest – that is, great (Pali, maha) – collection|| SN 45. the Noble Eightfold Path

|45. maggasaṃyuttaṃ

| SN 46. the Seven Factors of Enlightenment

|46. bojjhaṅgasaṃyuttaṃ

| SN 47. the Four Establishment of Mindfulness

|47. satipaṭṭhānasaṃyuttaṃ

| SN 48. the Faculties

|48. indriyasaṃyuttaṃ

| SN 49. the Four Right Striving

|49. sammappadhānasaṃyuttaṃ

| SN 50. the Five Powers

|50. balasaṃyuttaṃ

| SN 51. the Four Bases for Spiritual Power

|51. iddhipādasaṃyuttaṃ

| SN 52. Anuruddha discourses

|52. anuruddhasaṃyuttaṃ

| SN 53. the Jhanas

|53. jhānasaṃyuttaṃ

| SN 54. Mindfulness of Breathing

|54. ānāpānasaṃyuttaṃ

| SN 55. Factors of Stream-entry

|55. sotāpattisaṃyuttaṃ

| SN 56. the Truths

|56. saccasaṃyuttaṃ

Translations

Full translations

The Book of the Kindred Sayings, tr C. A. F. Rhys Davids & F. L. Woodward, 1917–30, 5 volumes, Bristol: Pali Text Society
The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, tr Bhikkhu Bodhi, 2000, Wisdom Publications, Somerville, MA, ; the Pali Text Society also issues a private edition of this for members only, which is its preferred translation
Bhikkhu Sujato (trans.), The “Linked” or “Connected” Discourses, 2018, published online at SuttaCentral and released into the public domain.

Selections

anthology published by Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka
Nidana Samyutta, published in Burma; reprinted Sri Satguru, Delhi