The Saṃyukta Nikāya/Samyutta Nikaya (''Saṃyukta'' ''Nikāya/'' SN, "Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings") is a Buddhist scripture, the third of the five
nikayas, or collections, in the
Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...
Tipitaka of
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school ...
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
. 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
Rupert Mark Lovell Gethin (born 1957, in Edinburgh) is Professor of Buddhist Studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and codirector of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol, and (since 2003) president of ...
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 ''vargas/vaggas'', or sections. Each ''varga/vagga'' is further divided into
samyuttas/saṃyuktas, or chapters, each of which in turn contains a group of suttas/sūtras on a related topic.
Correspondence with the Saṃyukta Āgama
The Samyutta Nikaya corresponds to the ''Saṃyukta Āgama'' found in the Sutra Pitikas 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
agama". A comparison of the Sarvāstivādin, Kāśyapīya, and Theravadin texts reveals a considerable consistency of content, although each recension contains sutras/suttas not found in the others.
The Collation and Annotation of Saṃyuktāgama (《<雜阿含經>校釋》,Chinese version) makes further comparison.
Dating
Bhante Sujato
Bhante Sujato, known as Ajahn Sujato or Bhikkhu Sujato (born Anthony Best), is an Australian Theravada Buddhist monk ordained into the Thai forest lineage of Ajahn Chah.
Life
Bhante Sujato identifies as an anarchist. A former musician with ...
, a contemporary scholar monk, argues that the remarkable congruence of the various recensions suggests that the Samyutta Nikaya/Saṃyukta Āgama was the only collection to be finalized in terms of both structure and content in the pre-sectarian period.
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 Pali Text Society is a text publication society founded in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pāli texts".
Pāli is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism are preserved. The ...
*''The Connected Discourses of the Buddha'', tr
Bhikkhu Bodhi
Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944), born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publ ...
, 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 SuttaCentraland released into the
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...
.
Selections
* anthology published by
Buddhist Publication Society
The Buddhist Publication Society (BPS) is a publishing house with charitable status whose objective is to disseminate the teaching of Gautama Buddha. It was founded in Kandy, Sri Lanka in 1958 by two Sri Lankan lay Buddhists, A.S. Karunaratna and ...
, Kandy, Sri Lanka
* ''Nidana Samyutta'', published in Burma; reprinted Sri Satguru, Delhi
Divisions
The vaggas contained in this nikaya are (the numbering of chapters
'samyuttas''here refers to the PTS and Burmese editions; the Sinhalese
[While the PTS Samyutta Nikaya has 56 ''sayuttas'' (connected collections), the Sinhala Buddha Jayanti Tripitaka Series (BJT) print edition has 54 ''sayuttas'' and, based on the BJT edition, the softcopy Sri Lanka Tripitaka Project (SLTP) edition has 55 ''sayuttas''. The reason for these differences are that:
:* the BJT and SLTP ''sayutta'' 12 (''Abhisamaya-sayutta'') combines the PTS ''sayuttas'' 12 (''Nidana-sayutta'') and 13 (''Abhisamaya-sayutta''), representing the latter ''sayutta'' as a final ''vaggo'' (chapter) in the former ''sayutta''.
:* the BJT ''sayutta'' 34 (''Vedanā-sayutta'') combines the PTS ''sayuttas'' 35 (''Salāyatana-sayutta'') and 36 (''Vedanā-sayutta'').] and Thai editions divide the text up somewhat differently):
See also
*
Anguttara Nikaya
*
Early Buddhist Texts
Early Buddhist texts (EBTs), early Buddhist literature or early Buddhist discourses are parallel texts shared by the early Buddhist schools. The most widely studied EBT material are the first four Pali Nikayas, as well as the corresponding Chines ...
*
Digha Nikaya
Digha is a seaside resort town in the state of West Bengal, India. It lies in Purba Medinipur district and at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal. It has a low gradient with a shallow sand beach. It is a popular sea resort in West Bengal.
H ...
*
Khuddaka Nikaya
*
Majjhima Nikaya
*
Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During ...
*
Sutta Piṭaka
*
Supaṇṇa Saṃyutta
* ''
Ādittapariyāya Sutta
The ''Ādittapariyāya Sutta'' (Pali, "Fire Sermon Discourse"), is a discourse from the Pali Canon, popularly known as the Fire Sermon. In this discourse, the Buddha preaches about achieving liberation from suffering through detachment from the ...
''
* ''
Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta
The '' Sutta'' (Pali) or ' (Sanskrit), is traditionally recorded as the second discourse delivered by Gautama Buddha. The title translates to the "Not-Self Characteristic Discourse", but is also known as the ''Pañcavaggiya Sutta'' (Pali) or ' ...
''
* ''
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
The ''Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta'' (Pali; Sanskrit: ''Dharmacakrapravartana Sūtra''; English: ''The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of the Dharma Sutta'' or ''Promulgation of the Law Sutta'') is a Buddhist text that is considered by Buddhists t ...
''
Notes
Bibliography
*
Bhikkhu Bodhi
Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944), born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publ ...
(trans.) (2000). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya. Boston: Wisdom Publications. .
Digital Dictionary of Buddhism entry on Zá Ahánjīng
*
The Collation and Annotation of Saṃyuktāgama《<雜阿含經>校釋》,(Chinese version). Wang Jianwei and Jin Hui, East China Normal University Press, 2014.
External links
Saṃyutta Nikāya at suttacentral.net
*
ttp://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/index.html Samyutta Nikaya selected suttas in English at "Access to Insight"
{{Buddhism topics
Theravada Buddhist texts
Pali Buddhist texts