Thirty discourses compressed to a bare question stub plus a single editorial instruction, with no worked example translated at all
Length
under a minute to read
Northern parallel
A rough counterpart may exist in the Chinese Saṃyukta-āgama (T99), though this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — trivial once SN 30.7–16's own formula is understood
Why this discourse
This is the single most compressed file this project has yet encountered in the Saṃyutta Nikāya: thirty discourses — SN 30.7–16's own ten-item giving formula applied to womb-, moisture-, and spontaneously-born phoenixes in turn — reduced in English translation to only the opening question (with the three remaining birth modes chained together) and a bare "(Tell all in full.)" instruction, with no worked example translated at all. Where SN 29.21–50, this file's Nāgasaṃyutta counterpart, at least worked one complete thread through to its own end, this file's English translation omits even that, moving straight from the question to the compiler's instruction to this book's own closing colophon.
Reading guide
Not even one worked example translated
Unlike SN 29.21–50, which gave one complete thread (the tenth gift-item, for spontaneously-born dragons) in full, this file's English translation leaves the entire body of its worked example untranslated — only the question and the closing instruction survive in English.
The root Pāli still preserves the worked example
Bilara-data's Pāli root text for this file does contain a full worked example for spontaneously-born phoenixes, following the identical ten-item formula already seen at SN 30.7–16 — only the English translation leaves it untranslated, a genuinely different editorial choice from SN 29.21–50's own translator.
A shorter compiler's note than SN 29.21–50's own
The untranslated Pāli editorial note here uses piṇḍakena ("by this summary") to state simply that forty-six discourses exist in total — a plainer arithmetic note than Nāgasaṃyutta's own more explicit "forty expositions ... fifty discourses" statement at SN 29.21–50.
Vagga and saṃyutta colophons coinciding, again
As at SN 29.21–50, because Supaṇṇasaṃyutta consists of exactly one vagga (Supaṇṇavagga), the untranslated Pāli line "Supaṇṇavaggo paṭhamo" and the saṃyutta's own close both fall in this same file — the same structural coincidence already seen closing Nāgasaṃyutta.
An officially translated closing line, and Khandhavagga's own end
The file's final line — "the Linked Discourses on phoenixes are complete" — is genuinely translated by Sujato and quoted here verbatim. With Supaṇṇasaṃyutta's own close, SN 22–30 together close out this book's own coverage under Khandhavagga's own heading, before this project's next steps move on to the saṃyuttas beyond SN 30.
Key terms
piṇḍakena — "by this summary" or "in condensed form" — this file's own untranslated editorial term for its compression method, distinct from SN 29.21–50's own wording
chacattālīsaṁ suttantā — forty-six discourses — this saṃyutta's own total count, confirmed explicitly though untranslated in the compiler's own note
Supaṇṇavaggo paṭhamo — "Supaṇṇavagga, the first, finished" — the untranslated vagga colophon, coinciding here with the saṃyutta's own close
Supaṇṇasaṁyuttaṁ samattaṁ — "the Linked Discourses on phoenixes are complete" — this saṃyutta's own officially Sujato-translated closing line, quoted verbatim in the text below
opapātika — spontaneously born — the birth mode given a full worked example in the untranslated Pāli root, though not in this file's own English translation
The text
The complete merged file exactly as translated: the shared frame for the three remaining birth modes, the bare editorial instruction, and this saṃyutta's own closing line. The worked example itself, the compiler's arithmetic note, and the untranslated vagga colophon and uddāna verse are described above rather than quoted, since the source's own English translation leaves them untranslated. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. Seated to one side, that mendicant said to the Buddha: “Sir, what is the cause, what is the reason why someone, when their body breaks up, after death, is reborn in the company of the womb-born phoenixes … moisture-born phoenixes … or spontaneously-born phoenixes?”
§2(Tell all in full.)
§3The Linked Discourses on phoenixes are complete.
· · ·
Self-check quiz
7 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 7
How many discourses does this single merged file compress?
Correct: A. SN 30.7–16's own ten-item formula applied to the three remaining birth modes.
Question 2 of 7
How does this file's English translation compare to SN 29.21–50's own?
Correct: A. SN 29.21–50 at least worked one complete thread through to its own end in English; this file does not.
Question 3 of 7
Does the untranslated Pāli root text for this file contain a worked example?
Correct: A. A genuinely different editorial choice by this file's own translator, compared to SN 29.21–50's.
Question 4 of 7
What term does this file's untranslated compiler's note use for its own compression method?
Correct: A. A plainer arithmetic note than Nāgasaṃyutta's own more explicit statement at SN 29.21–50.
Question 5 of 7
Why do a vagga colophon and a saṃyutta colophon coincide in this single file?
Correct: A. The same structural coincidence already seen closing Nāgasaṃyutta at SN 29.21–50.
Question 6 of 7
What does the officially translated closing line of this saṃyutta say?
Correct: A. Genuinely translated by Sujato, quoted verbatim in this page's text.
Question 7 of 7
What does this saṃyutta's own close mark for this project's coverage of Book III?
Correct: A. Before this project's next steps move on to the saṃyuttas beyond SN 30.
