Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourses 31.13–22

Ten Discourses On How Giving Helps Rebirth in Fragrant Roots

Mūlagandhadānūpakārasutta — Gandhabbavagga

Setting
Sāvatthī
Speakers
The Buddha, addressing an unnamed mendicant
Form
Ten discourses compressed by bilara-data into a single file, one shared frame with the standard ten gift-items elided as a peyyāla list
Length
~2 minutes 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
★☆☆☆☆ — a single repeated frame, easy to follow once the peyyāla list is recognized

Why this discourse

This merged file opens Gandhabbakāyasaṃyutta's second and genuinely distinct giving register: rather than SN 31.3–12's own matching-substance gifts, this set returns to the identical ten-item formula already seen at SN 29.11–20 and SN 30.7–16 — food, drink, clothing, a vehicle, a garland, fragrance, makeup, a bed, a house, and a lamp — now applied specifically to root-dwelling gods, the first of this saṃyutta's ten dwelling-places to receive this treatment.

Reading guide

The same standard ten items, a third saṃyutta

Food, drink, clothing, a vehicle, a garland, fragrance, makeup, a bed, a house, and a lamp — identical to SN 29.11–20's and SN 30.7–16's own list, confirming this formula as a genuinely standard template recurring across at least three saṃyuttas.

Two giving registers for the same dwelling-place

Root-dwelling gods are now the subject of two distinct giving formulas: SN 31.3's own matching-substance gift (fragrant roots given for root-dwellers) and this file's own generic ten-item list — two independently sufficient causal paths to the identical rebirth.

A pattern this saṃyutta will repeat nine more times

This file treats only root-dwelling gods; SN 31.23–112 will apply the identical ten-item formula to the remaining nine dwelling-places at nine times the scale, closing this saṃyutta's own coverage.

The same unified-prefix encoding, a fourth time

As with SN 12.72–81, SN 29's own merged files, and SN 31.4–12, this file uses a single unified key prefix (sn31.13-22:) for its entire content.

Key terms

dāna — giving or generosity — the specific act each of these ten discourses treats as sufficient to help produce root-dwelling rebirth
annaṁ deti — "gives food" — the first of the ten gift-items named in this file
padīpeyyaṁ deti — "gives a lamp" — the tenth and final gift-item, closing the list
mūlagandha — fragrant roots — the shared dwelling-place all ten discourses here trace to specific acts of giving
sucaritaṁ — good conduct — the baseline conduct attributed to the aspirant in each discourse

The text

The complete merged file: the shared hearsay-and-wish frame, followed by the ten standard gift-items exactly as bilara-data gives them. 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 gods who live in fragrant roots?” “Mendicant, it’s when someone does good things by way of body, speech, and mind. And they’ve heard: ‘The gods who live in fragrant roots are long-lived, beautiful, and very happy.’ They think: ‘If only, when my body breaks up, after death, I would be reborn in the company of the gods who live in fragrant roots!’

§2They give food … drink … clothing … a vehicle … a garland … fragrance … makeup … a bed … a house … a lamp. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in the company of the gods who live in fragrant roots. This is the cause, this is the reason why someone, when their body breaks up, after death, is reborn in the company of the gods who live in fragrant roots.”

· · ·

Self-check quiz

5 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 5
How many discourses does this single merged file compress?
Correct: A. Bilara-data itself preserves these ten as a single peyyāla-encoded file.
Question 2 of 5
How does this file's ten-item gift list compare to SN 29.11–20's and SN 30.7–16's own?
Correct: A. Confirming the formula recurs across at least three separate saṃyuttas.
Question 3 of 5
How many independent giving formulas does this saṃyutta now offer for reaching root-dwelling rebirth?
Correct: A. Two independently sufficient causal paths to the identical rebirth destination.
Question 4 of 5
What does this file set up for SN 31.23–112 to complete?
Correct: A. Closing this saṃyutta's own coverage at ninety further discourses.
Question 5 of 5
What encoding convention does this merged file share with SN 12.72–81, SN 29's merged files, and SN 31.4–12?
Correct: A. Now confirmed across multiple separate merged files across this project's SN coverage.
Answered 0 of 5 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 31.4–12 · Nine Discourses On Givers of Fragrant Heartwood, Etc.