Reading guide
Three realms, a standard division
The sensual realm, the realm of form, and the formless realm — the standard threefold cosmology underlying rebirth destinations throughout the earlier books this project has already covered.
Key terms
kāmabhavo, rūpabhavo, arūpabhavo — “existence in the sensual realm, the realm of luminous form, and the formless realm” — this discourse's own complete, threefold list
āvuso — “reverend, friend” — the reciprocal address term Jambukhādaka and Sāriputta use throughout this saṃyutta
pañhā — “question” — the recurring suffix naming every discourse's own Pali title throughout this saṃyutta
atthi... maggo atthi paṭipadā — “is there a path and a practice” — this saṃyutta's own recurring path-confirmation question, asked with only its object changing from SN 38.1 through SN 38.15
terasamaṁ — “thirteenth” — this discourse's own untranslated closing ordinal
The text
The portion of this discourse Sujato's own English translation renders. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Reverend Sāriputta, they speak of this thing called ‘continued existence’. What is continued existence?” “Reverend, there are these three states of continued existence. Existence in the sensual realm, the realm of luminous form, and the formless realm. These are the three states of continued existence.” “But, reverend, is there a path and a practice for completely understanding these three states of existence?” “There is.” …
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Self-check quiz
1 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 1
What three states of continued existence does Sāriputta name?
Correct: A. The standard threefold cosmological division found throughout the earlier books this project has covered.