Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 45.109

Slanting to the Ocean

Samuddaninnasutta — Dutiyagaṅgāpeyyālavagga

Setting
Sāvatthī
Speakers
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
The full template restored, opening this set's own ocean-bound half
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, opens this set's own second half

Why this discourse

The Ganges river returns, now sloping to the ocean rather than the east, closing with the identical “removal of greed, hate, and delusion” formula as SN 45.103's own — confirmed by direct comparison, the closing formula belongs to the set as a whole, not merely to the “east” half of it.

Reading guide

The closing formula stays with the set, not the direction

SN 45.91-96/97-102 (Gaṅgāpeyyālavagga's own set) shared one formula across both directions; this discourse confirms the same pattern holds within each of this vagga's own three sets — the closing formula is fixed per set of twelve, not per direction, confirmed by direct reading of this discourse's own full text.

Key terms

gaṅgā nadī samuddaninnā samuddapoṇā samuddapabbhārā — “the Ganges river slants, slopes, and inclines to the ocean” — this discourse's own opening image
rāgavinayapariyosānaṁ dosavinayapariyosānaṁ mohavinayapariyosānaṁ — “culminating in the removal of greed, hate, and delusion” — identical to SN 45.103's own closing, confirming the formula belongs to the set
nibbānaninno hoti nibbānapoṇo nibbānapabbhāro — “slants, slopes, and inclines to extinguishment” — unchanged across this discourse and its own companions
ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo — the noble eightfold path, defined identically throughout this set
samuddaninna — “sloping to the ocean” — this discourse's own direction, opening this set's own second half

The text

The complete discourse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1“Mendicants, the Ganges river slants, slopes, and inclines to the ocean. In the same way, a mendicant who develops and cultivates the noble eightfold path slants, slopes, and inclines to extinguishment. And how does a mendicant who develops the noble eightfold path slant, slope, and incline to extinguishment? It’s when a mendicant develops right view, right purpose, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion, which culminate in the removal of greed, hate, and delusion. That’s how a mendicant who develops and cultivates the noble eightfold path slants, slopes, and inclines to extinguishment.”

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Self-check quiz

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

Question 1 of 3
What closing formula does this discourse use, compared to SN 45.103's own?
Correct: A. Confirming the closing formula belongs to the set of twelve as a whole, not to one direction alone.
Question 2 of 3
What does this discourse confirm about how closing formulas are assigned in this vagga?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct comparison — both halves of Set 1 share the identical closing.
Question 3 of 3
What position does this discourse hold within this vagga's own first set of twelve?
Correct: A. The seventh of this set's own twelve discourses, opening its own second half.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0