Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 45.115

Slanting East

Pācīnaninnasutta — Dutiyagaṅgāpeyyālavagga

Setting
Sāvatthī
Speakers
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
The full template restored, opening a new set with a new closing formula
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, but structurally pivotal

Why this discourse

The Ganges returns once more, but this discourse's own closing is genuinely new — confirmed by direct reading, the path factors here are described as “whose objective, destination, and culmination is freedom from death,” not the Set 1 “removal of greed, hate, and delusion” formula. This vagga's own second set of twelve begins.

Reading guide

A confirmed second formula, not a guess

This project's own earlier prediction (from the Gaṅgāpeyyāla uddāna's own hint) is now directly confirmed by reading this discourse's own text: “freedom from death” (amata) marks Set 2, distinct from Set 1's own “removal of greed, hate, and delusion.”

Key terms

gaṅgā nadī pācīnaninnā pācīnapoṇā pācīnapabbhārā — “the Ganges river slants, slopes, and inclines to the east” — the same opening image as Set 1's own
nibbānaninno hoti nibbānapoṇo nibbānapabbhāro — “slants, slopes, and inclines to extinguishment” — unchanged, describing the path itself
amataogadhaṁ amataparāyanaṁ amatapariyosānaṁ — “whose objective, destination, and culmination is freedom from death” — this discourse's own new closing formula, marking Set 2
amata — “deathless” or “freedom from death” — a standard epithet for extinguishment throughout the canon
ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo — the noble eightfold path, defined identically to Set 1's own, only the closing epithet has changed

The text

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

§1“Mendicants, the Ganges river slants, slopes, and inclines to the east. 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, whose objective, destination, and culmination is freedom from death. 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 new closing formula does this discourse introduce, opening Set 2?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — distinct from Set 1's own formula.
Question 2 of 3
What does "amata" mean in this context?
Correct: A. A standard canonical epithet for nibbāna, used here to distinguish Set 2's own formula.
Question 3 of 3
How was this discourse's own new formula anticipated by this project's earlier work?
Correct: A. The uddāna's own suggestion of "a second set" is now confirmed structurally correct, if previously undercounted.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0