Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 45.171

Floods

Oghasutta — Oghavagga

Setting
Sāvatthī
Speakers
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
One sentence, following the Esanāvagga's own established compressed four-verb presentation
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — opens the final vagga of this entire saṃyutta

Why this discourse

The final vagga of the Maggasaṃyutta (SN 45) begins with the four floods — sensuality, desire to be reborn, views, and ignorance — a standard fourfold classification of forces that sweep beings into continued existence, confirmed by an explicit source instruction to reuse the presentation pattern already established in the preceding vagga.

Reading guide

A pattern reused, not reinvented

This discourse's own explicit instruction, “tell in full as in the section on searches,” confirms that the compressed four-verb, base-formula presentation established across the Esanāvagga carries forward unchanged into this final vagga — no new structural device is introduced here.

The last vagga of this saṃyutta

Confirmed by direct reading of this vagga's own closing discourse (SN 45.180): the Oghavagga is the final vagga of the entire Maggasaṃyutta, closing not only this vagga's own ten discourses but Book V's own first full saṃyutta.

Key terms

cattāro oghā — “four floods” — forces that sweep beings along in saṁsāra, a standard canonical classification
kāmogho bhavogho diṭṭhogho avijjogho — the floods of sensuality, desire to be reborn, views, and ignorance — the four named here
abhiññāya pariññāya parikkhayāya pahānāya — the four verbs (direct knowledge, complete understanding, finishing, giving up) established at SN 45.161-162, carried forward unchanged into this vagga
purimasuttasadisaṁ vitthāretabbaṁ — “to be told in full, similar to the previous discourse” — the source's own instruction confirming this vagga's own reuse of the Esanāvagga's own established presentation
oghavagga — “the Floods chapter” — this vagga's own name, and (confirmed at SN 45.180) the final vagga of the entire Maggasaṃyutta

The text

The complete discourse, including its own elaboration instruction. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, there are these four floods. What four? The floods of sensuality, desire to be reborn, views, and ignorance. These are the four floods. The noble eightfold path should be developed for the direct knowledge, complete understanding, finishing, and giving up of these four floods.” (Tell in full as in the section on searches.)

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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 four floods does this discourse name?
Correct: A. A standard fourfold classification of forces that sweep beings into continued existence.
Question 2 of 3
What does this discourse's own elaboration instruction confirm about this new vagga?
Correct: A. Confirmed directly by the source's own "tell in full as in the section on searches" instruction.
Question 3 of 3
What is confirmed about this vagga's own position within the Maggasaṃyutta?
Correct: A. SN 45.180 carries the entire saṃyutta's own vagga-level uddāna, confirming Oghavagga's own final position.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0