Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 45.174

Personal Ties

Ganthasutta — Oghavagga

Setting
Continuing directly from SN 45.173
Speakers
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
One sentence, matching this vagga's own established compressed presentation
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, in this vagga's own established rhythm

Why this discourse

The four personal ties — covetousness, ill will, misapprehension of precepts and observances, and the insistence that “this is the only truth” — name what binds the mind to the body (kāya-gantha), a distinct classification from the grasping named in the discourse just before it.

Reading guide

A bodily tie, distinct from grasping's own broader scope

Where SN 45.173's own four kinds of grasping describe clinging to sensual pleasure, views, ritual, and selfhood in general, this discourse's own four ties (gantha) more specifically describe what binds the mind to the body — a related but distinct doctrinal term, confirmed by direct comparison of the two discourses' own content.

Key terms

cattāro ganthā — “four ties” — more fully, kāyagantha, “ties to the body”
abhijjhākāyagantho byāpādakāyagantho sīlabbataparāmāsakāyagantho idaṁsaccābhinivesakāyagantho — the personal ties of covetousness, ill will, misapprehension of precepts and observances, and dogmatic insistence — the four named here
idaṁsaccābhinivesa — “the insistence that this is the only truth” — a dogmatic clinging to one's own view as uniquely correct
abhiññāya pariññāya parikkhayāya pahānāya — the four verbs established at SN 45.161-162, carried forward unchanged
catutthaṁ — “the fourth” — the Pāli root's own closing numeral for this discourse

The text

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

§1“Mendicants, there are these four ties. What four? The personal ties to covetousness, ill will, misapprehension of precepts and observances, and the insistence that this is the only truth. These are the four ties. The noble eightfold path should be developed for the direct knowledge, complete understanding, finishing, and giving up of these four ties.”

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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 personal ties does this discourse name?
Correct: A. The four ties (gantha) that specifically bind the mind to the body.
Question 2 of 3
How does this discourse's own "ties" (gantha) differ from SN 45.173's own "grasping" (upādāna)?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct comparison of the two discourses' own content.
Question 3 of 3
What does "idaṁsaccābhinivesa" mean?
Correct: A. The fourth of the four ties, describing dogmatic attachment to one's own doctrinal position.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 45.173 · Grasping