Reading guide
The complete ten fetters, and one final formula in full
Where every discourse since SN 45.162 has compressed the fourfold formula into a single base-formula line, this closing discourse reprises SN 45.161's own fuller presentation one final time — restating the five higher fetters with all four closing formulas (base; removal of greed, hate, delusion; freedom from death; self-referential extinguishment) explicitly written out in turn, confirming the full matrix established at this saṃyutta's own Book V opening remains intact at its close.
A triple colophon: discourse, vagga, and entire saṃyutta
This discourse's own closing carries three nested levels of numbering and summary, confirmed by direct reading of the Pāli root (left untranslated in the consulted English source beyond one final sentence): (1) “Dasamaṁ” (“the tenth”), closing this vagga's own ten discourses; (2) “Oghavaggo aṭṭhamo” (“the Floods chapter, the eighth”), an internal numbering note whose exact scope this project does not confidently interpret, as with similar notes closing earlier vaggas; and (3) a full vagga-level uddāna (vagguddānaṁ) naming every vagga of the entire Maggasaṃyutta in sequence.
A genuine discrepancy, described rather than resolved
The saṃyutta's own closing vagga-uddāna states “Oghavaggo bhavati terasāti” (“the Floods vagga is the thirteenth”) — yet this project's own tracking, built from the 0.2 vagga-heading confirmed at the start of every discourse throughout SN 45, counts Oghavagga as the FOURTEENTH vagga. The most likely explanation, based on the uddāna's own numbering pattern, is that the two Gaṅgāpeyyāla vaggas (this project's own ninth and tenth) are counted as a single traditional vagga in this older numbering scheme — but this project does not claim certainty on the point, and describes the discrepancy honestly rather than silently resolving it in either direction.
The Maggasaṃyutta, confirmed complete
The discourse's own final line, rendered in English as “The Linked Discourses on the Path is the first section,” confirms SN 45 as the first saṃyutta of the Mahāvagga (Book V) — with this page, all fourteen vaggas and 180 discourses of the Maggasaṃyutta are complete on this site.
Key terms
The text
Part 1 — the base formula, in full“Mendicants, there are five higher fetters. What five? Desire for rebirth in the realm of luminous form, desire for rebirth in the formless realm, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance. These are the five higher fetters. The noble eightfold path should be developed for the direct knowledge, complete understanding, finishing, and giving up of these five higher fetters. What is the noble eightfold path? It’s when a mendicant develops right view, right purpose, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion, which rely on seclusion, fading away, and cessation, and ripen as letting go. This is the noble eightfold path that should be developed for the direct knowledge, complete understanding, finishing, and giving up of these five higher fetters.”
Part 2 — all four closing formulas restated in turn“Mendicants, there are five higher fetters. What five? Desire for rebirth in the realm of luminous form, desire for rebirth in the formless realm, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance. These are the five higher fetters. The noble eightfold path should be developed for the direct knowledge, complete understanding, finishing, and giving up of these five higher fetters. What is the noble eightfold path? 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 …” “… whose objective, destination, and culmination is freedom from death …” “… which slant, slope, and incline to extinguishment. This is the noble eightfold path that should be developed for the direct knowledge, complete understanding, finishing, and giving up of these five higher fetters.”
The saṃyutta's own closing noteThe Linked Discourses on the Path is the first section.
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