Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourses 48.115–124

Floods, Etc.

Oghādisutta — Oghavagga

Setting
Not given — matching this book's own recurring bare structure
Speakers
The Buddha (implied)
Form
One discourse given in full (the tenth, closing the vagga), plus a cross-reference instruction for the remaining nine
Length
<1 minute to read, per the source's own actual content
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★★☆☆ — breaks the three-vagga bare cross-reference pattern, keeping this vagga's own final discourse in full

Why this discourse

Unlike the three immediately preceding vaggas (Appamādavagga, Balakaraṇīyavagga, Esanāvagga), each a bare cross-reference with no content of its own, this file breaks that pattern by quoting its own tenth and final discourse in full: the five higher fetters, developed for the direct knowledge, complete understanding, finishing, and giving up of desire for the realms of form and formlessness, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance. Only the remaining nine topics are cross-referenced.

Reading guide

A pattern broken: one discourse kept in full

Confirmed by direct reading, this file's own structure differs from its own three immediate predecessors: rather than compressing every discourse into a bare instruction, it quotes its own final (tenth) discourse — the five higher fetters — in full, matching this project's own already-completed SN 45.180 (“Higher Fetters”) almost word for word, before instructing readers to “tell in full as in the Linked Discourses on the Path, SN 45.171–179, with the above as the final discourse” for the remaining nine.

The five higher fetters, kept in full

As general canonical background, confirmed directly by this discourse's own text: the five “uddhambhāgiyāni saṁyojanāni” (higher fetters) are desire for rebirth in the realm of luminous form, desire for rebirth in the formless realm, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance — the subtler fetters an arahant alone has fully abandoned, distinct from the five lower fetters already resolved by a non-returner.

Nine further topics, confirmed by this file's own uddāna

As general canonical background, already confirmed at this project's own earlier treatment of SN 45.171-179: the remaining nine topics are floods (ogha), yokes (yoga), grasping (upādāna), personal ties (gantha), underlying tendencies (anusaya), kinds of sensual stimulation (kāmaguṇa), hindrances (nīvaraṇa), the aggregates (khandha), and the lower fetters (orambhāgiya) — each developed for the same five faculties' own sake, now applied here rather than to the eightfold path.

Key terms

uddhambhāgiyāni saṁyojanāni — “the higher fetters” — rūparāgo, arūparāgo, māno, uddhaccaṁ, avijjā (desire for form-realm rebirth, desire for formless-realm rebirth, conceit, restlessness, ignorance)
abhiññāya pariññāya parikkhayāya pahānāya — “for the direct knowledge, complete understanding, finishing, and giving up” — the fourfold purpose for which the five faculties are here developed
yathā maggasaṁyuttaṁ, tathā vitthāretabbaṁ — “tell in full as in the Linked Discourses on the Path, with the above as the final discourse” — this file's own cross-reference instruction, covering only the remaining nine topics
ogho yogo upādānaṁ, ganthā anusayena ca — “floods, yokes, grasping, ties, and underlying tendencies” — the closing uddāna's own opening line, naming the first five of the nine cross-referenced topics
kāmaguṇā nīvaraṇā, khandhā oruddhambhāgiyā — “kinds of sensual stimulation, hindrances, aggregates, and fetters high and low” — the uddāna's remaining topics, completing the count of ten

The text

Every genuinely translated fragment given in the consulted English source: the full closing discourse on the higher fetters, the cross-reference instruction, and the closing uddāna. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1“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 five faculties should be developed for the direct knowledge, complete understanding, finishing, and giving up of these five higher fetters. What five? It’s when a mendicant develops the faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom, which rely on seclusion, fading away, and cessation, and ripen as letting go. These five faculties should be developed for the direct knowledge, complete understanding, finishing, and giving up of these five higher fetters.”

Cross-reference(Tell in full as in the Linked Discourses on the Path, SN 45.171–179, with the above as the final discourse.)

UddānaFloods, yokes, grasping, ties, and underlying tendencies, kinds of sensual stimulation, hindrances, aggregates, and fetters high and low.

· · ·

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
How does this file's own structure differ from the three immediately preceding vaggas?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — a pattern break, not a fourth identical bare cross-reference.
Question 2 of 3
What are the five higher fetters, as directly confirmed by this discourse's own text?
Correct: A. The subtler fetters an arahant alone has fully abandoned.
Question 3 of 3
What does the cross-reference instruction cover, and what does it explicitly exclude?
Correct: A. "With the above as the final discourse" — the higher fetters are kept in full, not re-cross-referenced.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 48.105–114 · The Chapter on Searches