Reading guide
A vagga name not yet explained
This project's own honest observation: this opening discourse's own setting (the brahmin village of Sālā) gives no indication of why this vagga is named “Sūkarakhatavagga” (“the vagga of the boar's cave”). This project declines to guess at a reason and will confirm it only when a later discourse's own text accounts for the name directly.
The lion simile: wisdom as the best of the awakening-factors
Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse applies a vivid new image not yet met in this saṃyutta: just as the lion is best among animals for strength, speed, and courage, the faculty of wisdom is best among the “qualities on the side of awakening” (bodhipakkhiyā dhammā) — here identified specifically with the five spiritual faculties (faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, wisdom).
Extending, not merely repeating, SN 48.45's own claim
This project's own direct comparison: this discourse elevates wisdom in a way that echoes but genuinely extends SN 48.45's own claim that wisdom alone suffices for enlightenment — here wisdom is not stated as sufficient on its own, but as the BEST among all five faculties taken together, framed through the broader canonical category of bodhipakkhiyā dhammā rather than the five faculties in isolation.
Key terms
The text
§1 — the lion simileSo I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Kosalans near the brahmin village of Sālā. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants: “Mendicants, the lion, king of beasts, is said to be the best of animals in terms of strength, speed, and courage. In the same way, the faculty of wisdom is said to be the best of the qualities on the side of awakening; that is, for becoming awakened.
§2 — the five faculties named as qualities on the side of awakeningAnd what are the qualities on the side of awakening? The faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom are qualities on the side of awakening, in that they lead to becoming awakened. The lion, king of beasts, is said to be the best of animals in terms of strength, speed, and courage. In the same way, the faculty of wisdom is said to be the best of the qualities on the side of awakening; that is, for becoming awakened.”
Self-check quiz
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