Reading guide
A close echo of SN 48.45's own reasoning and phrasing
Confirmed by direct comparison, this discourse's own closing sentence — “tadanvayā saddhā saṇṭhāti, tadanvayaṁ vīriyaṁ saṇṭhāti” — matches this project's own SN 48.45 word for word: the faith, energy, mindfulness, and immersion that “follow along with” wisdom become stabilized once a noble disciple has wisdom.
A new architectural simile: the roof-peak and its rafters
Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse illustrates the same point with an image not yet met in this saṃyutta: in a peaked-roof building, the rafters (gopānasī) are not stable or fixed until the roof's own peak (kūṭa) is lifted into place; once the peak is set, the rafters become stable and fixed — exactly as the four faculties become stable once noble knowledge (the wisdom faculty) has arisen.
Noble knowledge, framing wisdom in a new term
Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse names the stabilizing factor “ariyañāṇaṁ” (“noble knowledge”) rather than simply “paññindriya” (“the faculty of wisdom”) as SN 48.45 did — though its own closing sentence confirms the two refer to the same underlying reality by returning to the standard “paññavato” (“one who has wisdom”) phrasing.
Key terms
The text
§1 — noble knowledge and the four faculties' own stabilitySo I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Mallas, near the Mallian town named Uruvelakappa. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants: “Mendicants, as long as noble knowledge hasn’t arisen for a noble disciple the four faculties are not stable and fixed. But when noble knowledge has arisen for a noble disciple the four faculties become stable and fixed.
§2 — the peaked-roof simileIt’s just like in a bungalow. As long as the roof peak is not lifted into place, the rafters are not stable or fixed. But when the roof peak is lifted into place, the rafters become stable and fixed. In the same way, as long as noble knowledge hasn’t arisen for a noble disciple the four faculties are not stable and fixed. But when noble knowledge has arisen for a noble disciple the four faculties become stable and fixed.
§3 — naming the four facultiesWhat four? The faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness, and immersion. When a noble disciple has wisdom, the faith, energy, mindfulness, and immersion that follow along with that become stabilized.”
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