Not given — this discourse has no narrative opening at all, a structural departure from every other discourse translated in this saṃyutta
Speakers
The Buddha (addressing the mendicants is implied but not stated in this discourse's own bare opening)
Form
A single simile, applied to the five faculties as steps leading to awakening
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★★★☆ — a companion simile to SN 48.51's own lion image, and a genuinely bare opening with no setting given at all
Why this discourse
This discourse gives a companion image to this project's own SN 48.51: just as every walking creature's footprint fits inside an elephant's footprint, making it the biggest, the faculty of wisdom is said to be the best of the “steps that lead to awakening” (padāni bodhāya saṁvattanti) — and notably, this discourse's own text has no narrative opening at all, unlike every other discourse translated in this saṃyutta so far.
Reading guide
A companion image to SN 48.51's own lion simile
Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse's own structure exactly mirrors SN 48.51: the same five faculties, the same claim that wisdom is “the best” (agga) among them, but illustrated with a different animal image — the elephant's footprint, which encompasses every other creature's footprint by sheer size, rather than the lion's own strength, speed, and courage.
"Steps leading to awakening", not "qualities on the side of awakening"
Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse frames the five faculties as “padāni bodhāya saṁvattanti” (“steps/footprints that lead to awakening”) — a term distinct from SN 48.51's own “bodhipakkhiyā dhammā” (“qualities on the side of awakening”), though both discourses reach the identical conclusion: wisdom is the foremost among the five.
A genuinely bare opening, with no setting given
This project's own honest observation: unlike every other discourse translated in this saṃyutta, this discourse's own source gives no narrative frame at all — no “so I have heard,” no location, no explicit marker of continuity with SN 48.51 or SN 48.53 — simply the simile itself. This project reports this structural bareness plainly, without assuming what it implies about this discourse's own relationship to its neighbors.
Key terms
hatthipadaṁ — “the elephant's footprint” — the simile's own central image, said to be biggest because every other creature's footprint fits inside it
padāni bodhāya saṁvattanti — “steps that lead to awakening” — this discourse's own term for the five faculties, distinct from SN 48.51's own “bodhipakkhiyā dhammā”
aggamakkhāyati — “is said to be the best” — the same phrase already met at SN 48.51, now applied through the elephant image
mahantattena — “by sheer size” — the specific quality that makes the elephant's footprint the greatest among all footprints
Catutthaṁ — “the fourth” — the closing colophon marker, confirming this as the vagga's fourth discourse
The text
The complete discourse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“The footprints of all creatures that walk can fit inside an elephant’s footprint, so an elephant’s footprint is said to be the biggest of them all. In the same way, the faculty of wisdom is said to be the best of the steps that lead to awakening; that is, for becoming awakened. And what are the steps that lead to awakening? The faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom are steps that lead to awakening, in that they lead to becoming awakened. The footprints of all creatures that walk can fit inside an elephant’s footprint, so an elephant’s footprint is said to be the biggest of them all. In the same way, the faculty of wisdom is said to be the best of the steps that lead to awakening; that is, for becoming awakened. ”
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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 does this discourse's own elephant-footprint simile illustrate?
Correct: A. A companion image to SN 48.51's own lion simile, reaching the identical conclusion.
Question 2 of 3
What genuinely distinguishes this discourse's own structure from every other discourse translated in this saṃyutta?
Correct: A. A genuinely bare structure, reported honestly rather than assumed to mean any particular thing.
Question 3 of 3
What term does this discourse use for the five faculties, distinct from SN 48.51's own term?
Correct: A. A different framing term, reaching the same conclusion about wisdom's own foremost place.
