Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourses 51.55–66

Hard Work

Balakaraṇīyasutta — Balakaraṇīyavagga

Setting
Sāvatthī
Speaker
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
Twelve discourses compressed into a single bilara-data file, carrying no independent content beyond an explicit cross-reference
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
★★ — brief in its own written form, structurally confirmed to represent twelve discourses reusing already-translated content

Why this discourse

Confirmed by direct reading, this file carries no independent content of its own: it instructs the reader to “tell in full as in the chapter on hard work at SN 45.149–160” — this project's own already-completed vagga from the Maggasaṃyutta — rather than repeating its own twelve similes a second time in this book.

Reading guide

A direct cross-reference, matching this project's own established pattern

This project's own comparison: as with SN 51.45-54's own Appamādavagga, this vagga simply points back to an already-translated chapter (here, SN 45.149-160) rather than rewriting its own similes — the same compression pattern, now applied to the “hard work” (balakaraṇīya) chapter rather than diligence.

Twelve similes, confirmed by the closing uddāna

Confirmed by direct reading of this file's own closing uddāna (“hard work, seeds, and dragons, a tree, a pot, and a spike, the atmosphere, and two on clouds, a ship, a guest house, and a river”), this single file's own twelve listed items confirm it spans exactly twelve discourses, SN 51.55 through SN 51.66.

Matching this project's own count for the original chapter

This project's own cross-reference: twelve similes here matches this project's own already-completed SN 45.149-160, which likewise spanned twelve discourses under the same “hard work” theme — a clean numerical match confirming no similes were added or dropped in this saṃyutta's own reuse of the chapter.

Key terms

Balakaraṇīyavaggo vitthāretabbo — “the Hard-Work chapter is to be elaborated in full” — this file's own entire root Pāli content, a bare cross-reference instruction
balakaraṇīya — “hard work” — this vagga's own governing theme, shared with this project's own already-completed SN 45.149-160
bījañca nāgo ca — “seeds, and dragons” — the uddāna's own second and third similes
ākāsena ca dve meghā — “the atmosphere, and two on clouds” — the uddāna's own middle group, naming three related sky-similes
nāvā āgantukā nadī — “a ship, a guest house, and a river” — the uddāna's own closing three similes, confirming twelve items total

The text

Every genuinely translated fragment given in the consulted English source. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1(Tell in full as in the chapter on hard work at SN 45.149–160.)

UddānaHard work, seeds, and dragons, a tree, a pot, and a spike, the atmosphere, and two on clouds, a ship, a guest house, and a river.

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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 file instruct the reader to do, rather than rewriting the hard-work teaching a second time?
Correct: A. A direct cross-reference to this project's own already-completed chapter.
Question 2 of 3
How many discourses does this single merged file's own closing uddāna confirm it spans?
Correct: A. Twelve similes — hard work, seeds, dragons, a tree, a pot, a spike, the atmosphere, two clouds, a ship, a guest house, a river.
Question 3 of 3
What does this project's own cross-reference confirm about the numerical match to SN 45.149-160?
Correct: A. A clean numerical match, confirmed by this project's own direct comparison.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0