Reading guide
A familiar deferral, now met in this saṃyutta
Confirmed by direct comparison, Ānanda's own reply — “our teachings are rooted in the Buddha” — is the identical formula this project has already tracked four times across SN 51.14, 51.28, 51.30, and 51.31, here appearing for the first time in this saṃyutta: a mendicant's own recognition that the fullest answer belongs to the Buddha himself, not a disciple's own restatement.
A compressed answer, pointing back to SN 54.13
Confirmed by direct reading, the Buddha's own answer here is elided via “…pe…” between naming the chain's own first link and its own final line — this discourse assumes SN 54.13's own full step-by-step explanation (breath to satipaṭṭhāna to bojjhaṅga to liberation) rather than repeating it a second time.
Key terms
The text
§1Then Venerable Ānanda went up to the Buddha, bowed, and sat down to one side. The Buddha said to him: “Ānanda, is there one thing that, when developed and cultivated, fulfills four things; and those four things, when developed and cultivated, fulfill seven things; and those seven things, when developed and cultivated, fulfill two things?” “Our teachings are rooted in the Buddha. …” “There is, Ānanda.
§2And what is that one thing? Immersion due to mindfulness of breathing is one thing that, when developed and cultivated, fulfills the four kinds of mindfulness meditation. And the four kinds of mindfulness meditation, when developed and cultivated, fulfill the seven awakening factors. And the seven awakening factors, when developed and cultivated, fulfill knowledge and freedom. And how is mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated so as to fulfill the four kinds of mindfulness meditation? … That’s how the seven awakening factors are developed and cultivated so as to fulfill knowledge and freedom.”
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