Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 54.16

Several Mendicants (2nd)

Dutiyabhikkhusutta — Dutiyavagga

Setting
Not given — continuing directly from SN 54.15's own setting
Speakers
Several mendicants (sambahulā bhikkhū) and the Buddha
Form
The Buddha asks first (as at SN 54.14); the mendicants defer; the root Pali then gives the entire chain in full
Length
<1 minute to read, per the consulted English translation's own actual content
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★★ — confirmed by direct comparison to be a genuine case where the English source elides a discourse the root Pali itself gives in full

Why this discourse

Confirmed by direct comparison between the two sources, this is a genuinely unusual case: the root Pali writes out the complete eighteen-section chain in full, essentially matching SN 54.13's own full length word for word, with no “…pe…” elision of its own. Yet the consulted English translation leaves nearly the entire discourse as empty strings, translating only the opening frame, the chain's own name, the very beginning of the step-by-step explanation, and the closing line — an editorial choice by the translator, not a gap in the underlying source.

Reading guide

The Buddha asks, the mendicants defer

Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse repeats the role-reversal already met at SN 54.14: the Buddha asks the mendicants the chain-question directly, and they reply with the same deferral formula, “our teachings are rooted in the Buddha,” before he answers his own question.

Full in the Pali, nearly empty in English

This project's own direct comparison, reported honestly rather than filled in: where SN 54.13's own English translation gave the complete eighteen-section explanation in full, and SN 54.15's own English compressed it via a translated “…pe…”, this discourse's own English source gives almost nothing at all for the identical Pali content — confirming a genuine inconsistency in how this translator chose to handle repeated material across these three closely related discourses.

Key terms

bhagavaṁmūlakā no, bhante, dhammā — “our teachings are rooted in the Buddha” — the same deferral formula already met at SN 54.14
ekadhammo bhāvito bahulīkato cattāro dhamme paripūreti — “one thing that, when developed and cultivated, fulfills four things” — the chain's own opening link, translated here
araññagato vā rukkhamūlagato vā suññāgāragato vā... parimukhaṁ satiṁ upaṭṭhapetvā — “gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut…brings mindfulness to the present” — the only fragment of the step-by-step explanation the English source translates before leaving the remainder as empty strings
cattāro satipaṭṭhāne...satta bojjhaṅge...vijjāvimuttiṁ — “the four kinds of mindfulness meditation... the seven awakening factors...knowledge and freedom” — the chain's own remaining links, present in the root Pali in full but absent from the consulted English translation
evaṁ bhāvitā kho, bhikkhave, satta bojjhaṅgā evaṁ bahulīkatā vijjāvimuttiṁ paripūrentīti — “that's how the seven awakening factors are developed and cultivated so as to fulfill knowledge and freedom” — the discourse's own closing line, the only other substantial fragment translated

The text

Every genuinely translated fragment given in the consulted English source. Confirmed by direct comparison: the root Pali gives this entire discourse in full, but the English translation leaves nearly all of it as empty strings — reported honestly here, not filled in by this project. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1Then several mendicants went up to the Buddha, bowed, and sat down to one side. The Buddha said to them: “Mendicants, 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, mendicants.

§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.

§3And how is mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated so as to fulfill the four kinds of mindfulness meditation? It’s when a mendicant—gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut—sits down cross-legged, sets their body straight, and brings mindfulness to the present. …

ClosingThat’s how the seven awakening factors are developed and cultivated so as to fulfill knowledge and freedom.”

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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 project's own direct comparison confirm about this discourse's own two sources?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct comparison — a genuine, reported inconsistency in how the translator handled this discourse.
Question 2 of 3
How does this discourse's own opening compare to SN 54.14's own?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — the same deferral formula and role-reversal already met at SN 54.14.
Question 3 of 3
Is the near-total absence of English text in this discourse a gap in the underlying source or this project's own omission?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct comparison to the full root Pali — an editorial choice, not a gap or an omission.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0

Further reading

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