Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 55.19

A Visit to the Gods (2nd)

Dutiyadevacārikasutta — Rājakārāmavagga

Setting
Jeta's Grove, then the heaven of the thirty-three
Speakers
Venerable Mahāmoggallāna and deities of the company of the thirty-three
Form
Nearly identical to SN 55.18, with one genuine tense variant
Length
1–2 minutes to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★ — a minor but genuine variant confirmed by direct comparison to SN 55.18, a shift from a general claim to a claim about specific individuals

Why this discourse

Confirmed by direct comparison, this discourse repeats SN 55.18 almost word for word — the same instantaneous visit, the same teaching, the same confirming deity — but with one genuine shift: “are reborn in a good place” becomes “have been reborn in a good place,” moving from a general, ongoing claim to a claim about specific individuals already reborn.

Reading guide

A tense shift, confirmed rather than assumed insignificant

This project's own direct comparison: rather than treating this discourse as a meaningless duplicate of SN 55.18, this project confirms the one genuine difference — present tense (“are reborn”) shifting to present perfect (“have been reborn”) — a change in reference from a general pattern to specific, already-completed cases.

Key terms

sugatiṁ saggaṁ lokaṁ upapannā — “have been reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm” — this discourse's own genuine variant, shifted from SN 55.18's own present-tense claim
seyyathāpi nāma balavā puriso samiñjitaṁ vā bāhaṁ pasāreyya — the same stock simile for instantaneous psychic travel, unchanged from SN 55.18
tāvatiṁsakāyikā devā — “the gods of the thirty-three” — the unchanged setting
mārisa moggallāna — “my good fellow Moggallāna” — the deity's own confirming address, unchanged from SN 55.18
aveccappasāda — “experiential confidence” — the shared term for confidence in the Buddha, teaching, and Saṅgha, unchanged throughout

The text

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

§1At Sāvatthī. And then Venerable Mahāmoggallāna, as easily as a strong person would extend or contract their arm, vanished from Jeta’s Grove and reappeared among the gods of the thirty-three. Then several deities of the company of the thirty-three went up to Venerable Mahāmoggallāna, bowed, and stood to one side. Moggallāna said to them:

§2“Reverends, it’s good to have experiential confidence in the Buddha. … It’s the reason why some sentient beings, when their body breaks up, after death, have been reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm. It’s good to have experiential confidence in the teaching. … the Saṅgha … and to have the ethical conduct that’s loved by the noble ones … leading to immersion. It’s the reason why some sentient beings, when their body breaks up, after death, have been reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm.”

§3“My good Moggallāna, it’s good to have experiential confidence in the Buddha … It’s the reason why some sentient beings, when their body breaks up, after death, have been reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm. It’s good to have experiential confidence in the teaching. … the Saṅgha … and to have the ethical conduct that’s loved by the noble ones … leading to immersion. It’s the reason why some sentient beings, when their body breaks up, after death, have been reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm.”

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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 single genuine variant does this discourse carry compared to SN 55.18?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct comparison — a small but genuine grammatical shift.
Question 2 of 3
What remains unchanged from SN 55.18?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct comparison — nearly everything matches, apart from the one noted tense shift.
Question 3 of 3
Why does this project confirm this tense shift rather than dismiss it as insignificant?
Correct: A. This project's own established honest-comparison convention, applied even to minor variants.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0

Further reading

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