Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 55.20

A Visit to the Gods (3rd)

Tatiyadevacārikasutta — Rājakārāmavagga

Setting
Jeta's Grove, then the heaven of the thirty-three
Speakers
The Buddha and deities of the company of the thirty-three
Form
The third instance of the deva-visit narrative, this time led by the Buddha himself
Length
1–2 minutes to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★★★★ — closes Vagga 2 (10 discourses), confirmed by direct reading of the colophon and uddāna, with the Buddha himself replacing Moggallāna as the visitor

Why this discourse

Confirmed by direct reading of its own root colophon (“Rājakārāmavaggo dutiyo”) and uddāna, this discourse closes Vagga 2 at ten discourses, matching this project's own SN 55.11-20 exactly. It completes the deva-visit triad begun at SN 55.18: this time the Buddha himself, not Moggallāna, makes the journey, and the discourse closes with this saṃyutta's own recurring “stream-enterer” description rather than SN 55.18-19's own “reborn in a heavenly realm.”

Reading guide

The Buddha himself completes the triad

Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse repeats the identical journey and teaching structure of SN 55.18-19, but names the Buddha as the one who “vanished from Jeta's Grove and reappeared among the gods of the thirty-three” — the teacher himself, not his disciple, closing this three-part sequence.

A different closing benefit than its own companions

This project's own direct comparison: where SN 55.18 and SN 55.19 both close naming rebirth “in a good place, a heavenly realm” as the benefit, this discourse instead closes with this saṃyutta's own recurring “stream-enterer, not liable to be reborn in the underworld, assured, destined for awakening” formula — a genuinely different framing, confirmed rather than assumed identical.

An untranslated closing, reported honestly

This project's own direct comparison: the root Pali's own closing colophon and ten-item uddāna are both left as empty strings in the consulted English source, matching the same pattern already confirmed at SN 54.10 and SN 55.10.

Key terms

bhagavā...tāvatiṁsakāyikānaṁ devānaṁ sahavyataṁ upapajji — “the Buddha…reappeared among the gods of the thirty-three” — this discourse's own distinctive substitution of the Buddha for Moggallāna
sotāpannā avinipātadhammā niyatā sambodhiparāyaṇā — “stream-enterers, not liable to be reborn in the underworld, assured, destined for awakening” — this discourse's own closing benefit, differing from SN 55.18-19's own
bhaddamukha — “good fellow” — the deity's own address to the Buddha, a more general honorific than the personal “mārisa moggallāna” used at SN 55.18-19
dasamaṁ. rājakārāmavaggo dutiyo — “tenth. the Royal Monastery chapter, the second [ends]” — the root colophon's own vagga-closing marker
sahassabrāhmaṇānanda, duggati apare duve; mittāmaccā duve vuttā, tayo ca devacārikāti — the closing uddāna's own ten titles, confirmed by direct reading to match SN 55.11 through SN 55.20 exactly

The text

Every genuinely translated fragment given in the consulted English source; the closing colophon and uddāna themselves are left untranslated in the source. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1Then the Buddha, 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 the Buddha, bowed, and stood to one side. The Buddha said to them:

§2“Reverends, it’s good to have experiential confidence in the Buddha. … It’s the reason why some sentient beings are stream-enterers, not liable to be reborn in the underworld, assured, destined for awakening. 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 are stream-enterers, not liable to be reborn in the underworld, assured, destined for awakening.”

§3“Good fellow, it’s good to have experiential confidence in the Buddha … It’s the reason why some sentient beings are stream-enterers, not liable to be reborn in the underworld, assured, destined for awakening. 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 are stream-enterers, not liable to be reborn in the underworld, assured, destined for awakening.”

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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
Who makes the visit to the gods of the thirty-three in this discourse, unlike SN 55.18-19?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — the teacher himself completes this three-part sequence.
Question 2 of 3
How does this discourse's own closing benefit differ from SN 55.18-19's own, per this project's own comparison?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct comparison — a genuinely different closing description.
Question 3 of 3
What does this discourse's own root colophon confirm about Vagga 2?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading of the root Pali colophon, not assumed.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 55.19 · A Visit to the Gods (2nd)