Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 55.22

With Mahānāma (2nd)

Dutiyamahānāmasutta — Saraṇānivagga

Setting
Kapilavatthu, the Banyan Tree Monastery
Speakers
The Buddha and Mahānāma the Sakyan
Form
The identical confession from SN 55.21, answered with the four factors and a new simile
Length
1–2 minutes to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★★★ — the same confession as SN 55.21, but answered with the four factors directly, plus a genuinely new simile

Why this discourse

Confirmed by direct comparison, Mahānāma repeats his own identical confession word for word from SN 55.21 — the same crowded streets, the same momentary loss of mindfulness, the same fear. But the Buddha's own answer genuinely differs: rather than the pot-of-ghee simile, he gives the four factors of stream-entry directly, illustrated by a leaning tree that falls in the direction it already leans when cut at the root.

Reading guide

The identical question, a genuinely different answer

This project's own direct comparison: SN 55.21's own opening confession and SN 55.22's own match word for word, confirming this is a deliberate repetition of the same personal worry — but the Buddha's own response this time draws on this saṃyutta's own central formula (the four factors) rather than the pot-of-ghee image.

A tree that falls the way it already leans

Confirmed by direct reading, the Buddha asks Mahānāma directly which way a tree leaning east would fall if cut at the root, and Mahānāma answers correctly himself before the Buddha confirms the parallel: a noble disciple with the four factors “slants, slopes, and inclines toward extinguishment” in exactly the same way — a disposition established well before the moment of death, not decided by it.

Key terms

satiṁ pamuṭṭhāmi buddhagataṁ dhammagataṁ saṅghagataṁ — “I lose mindfulness regarding the Buddha, the teaching, and the Saṅgha” — Mahānāma's own confession, identical to SN 55.21's own
nibbānaninno hoti nibbānapoṇo nibbānapabbhāro — “slants, slopes, and inclines towards extinguishment” — the identical closing formula for the four factors already met throughout this book's own river-simile discourses
rukkho pācīnaninno pācīnapoṇo pācīnapabbhāro — “a tree that slants, slopes, and inclines to the east” — this discourse's own new simile, structurally parallel to the river-simile pattern
yato naṁ mūlaṁ chindeyya, katamena naṁ papateyyā ti — “if it was cut off at the root where would it fall?” — the Buddha's own direct question to Mahānāma
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).

§1So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Sakyans, near Kapilavatthu in the Banyan Tree Monastery. Then Mahānāma the Sakyan went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him: “Sir, this Kapilavatthu is successful and prosperous, populous, full of people, with cramped cul-de-sacs. In the late afternoon, after paying homage to the Buddha or an esteemed mendicant, I enter Kapilavatthu. I encounter a stray elephant, horse, chariot, cart, or person. At that time I lose mindfulness regarding the Buddha, the teaching, and the Saṅgha. I think: ‘If I were to die at this time, where would I be reborn in my next life?’”

§2“Do not fear, Mahānāma, do not fear! Your death will not be a bad one; your passing will not be a bad one. A noble disciple who has four things slants, slopes, and inclines towards extinguishment. What four? It’s when a noble disciple has experiential confidence in the Buddha … the teaching … the Saṅgha … And they have the ethical conduct loved by the noble ones … leading to immersion.

The leaning-tree simileSuppose there was a tree that slants, slopes, and inclines to the east. If it was cut off at the root where would it fall?” “Sir, it would fall in the direction that it slants, slopes, and inclines.” “In the same way, a noble disciple who has four things slants, slopes, and inclines towards extinguishment.”

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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
How does Mahānāma's own opening confession in this discourse compare to SN 55.21's own?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct comparison — a deliberate repetition of the identical personal confession.
Question 2 of 3
What new simile does the Buddha use in this discourse, unlike SN 55.21's own pot-of-ghee image?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — a genuinely different simile from SN 55.21's own.
Question 3 of 3
What does the leaning-tree simile illustrate about the four factors?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — the same underlying point as SN 55.21's own pot-of-ghee simile, illustrated differently.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 55.21 · With Mahānāma (1st)