Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 55.32

Overflowing Merit (2nd)

Dutiyapuññābhisandasutta — Puññābhisandavagga

Setting
Not given — continuing directly from SN 55.31's own setting
Speaker
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
SN 55.31's own three confidences, with a genuinely different fourth factor
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★★ — confirms generosity, not only ethical conduct, can stand as the fourth kind of overflowing merit

Why this discourse

Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse repeats SN 55.31's own three confidences (Buddha, teaching, Saṅgha) but replaces ethical conduct with generosity — “rid of the stain of stinginess, freely generous, open-handed” — as the fourth kind of overflowing merit, matching the same substitution already confirmed at SN 55.6's own chamberlains and anticipating SN 55.39's own Kāḷigodhā.

Reading guide

A fourth factor that varies by context

This project's own running observation: across this saṃyutta, the fourth factor most often names ethical conduct, but substitutes generosity when the audience or occasion calls for it — confirmed here for a third time, after SN 55.6, and anticipating SN 55.39.

Key terms

vigatamalamaccherena cetasā cāgena — “rid of the stain of stinginess…generous” — this discourse's own fourth kind of overflowing merit, replacing ethical conduct
muttacāgo payatapāṇi vossaggarato — “open-handed, loving to let go, committed to charity” — further descriptors of this discourse's own generosity factor
puññābhisanda kusalābhisanda — “overflowing merit, overflowing goodness” — the shared name for this formula, unchanged from SN 55.31
aveccappasāda — “experiential confidence” — the shared term for confidence in the Buddha, teaching, and Saṅgha
yācayogo dānasaṁvibhāgarato — “loving to give and to share” — the closing descriptor of this discourse's own generosity factor

The text

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

§1“Mendicants, there are these four kinds of overflowing merit, overflowing goodness that nurture happiness. What four? It’s when a noble disciple has experiential confidence in the Buddha … the teaching … the Saṅgha … Furthermore, a noble disciple lives at home rid of the stain of stinginess, freely generous, open-handed, loving to let go, committed to charity, loving to give and to share. This is the fourth kind of overflowing merit, overflowing goodness that nurtures happiness. These are the four kinds of overflowing merit, overflowing goodness that nurture happiness.”

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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 replaces ethical conduct as the fourth factor in this discourse?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — a genuine substitution, not an addition.
Question 2 of 3
Where else in this saṃyutta has this project already confirmed the same substitution?
Correct: A. This project's own running observation, tracking the fourth factor's own contextual variation.
Question 3 of 3
What remains unchanged from SN 55.31?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — the three confidences and the shared name persist.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 55.31 · Overflowing Merit (1st)