Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 55.33

Overflowing Merit (3rd)

Tatiyapuññābhisandasutta — Puññābhisandavagga

Setting
Not given — continuing directly from SN 55.32's own setting
Speaker
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
The same three confidences, with wisdom as a third variant of the fourth factor
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★★ — completes a genuine three-way variation across SN 55.31-33: ethical conduct, generosity, and now wisdom, each standing as the fourth kind of overflowing merit in turn

Why this discourse

Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse completes a genuine three-part sequence: SN 55.31 named ethical conduct as the fourth kind of overflowing merit, SN 55.32 named generosity, and this discourse now names wisdom — specifically “the wisdom of arising and passing away which is noble, penetrative, and leads to the complete ending of suffering.”

Reading guide

Three virtues, one shared structure

This project's own direct comparison across SN 55.31, 32, and 33: the three confidences remain constant while the fourth factor rotates through ethical conduct, generosity, and now wisdom — confirming this vagga's own opening triplet deliberately explores three distinct ways the formula's own fourth element can be filled.

Wisdom, specified precisely

Confirmed by direct reading, the wisdom named here is not general intelligence but a specific insight: “the wisdom of arising and passing away” (udayatthagāminī paññā) — direct penetration into impermanence, explicitly said to lead to “the complete ending of suffering.”

Key terms

paññavā hoti udayatthagāminiyā paññāya samannāgato — “wise…the wisdom of arising and passing away” — this discourse's own fourth kind of overflowing merit
ariyāya nibbedhikāya sammādukkhakkhayagāminiyā — “which is noble, penetrative, and leads to the complete ending of suffering” — the discourse's own precise qualification of this wisdom
udayatthagāminī paññā — “the wisdom of arising and passing away” — direct insight into impermanence, distinct from mere intellectual knowledge
puññābhisanda kusalābhisanda — “overflowing merit, overflowing goodness” — the shared name, unchanged across all three discourses in this triplet
aveccappasāda — “experiential confidence” — the shared term for confidence in the Buddha, teaching, and Saṅgha, held constant across this triplet

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 is wise. They have the wisdom of arising and passing away which is noble, penetrative, and leads to the complete ending of suffering. 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.”

· · ·

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 discourse name as the fourth kind of overflowing merit?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — completing a three-way variation across SN 55.31-33.
Question 2 of 3
What does this project's own comparison across SN 55.31-33 confirm?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct comparison — a deliberate three-part exploration of the formula's own fourth element.
Question 3 of 3
What specific insight does "the wisdom of arising and passing away" refer to?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — a specific, technical insight, not general intelligence.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 55.32 · Overflowing Merit (2nd)