Reading guide
A dialogue between disciples, not with the Buddha
Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse's own setting differs from SN 55.2 and SN 55.3: Ānanda simply approaches Sāriputta directly, “in the late afternoon…came out of retreat,” and asks his own question without any mention of the Buddha being present.
The identical formula, confirmed word for word
This project's own direct comparison: Sāriputta's own answer — experiential confidence in the Buddha, the teaching, the Saṅgha, and the ethical conduct loved by the noble ones — matches SN 55.2's own formula exactly, confirming this project's own earlier expectation that the four-factor formula would recur consistently throughout this saṃyutta.
Key terms
The text
§1At one time Venerable Sāriputta was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Then in the late afternoon, Venerable Ānanda came out of retreat … and said to Sāriputta: “Reverend, how many things do people have to possess in order for the Buddha to declare that they’re a stream-enterer, not liable to be reborn in the underworld, assured, destined for awakening?” “Reverend, people have to possess four things in order for the Buddha to declare that they’re a stream-enterer, not liable to be reborn in the underworld, assured, destined for awakening. 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. People have to possess these four things in order for the Buddha to declare that they’re a stream-enterer, not liable to be reborn in the underworld, assured, destined for awakening.”
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