Not given — continuing directly from SN 55.58's own setting
Speaker
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
A single compressed sentence, cross-referencing SN 55.55's own full statement
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★★ — opens a second, three-part sub-sequence applying the same four conditions to wisdom itself rather than the four fruits of the path
Why this discourse
Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse marks a shift within the SN 55.55-61 sequence: rather than continuing with a fifth fruit of the path, it applies the identical four causal conditions to “the getting of wisdom” (paññāpaṭilābha) itself — opening a second, three-part sub-sequence that continues through the growth (SN 55.60) and increase (SN 55.61) of wisdom.
Reading guide
A shift from fruits to wisdom itself
This project's own direct comparison: SN 55.55-58 traced the four classic fruits of the path in ascending order; this discourse instead turns to wisdom as its own subject, treated across three stages — getting, growing, and increasing — rather than the fourfold hierarchy of awakening.
The same conditions produce wisdom's own arising
Confirmed by direct reading, this project's own observation: since “rational application of mind” is itself one of the four conditions already named, this discourse implies wisdom both arises from and further deepens through the identical process — a means and an end sharing the same underlying conditions.
Key terms
paññāpaṭilābhāya saṁvattanti — “lead to the getting of wisdom” — this discourse's own specific result, opening the second sub-sequence
paññāpaṭilābha — “the getting of wisdom” — the first of three aspects of wisdom this sub-sequence traces
… — the elision marking, standing in for the complete four-condition formula already given in full at SN 55.55
yonisomanasikāro — “rational application of mind” — the third condition, itself already a form of wisdom in action
sappurisasaṁsevo — “associating with true persons” — the first condition, assumed here from SN 55.55
The text
Every genuinely translated fragment given in the consulted English source, which itself preserves the elision back to SN 55.55. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, when four things are developed and cultivated they lead to the getting of wisdom. …”
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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 genuinely new direction does this discourse take within the SN 55.55-61 sequence?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — a shift in subject from the fourfold hierarchy of awakening to wisdom's own development.
Question 2 of 3
What does this project's own observation note about "rational application of mind" appearing among the causal conditions?
Correct: A. This project's own reading of the relationship between one of the causal conditions and the discourse's own named result.
Question 3 of 3
What three stages does this new sub-sequence trace, according to its own titles?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading of this discourse's own title and its own two immediate successors.
