Reading guide
The first of three parallel comparisons
This project's own reading: SN 56.102-104 form a three-part set, each comparing human-to-human rebirth against one of the three unfavorable destinations in turn (hell, animal, ghost) — kept as three separate discourse-numbers here, unlike the merged single-file treatment this project will confirm for several later origin-points in this same vagga.
Key terms
appakā te sattā ye manussā cutā manussesu paccājāyanti — “the sentient beings who die as humans and are reborn as humans are few” — the rare category, identical to SN 56.102's own
tiracchānayoniyā paccājāyanti — “reborn as animals” — the common category, giving this discourse its own title
tiracchānayoni — “animal womb, the animal realm” — one of the three unfavorable destinations named across this vagga's own series
… — the elision marking, standing in for the causal explanation and fingernail demonstration already assumed from earlier discourses
dutiyaṁ — “the second” — this discourse's own root text confirming its own position directly, read rather than assumed
The text
Every genuinely translated fragment given in the consulted English source, which itself preserves the elision. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“… the sentient beings who die as humans and are reborn as humans are few, while those who die as humans and are reborn in the animal realm are many …”
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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 does this discourse claim about rebirth as an animal after a human life?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — matching SN 56.102's own structure, animal realm substituted for hell.
Question 2 of 3
What three-part set does this discourse belong to, per this project's own reading?
Correct: A. This project's own reading of a three-part structure kept individually numbered here.
Question 3 of 3
What position does this discourse occupy in this vagga's own sequence?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading of the sequence's own order, following SN 56.102.