Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 56.18

Knowledge

Vijjāsutta — Dhammacakkappavattanavagga

Setting
Not given — continuing directly from SN 56.17's own setting
Speaker
An unnamed mendicant asks; the Buddha answers
Form
A direct question, a precise definitional answer, the exact mirror of SN 56.17's own structure
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★★ — the eighth of ten discourses, its own mirroring of SN 56.17 confirmed word for word

Why this discourse

Confirmed by direct comparison against SN 56.17, this discourse inverts the identical structure exactly: where ignorance was defined as not knowing the four truths, knowledge (vijjā) is here defined as knowing them — “aññāṇaṁ” (“not knowing”) replaced throughout with “ñāṇaṁ” (“knowing”), otherwise word for word identical.

Reading guide

A single term inverted, otherwise identical

This project's own word-for-word comparison against SN 56.17 confirms only one substitution: “aññāṇaṁ” (not knowing) becomes “ñāṇaṁ” (knowing) at every occurrence, with the setting, question format, and every other word identical between the two discourses.

Key terms

vijjā, vijjāti, bhante, vuccati — “they speak of this thing called 'knowledge'” — the mendicant's own opening reference, mirroring SN 56.17's own opening exactly
katamā nu kho, bhante, vijjā — “what is knowledge?” — the mendicant's own direct question
dukkhe ñāṇaṁ — “knowing about suffering” — the first component of this discourse's own fourfold definition, the sole substitution from SN 56.17's own "aññāṇaṁ"
vijjāgato — “a knowing one, one gone into knowledge” — the term this discourse also defines, mirroring SN 56.17's own "avijjāgato"
aṭṭhamaṁ — “the eighth” — 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. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1Then a mendicant went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him: “Sir, they speak of this thing called ‘knowledge’. What is knowledge? And how is a knowing one defined?” “Knowing about suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering. This is called knowledge. And this is how a knowing one is defined.

§2That’s why you should practice meditation …”

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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
How does this discourse relate to SN 56.17, per this project's own word-for-word comparison?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct word-for-word comparison — a single term inverted, nothing else changed.
Question 2 of 3
How does this discourse define knowledge (vijjā)?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — the precise mirror of SN 56.17's own definition of ignorance.
Question 3 of 3
What position does this discourse occupy in this vagga's own ten-discourse sequence?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading of the root text's own closing marker "Aṭṭhamaṁ" ("eighth").
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 56.17 · Ignorance