Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 56.24

The Perfected Ones

Arahantasutta — Koṭigāmavagga

Setting
Sāvatthī
Speaker
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
A threefold claim across past, future, and present, partly elided
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★★ — the fourth of ten discourses, widening SN 56.23's own single claim to every Buddha across all three times

Why this discourse

Confirmed by direct comparison against SN 56.23, this discourse widens the claim from the Buddha's own single case to every “perfected one, fully awakened Buddha” across past, future, and present alike — all of them, without exception, truly awaken to the four noble truths, this project notes echoing the same temporal-universality structure already met several times in this saṃyutta (SN 56.5, 56.6).

Reading guide

From one Buddha to every Buddha

This project's own direct comparison: SN 56.23 claimed this specifically of the historical Buddha; this discourse widens the identical claim to every fully awakened Buddha whatsoever, past, future, or present — the same temporal-universality pattern already met at SN 56.5-6, now applied specifically to Buddhas rather than ascetics and brahmins generally.

Key terms

atītamaddhānaṁ arahanto sammāsambuddhā — “perfected ones, fully awakened Buddhas, in the past” — this discourse's own first temporal category
yathābhūtaṁ abhisambujjhiṁsu — “truly awaken” — the verb applied across all three times, sharing its own root with “sambuddha” itself
cattāri ariyasaccāni yathābhūtaṁ abhisambujjhanti — “truly awaken to the four noble truths” — this discourse's own claim about what such awakening always turns out to be, for every Buddha without exception
… — the elision marking, standing in for the future and present temporal categories' own repeated structure
catutthaṁ — “the fourth” — 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).

§1At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, whatever perfected ones, fully awakened Buddhas truly awaken—in the past, future, or present—all of them truly awaken to the four noble truths. What four? The noble truths of suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering. Whatever perfected ones, fully awakened Buddhas truly awaken—in the past, future, or present—all of them truly awaken to the four noble truths. That’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's own claim widen SN 56.23's own claim, per this project's own direct comparison?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct comparison — a temporal-universality widening, echoing SN 56.5-6's own earlier pattern.
Question 2 of 3
Where has this project already encountered this same temporal-universality structure (past, future, present, all alike) in this saṃyutta?
Correct: A. This project's own cross-reference to an already-familiar structural pattern in this saṃyutta.
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 "Catutthaṁ" ("fourth").
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 56.23 · The Fully Awakened Buddha