Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 56.54

Where the Waters Join Together (2nd)

Dutiyasambhejjasutta — Abhisamayavagga

Setting
Not given — continuing directly from SN 56.53's own setting
Speaker
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
A comparative question inverting SN 56.53's own image, its own answer, then the same elided application
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★ — the fourth of ten discourses, completing the addition/erosion pair opened at SN 56.53

Why this discourse

Confirmed by direct comparison against SN 56.53, this discourse inverts the image: rather than drawing two or three drops out of an intact confluence of the same five named rivers, it imagines that confluence's own water dried up and evaporated entirely except for two or three drops — the identical erosion move already met between SN 56.49 and SN 56.50.

Reading guide

Addition inverted to erosion

This project's own direct comparison: SN 56.53 removed a small amount from an intact whole; this discourse instead removes almost the entire whole, leaving only a small remainder — two different operations arriving at the identical comparative conclusion, matching the pattern already confirmed at SN 56.49-50.

Key terms

taṁ udakaṁ parikkhayaṁ pariyādānaṁ gaccheyya — “that water dried up and evaporated” — this discourse's own inverted image
ṭhapetvā dve vā tīṇi vā udakaphusitāni — “except for two or three drops” — the remainder left after the confluence's own evaporation
saṁbhejjaudakaṁ parikkhīṇaṁ pariyādinnaṁ — “the water in the confluence that has dried up and evaporated” — the vast portion now compared against the tiny remainder
… — the elision marking, standing in for the full application already given at SN 56.51
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 back to SN 56.51's own full statement. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1“Mendicants, there are places where the great rivers—the Ganges, Yamunā, Aciravatī, Sarabhū, and Mahī—join together and converge. Suppose that water dried up and evaporated except for two or three drops. What do you think, mendicants? Which is more: the water in the confluence that has dried up and evaporated, or the two or three drops left?” “Sir, the water in the confluence that has dried up and evaporated is certainly more. The two or three drops left are tiny. Compared to the water in the confluence that has dried up and evaporated, it doesn’t count, there’s no comparison, it’s not worth a fraction.” “In the same way, for a noble disciple … 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 invert SN 56.53's own image, per this project's own direct comparison?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct comparison — addition inverted to erosion, the identical structure met at SN 56.49-50.
Question 2 of 3
What remains of the confluence after its own evaporation?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — a small, precisely named remainder.
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 56.53 · Where the Waters Join Together (1st)