Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 56.57

The Ocean (1st)

Paṭhamamahāsamuddasutta — Abhisamayavagga

Setting
Not given — continuing directly from SN 56.56's own setting
Speaker
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
A comparative question, its own answer, then the application elided back to SN 56.51
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★ — the seventh of ten discourses, opening this vagga's own third addition/erosion pair with SN 56.58

Why this discourse

Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse compares two or three drops of water drawn from the ocean to the ocean's own total water — opening this vagga's own third addition/erosion pair (SN 56.57-58), reusing the identical “two or three drops” image already met at SN 56.53's own river confluence, now applied to the ocean itself.

Reading guide

The same small measure, a larger whole

This project's own direct comparison: this discourse reuses SN 56.53's own exact image (“two or three drops”) rather than inventing a new small measure, escalating only the scale of the whole being compared — from a river confluence to the ocean itself.

Key terms

mahāsamuddato dve vā tīṇi vā udakaphusitāni uddharitāni — “draw up two or three drops of water from the ocean” — this discourse's own reused small measure, now applied to the ocean
mahāsamudde udakaṁ — “the water in the ocean” — the vast counterpart to the drawn drops
saṅkhampi na upenti, upanidhampi na upenti, kalabhāgampi na upenti — “they don't count, there's no comparison, they're not worth a fraction” — this vagga's own recurring threefold formula
… — the elision marking, standing in for the full application already given at SN 56.51
sattamaṁ — “the seventh” — 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, suppose a man was to draw up two or three drops of water from the ocean. What do you think, mendicants? Which is more: the two or three drops drawn out or the water in the ocean?” “Sir, the water in the ocean is certainly more. The two or three drops drawn out are tiny. Compared to the water in the ocean, 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
What small measure does this discourse reuse from SN 56.53, per this project's own direct comparison?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct comparison — the identical small measure, escalated to a larger whole.
Question 2 of 3
What pair does this discourse open, per this project's own reading?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading of the sequence's own recurring structure.
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 "Sattamaṁ" ("seventh").
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 56.56 · The Earth (2nd)