Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 56.62

In the Borderlands

Paccantasutta — Paṭhamaāmakadhaññapeyyālavagga

Setting
Not given — continuing directly from SN 56.61's own setting
Speaker
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
The fingernail-dirt demonstration given in full once more, then a new application, partly elided
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★ — the second of ten discourses, this vagga's own last discourse to give the fingernail simile in full before it is elided from SN 56.63 onward

Why this discourse

Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse repeats the fingernail-dirt demonstration in full once more, applying it to a new claim: sentient beings reborn in central countries are as few as that pinch of dirt, while those reborn in the borderlands, among uneducated foreigners, are as many as the whole earth.

Reading guide

The last full statement before elision sets in

This project's own reading, confirmed by direct comparison against SN 56.63 onward: this discourse is the last in this vagga to spell out the fingernail demonstration in full — every discourse from SN 56.63 onward opens directly with an elision mark, assuming the reader already holds the image from SN 56.61-62.

Key terms

majjhimesu janapadesu paccājāyanti — “reborn in central countries” — the rare category, matching the tiny pinch of dirt
paccantimesu janapadesu...aviññātāresu milakkhesu — “in the borderlands, among uneducated foreigners” — the vast majority category, matching the whole earth, giving this discourse its own title
milakkha — “foreigner, barbarian” — a term this project notes reflects the geographic and cultural center-periphery framing of the ancient Gangetic heartland, not a claim this project itself endorses
… — the elision marking, standing in for the causal explanation (not seeing the four truths) already given in full at SN 56.61
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 for the causal explanation. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1Then the Buddha, picking up a little bit of dirt on his fingernail, addressed the mendicants: “What do you think, mendicants? Which is more: the little bit of dirt on my fingernail, or this great earth?” “Sir, the great earth is certainly more. The little bit of dirt on your fingernail is tiny. Compared to the great earth, it doesn’t count, there’s no comparison, it’s not worth a fraction.”

§2“In the same way, the sentient beings reborn in central countries are few, while those reborn in the borderlands, among uneducated foreigners, are many. …”

· · ·

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 claim does this discourse make about rebirth in central lands?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — matching the pattern already set at SN 56.61.
Question 2 of 3
What does this project's own reading identify as distinctive about this discourse's own position in the vagga?
Correct: A. This project's own direct comparison confirming a structural transition point within the vagga.
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 "Dutiyaṁ" ("second").
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 56.61 · Not Human