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TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 19

After the first Buddhist council, the Majjhimanikāya was ninnetā, amatassa dātā, dhammassāmi, tathāgato).
given to the lineage of the Arahant Sāriputta to transmit
from generation to generation. The Majjhimanikāya teaches almost all the fundamental
teachings of Buddhism such as the Four Noble Truths,
The Majjhimanikāya shows incomparable and Nāmarūpa, Non-Self, Gradual Training, Meditation, the
exceptional qualities of the Buddha as a teacher and Four Stages of Sainthood, the Arahant, Nibbāna, Kamma
a leader who could teach and lead his disciples to and Rebirth etc.
nirvāṇa. One of the epithets among the nine epithets of
the Buddha is ‘purisadammasārathī’ the incomparable The Saṃyuttanikāya – The Connected Discourses of the
teacher to tame the untamed ones. The story of Buddha
Aṅgulimāla is an example of such kind. After Aṅgulimāla
was tamed by the Buddha, King Kosala praised the The third collection of the Suttapiṭaka is known as the
Buddha about his great quality of taming the untamed Saṃyuttanikāya. It has been translated into English
people. The King Said: “It is wonderful, venerable sir, it as the Connected Discourses of the Buddha or the
is marvelous how the Blessed One tames the untamed, Kindred Sayings. Explaining the specific features of the
brings peace to the unpeaceful, and leads to Nibbāna Saṃyuttanikāya, in the Sāratthappakāsinī, the Venerable
those who have not attained Nibbāna. Venerable Sir, we Buddhaghosa states: “Saṃyutta-vagga-patimaṇḍitassa
ourselves could not tame him with force and weapons, saṃyuttāgamavarassa buddhānubuddhasaṃvaṇṇitassa
yet the Blessed One has tamed him without force or ñāṇa-ppabheda-jananassa”
weapons”. (Acchariyaṃ bhante, abbhūtaṃ bhante, …
mayaṃ bhante, nāsakkhimhā daṇḍenapi satthenapi “Having sections with connected discourses, known as
dametuṃ. So bhagavatā adaṇḍena asattheneva danto.) Saṃyuttāgama, praised by the Buddha and arahants and
generating varied knowledge in the Dhamma”.
The arahant Aṅgulimāla himself also expressed as
follows. As Venerable Buddhaghosa explains in the
“There are some that tame with beatings, Samantapāsādikā, there are 7762 suttas in the
Some with goads and some with whips; Saṃyuttanikāya but today there are only 2889 suttas
But I was tamed by such a one in it.
Who has no rod nor any weapon”.
Satta suttasahassāni satta suttasatāni ca
Daṇḍeneke damayani - aṅkusehi kasāhi ca Dvāsaṭṭhiceva suttantā eso saṃyuttasaṅgaho
Adaṇḍena asatthena - ahaṃ dantomhi tādinā
The Saṃyuttanikāya is consisting of short and long
Bhikkhu Bodhi says that the suttas such as the suttas but short suttas are greater in number. There is a
Cūlasaccaka and the Upāli are good examples that standard way of presenting suttas in it. The discourses
highlight the Buddha’s wit and delicate sense of irony preached on many occasions have been collected
as well as his dialectical skills. The Mahāsīhanāda Sutta and compiled into this collection based on the nature
explains the vigorous practice of ascetic Siddhārtha and of their contents and systematically arranged into
various types of self-mortification practised by ascetics Vaggas (sections) and Saṃyuttas (sub-sections) and
at the time of the Buddha. Due to the greatness of the categorized under another subsection which is also
Buddha, he is seen by his disciples as follows. “He is called Vaggas. There are five main Vaggas and many
vision, he is knowledge, he is the Dhamma, he is the Saṃyuttas in them but not similar in number.
holy one, he is the sayer, the proclaimer, the elucidator
of meaning, the giver of the Deathless, the lord of the i. The Sagāthavagga – 11 Saṃyuttas
Dhamma, the Tathāgata” (Cakkhubhūto ñāṇabhūto, ii. The Nidānavagga – 10 Saṃyuttas
dhammabhūto brahmabhūto, vattā pavattā, atthassa iii. The Khandavagga – 13 Saṃyuttas