Samyutta Nikaya

The Samyutta Nikaya (Saṃyutta Nikāya SN, "Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings") is a Buddhist scripture, the third of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism. Because of the abbreviated way parts of the text are written, the total number of suttas is unclear. The editor of the Pali Text Society edition of the text made it 2889, Bodhi in his translation has 2904, while the commentaries give 7762. A study by Dr Rupert Gethin gives the totals for the Burmese and Sinhalese editions as 2854 and 7656, respectively, and his own calculation as 6696; he also says the total in the Thai edition is unclear. The suttas are grouped into five vaggas, or sections. Each vagga is further divided into samyuttas, or chapters, each of which in turn contains a group of suttas on a related topic.

Correspondence with the Saṃyukta Āgama

The Samyutta Nikaya corresponds to the Saṃyukta Āgama found in the Sutra Pitikas of various Sanskritic early Buddhists schools, fragments of which survive in Sanskrit and in Tibetan translation. A complete Chinese translation from the Sarvāstivādin recension appears in the Chinese Buddhist canon, where it is known as the Zá Ahánjīng (雜阿含經); meaning "the mixed agama". A comparison of the Sarvāstivādin, Kāśyapīya, and Theravadin texts reveals a considerable consistency of content, although each recension contains sutras/suttas not found in the others.

Bhikku Sujato, a contemporary scholar monk, argues that the remarkable congruence of the various recensions suggests that the Samyutta Nikaya/Saṃyukta Āgama was the only collection to be finalized in terms of both structure and content in the pre-sectarian period.

Translations

The Book of the Kindred Sayings, tr C. A. F. Rhys Davids & F. L. Woodward, 1917–30, 5 volumes, Pali Text Society , Bristol
The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, tr Bhikkhu Bodhi, 2000, Wisdom Publications, Somerville, MA, ISBN 0-86171-331-1; the Pali Text Society also issues a private edition of this for members only, which is its preferred translation

Selections

anthology published by Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka
Nidana Samyutta, published in Burma; reprinted Sri Satguru, Delhi

Divisions

The vaggas contained in this nikaya are (the numbering of chapters (samyuttas] here refers to the PTS and Burmese editions; the Sinhalese and Thai editions divide the text up somewhat differently):

Part I. Sagatha-vagga (SN chapters 1-11)

a collection of suttas containing verses (Pali, sagatha), many shared by other parts of the Pali canon such as the Theragatha, Therigatha, Suttanipata, Dhammapada and the Jatakas.

Part II. Nidana-vagga (SN chapters 12-21)

a collection of suttas primarily pertaining to causation (Pali, nidana).

Part III. Khandha-vagga (SN chapters 22-34)

a collection of suttas primarily pertaining to the five aggregates (Pali, khandha).

Part IV. Salayatana-vagga (SN chapters 35-44)

a collection of suttas primarily pertaining to the six sense bases (Pali, salayatana), including the "Fire Sermon" (Adittapariyaya Sutta).

Part V. Maha-vagga (SN chapters 45-56)

the largest – that is, great (Pali, maha) – collection consists of the following chapters:

Ch 45. the Noble Eightfold Path

Ch 46. the Seven Factors of Enlightenment

Ch 47. the Four Establishment of Mindfulness

Ch 48. the Faculties