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Anguttara Nikaya: The Further-factored Discourses

Anguttara Nikaya

Summary:

Anguttara Nikaya

The Further-factored Discourses

Nipata:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

The Anguttara Nikaya, the fourth division of the Sutta Pitaka, consists of several thousand(1) suttas arranged in eleven books (nipatas) according to numerical content. For example, the first nipata — the Book of the Ones — contains suttas concerning a single topic; the second nipata — the Book of the Twos — contains suttas concerning pairs of things (e.g., a sutta about tranquillity and insight; another about the two people one can never adequately repay (one's parents); another about two kinds of happiness; etc.); the third nipata contains suttas concerning three things (e.g., a sutta on the three kinds of praiseworthy acts; another about three kinds of offense), and so on.

At first glance this may seem a rather pedantic classification scheme, but in fact it often proves quite useful. For example, if you dimly recall having heard something about the five subjects worthy of daily contemplation and you'd like to track down the original passage in the Canon, a good place to begin your search is the Book of the Fives in the Anguttara. (The Index by Number may also be helpful in such cases.)

Two excellent print anthologies containing selected suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya are Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: An Anthology from the Anguttara Nikaya by Nyanaponika Thera and Bhikkhu Bodhi (Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society, 1999; also published in the USA by Altamira Press) and Handful of Leaves, Vol. 3, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (distributed by the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies).

The suttas are numbered here by nipata (book) and sutta, with the suttas numbered sequentially from the start of each nipata, using as a guide the Woodward & Hare PTS English translations of the Anguttara Nikaya (The Book of the Gradual Sayings). Because suttas in the Anguttara have often been numbered inconsistently in different Tipitaka editions and translations, I have also provided alternate reference numbers in the braces {} that follow the sutta descriptions. For all suttas, these alternate references include the volume and starting page number in the PTS romanized Pali edition of the Anguttara Nikaya (example: A i 60 = PTS Anguttara Nikaya volume one, page 60). For suttas in the Ones and Twos, whose numberings are particularly problematic, I have also included the nipata, vagga (chapter), and number of the sutta, with suttas counted from the start of each vagga (example: II,iii,5 = Book of the Twos, third vagga, fifth sutta).

jtb 020902: I obtained the starting page numbers from the PTS English translation (“Gradual Sayings” ), whose first four volumes (spanning AN I-IX) only put the Pali page numbers in the top margin of even-numbered pages; the page numbers aren't embedded in the text. Thus the PTS page numbers given below may be off (short) by a page or two. Volume 5 (AN X-XI) embeds the numbers in the text, so the pagination for suttas in those books is more reliable.

The translator appears in the square brackets [].

Note

1.

The exact count of suttas in the Anguttara depends on the particular edition (Sri Lankan, Thai, or Burmese) and on the way the suttas are enumerated. Jayawardhana says: “Although the text tells us that it consists of 9,557 suttas, the present edition [the modern Sri Lankan Tipitaka] has only 8,777 suttas. Most of these suttas are mere repetitions with a new word added here and there. Therefore, the number of suttas distinctive in character could be brought down to a little over one thousand” [Somapala Jayawardhana, Handbook of Pali Literature (Colombo: Karunaratne, 1993), p. 12]. Bhikkhu Bodhi counts 2,344 suttas [Nyanaponika & Bodhi, Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, p. xv], while Webb counts 2,308 [Russell Webb, An Analysis of the Pali Canon, (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1975), p. 26].

1. Book of the Ones

See also current complete Index of AN 01

2. Book of the Twos

  • AN 2.9: Lokapala Sutta — The Bright Protectors/Guardians of the World There is more than one translation! Click on the author-link below for the specific one of your choice. {A i 51} [ Ireland | Ven. Thanissaro ].

    Conscience and concern — two qualities that keep one from harm.

3. Book of the Threes

  • AN 3.61: Tittha Sutta — Sectarians {A i 173; Thai 3.62} [ Ven. Thanissaro ].

    The Buddha explains how three common views about pain and pleasure can, if followed to their logical conclusion, lead to a life of inaction. He then shows how pain and pleasure actually do come about and how they can be transcended.

  • AN 3.65: Kalama Sutta — The Instruction to the Kalamas/To the Kalamas There is more than one translation! Click on the author-link below for the specific one of your choice. {A i 188; Thai 3.66} [ Soma | Ven. Thanissaro ].

    The Buddha explains to a group of skeptics the proper criteria for accepting a spiritual teaching.

  • AN 3.100 (98): Potthakasutta ― The bark fibre gown {A i 246; Thai, CSCD 3.100} [sangham].

    If your conduct is of bad nature this will cause your benefactor and those associating with you suffering. This fact - given that one has gratitude and respect in regard those - the Buddha uses to urge you, that if you might not think much about the results of your conduct in regard of youself, those how ever do not have backwards from their holding on you, so that you put effort into good conduct, and there might be no reason for such.

4. Book of the Fours

  • AN 4.10: Yoga Sutta — Bondage/Yokes There is more than one translation! Click on the author-link below for the specific one of your choice. {A ii 10} [ Nizamis | Ven. Thanissaro ].

    In many discourses, the Buddha speaks of “the unexcelled rest from the yoke.” In this discourse he explains what yokes he is referring to, and how that rest comes about. [TB]

  • AN 4.36: Dona Sutta — With Dona {A ii 37} [ Ven. Thanissaro ].

    A passerby, struck by the Buddha's serene presence, asks him, “What are you? Are you a deva? A spirit? A human being?” The Buddha's now-famous reply has made this one of the most oft-quoted passages in the entire Canon.

  • AN 4.49: Vipallasa Sutta — Distortions of the Mind/Perversions There is more than one translation! Click on the author-link below for the specific one of your choice. {A ii 52} [ Olendzki | Ven. Thanissaro ].

    Four kinds of misperceptions that keep us bound to the cycle of rebirths.

  • AN 4.67: Ahi Sutta/Ahina Sutta — A Snake/By a Snake There is more than one translation! Click on the author-link below for the specific one of your choice. {A ii 72} [ Piyadassi | Ven. Thanissaro ].

    How the practice of metta (loving-kindness) can serve as a protection against harm.

  • AN 4.95: Chavalata Sutta — Wood from a Pyre/The Firebrand There is more than one translation! Click on the author-link below for the specific one of your choice. {A ii 95} [ Buddharakkhita | Ven. Thanissaro ].

    Which is better: to practice Dhamma for one's own benefit or for another's? The answer may surprise you.

  • AN 4.111: Kesi Sutta — To Kesi the Horsetrainer {A ii 111} [ Ven. Thanissaro ].

    The Buddha explains to Kesi, a horsetrainer, how he teaches Dhamma. This brilliant exposition warrants close study by every teacher, as it reveals the multiple levels in which effective teaching operates: the Buddha speaks in terms that the listener understands (horsetraining), he uses similes to great effect, and he deftly answers the real question that lies behind the student's query (“Please, can you train me?”).

  • AN 4.113: Patoda Sutta — The Goad-stick/The Goad There is more than one translation! Click on the author-link below for the specific one of your choice. {A ii 114} [ Ven. Thanissaro | Woodward ].

    How much dukkha does it take to motivate you to practice the Dhamma in earnest? The Buddha illustrates his point with the famous simile of a thoroughbred horse stirred to action by its rider.

  • AN 4.125: Metta Sutta — Loving-kindness (1)/Good Will (1) There is more than one translation! Click on the author-link below for the specific one of your choice. {A ii 128} [ Ñanamoli | Ven. Thanissaro ].

    The Buddha describes four possible courses of rebirth open to someone who practices the brahma-vihara (good will, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity).

  • AN 4.126: Metta Sutta — Loving-kindness (2)/Good Will (2) There is more than one translation! Click on the author-link below for the specific one of your choice. {A ii 129} [ Ñanamoli | Ven. Thanissaro ].

    The Buddha describes another possible course of rebirth open to someone who practices the brahma-vihara (good will, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity).

5. Book of the Fives

  • AN 5.49: Kosala Sutta — The Kosalan There is more than one translation! Click on the author-link below for the specific one of your choice. {A iii 57} [ Hecker/Khema | Ven. Thanissaro ].

    When Queen Mallika dies, her husband, King Pasenadi, is overcome with grief. The Buddha advises the king on how to free himself of obsessive grieving.

  • AN 5.161: Aghatavinaya Sutta — Removing Annoyance/Subduing Hatred (1) There is more than one translation! Click on the author-link below for the specific one of your choice. {A iii 185} [ Ñanamoli | Ven. Thanissaro ].

    Five skillful ways of dealing with people who annoy you.

6. Book of the Sixes

  • AN 6.54: Dhammika Sutta — Dhammika {A iii 366} [ Olendzki (excerpt) ].

    In the first of these excerpts, the Buddha uses a telling simile to explain the meaning of his most common epithet, Tathagata — “the Thus-Gone one.” [Note by the editor of ZzE: it seems that the simile here right view is mentioning.] In the second, the Buddha tells a story illustrating how patient endurance is the best response to the insults of others.

  • AN 6.63: Nibbedhika Sutta — Penetrative {A iii 410} [ Ven. Thanissaro ].

    The Buddha explains that mastery of the Dhamma comes from meditating on six factors in the mind, each of which should be understood deeply in six different ways. This sutta contains a lovely short verse pointing out the true cause of attachment based on sensuality.

7. Book of the Sevens

8. Book of the Eights

  • AN 8.54: Dighajanu (Vyagghapajja) Sutta — Conditions of Welfare/To Dighajanu There is more than one translation! Click on the author-link below for the specific one of your choice. {A iv 281} [ Narada | Ven. Thanissaro ].

    The Buddha's instructions for householders on how to preserve and increase wealth and happiness, in both the mundane and spiritual senses.

9. Book of the Nines

10. Book of the Tens

  • AN 10.29: Kosala Sutta — The Kosalan {A v 59} [ Ven. Thanissaro ].

    Like supremacy in the human and deva worlds, exalted states of mind — even experiences of all-encompassing white light and non-dual consciousness — are all subject to change and aberration. Some people criticized the Buddha for showing the way to freedom from this change and aberration. In this sutta the Buddha offers a series of contemplations for inducing disenchantment and dispassion for even the most supreme things in the cosmos. [TB]

  • AN 10.48: Dasadhamma Sutta — Discourse on The Ten Dhammas/Ten Things There is more than one translation! Click on the author-link below for the specific one of your choice. {A v 87} [ Piyadassi | Ven. Thanissaro ].

    Ten things that an ordained monk must reflect on often.

  • AN 10.60: Girimananda Sutta — Discourse to Girimananda Thera/To Girimananda There is more than one translation! Click on the author-link below for the specific one of your choice. {A v 108} [ Piyadassi | Ven. Thanissaro ].

    The Buddha instructs Ven. Girimananda, who is ill, on the ten themes of meditation that can heal both mind and body.

  • AN 10.71: Akankha Sutta — Wishes {A v 131} [ Ven. Thanissaro ].

    This discourse lists ten reasons, in ascending worth, for perfecting the precepts and being committed to the development of calm (samatha) and insight (vipassana). An interesting feature of this discussion is that the Buddha does not separate insight and jhana into separate paths of practice, and actually cites insight, together with tranquillity, as a prerequisite for mastering the four jhanas. [TB]

11. Book of the Elevens

  • AN 11.13: Mahanama Sutta — To Mahanama (2) {A v 332} [ Ven. Thanissaro ].

    The Buddha further instructs the householder Mahanama on the importance of developing the six recollections, reminding him to develop these recollections in every posture, even “while you are busy at work, while you are resting in your home crowded with children.”

  • AN 11.16: Metta (Mettanisamsa) Sutta — Discourse on Advantages of Loving-kindness/Good Will There is more than one translation! Click on the author-link below for the specific one of your choice. {A v 342; BJT calls this the Mettanisamsa Sutta; Thai, Burmese, and PTS call it Metta Sutta.} [ Piyadassi | Ven. Thanissaro ].

    Eleven benefits arising from the practice of metta (loving kindness, or good-will) meditation.


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en/tipitaka/sut/an/index.txt · Last modified: 2019/11/25 13:04 by Johann