All Suttas

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  AN3.12 — Sāraṇīyasutta

   Places that should be commemorated by kings and deciples.


  AN3.76 — First Discourse on Existence

   How consciousness, karma, and craving create and sustain future lives.


  AN3.80 — Cūḷanikāsutta

   Ānanda gets the Tathagata to talk about the scale of the universe.


  AN4.14 — Saṁvarasutta

   The endeavors to restrain, to give up, to develop, and to preserve.


  AN4.41 — On the Development of Concentration

  There are four developments of concentration. There is concentration that, when developed and cultivated, leads to living happily in the present life, concentration that leads to the attainment of knowing and vision, concentration that leads to mindfulness and full awareness, and concentration that leads to the destruction of the taints.


  AN4.49 — Distortions Discourse

   Distortions of perception, mind, and view.


  AN4.61 — Fitting Deeds

  There are four qualities are desirable, agreeable, and pleasing but hard to obtain in the world. Accomplishment in faith, accomplishment in virtue, accomplishment in generosity, and accomplishment in wisdom.


  AN4.123 — First Discourse on Diverse Outcomes

   Length of rebirth in various exalted realms.


  AN4.125 — The First Discourse on Goodwill

   Rebirth in Brahmā realms from divine abiding meditations.


  AN5.23 — Impurities Sutta

   The hindrances are like the corruptions in gold.


  AN5.28 — Pañcaṅgikasutta

  The Tathagata teaches the development of the noble five-factored right concentration.


  AN5.51 — Barrier Discourse

   The five hindrances weaken wisdom like side-channels weaken a river’s flow.


  AN5.57 — Abhiṇhapaccavekkhitabbaṭhānasutta

   Topics that are worthy regularly reflecting on, whether as a lay person or a disciple.


  AN5.79 — Tatiyaanāgatabhayasutta

  The Tathagata describes the five dangers that the Dhamma will face in the future. It will begin to decline, fade, and eventually become corrupted. With his teachings no longer being truly understood, and with no true practitioners left to pass on the Dhamma, people will struggle to practice effectively until eventually the teachings fade completely from memory.


  AN5.88 — Therasutta

   Even if a senior deciple has many good qualities, they can still lead people astray if they have wrong view.


  AN5.96 — Sutadharasutta

   Supported by five factors, one who practices mindfulness of breathing will soon realize the unshakable.


  AN5.114 — Andhakavindasutta

   Five qualities to instill in recently ordained deciples.


  AN5.144 — Tikaṇḍakīsutta

   Five perceptions that train a desciple to shift their perception at will.


  AN6.19 — Paṭhamamaraṇassatisutta

   Many of those who practice mindfulness of death don’t do so urgently enough. Death might come to us at any moment.


  AN6.20 — Dutiyamaraṇassatisutta

   A method for recollecting one’s own death that leads to urgency, diligence, and joy.


  AN6.25 — The Discourse on the Bases of Mindfulness

   The six recollections are a way to escape from greed.


  AN6.29 — Udāyīsutta

   When the Tathagata asks about the topics for recollection, a disciple reveals his ignorance. Ānanda then gives an unusual list of five recollections, which the Tathagata supplements with a sixth.


  AN6.63 — Nibbedhikasutta

   A detailed analysis of several central themes, including sense perception, feeling, defilements, kamma, etc.


  AN6.68 — Saṅgaṇikārāmasutta

   A deciple who loves to socialize can’t find peace in meditation, but one who loves solitude can.


  AN6.89 — Appahāyasutta

   Requirements for becoming a stream-enterer.


  AN7.49 — Dutiyasannasutta

   Developing and cultivating the seven perceptions leads to the deathless.


  AN7.58 — Arakkheyyasutta

   Four areas where the Realized One has nothing to hide, and three ways he is irreproachable.


  AN7.61 — Pacalāyamānasutta

   Before his awakening, Moggallāna is struggling with sleepiness in meditation. The Tathagata visits him and gives seven ways to dispel drowsiness, and other important teachings.


  AN7.63 — The Fortress Nagara Sutta

  The Tathagata compares the factors of the practice to a well-fortified fortress that can’t be brought down by external foes or untrustworthy allies.


  AN8.6 — Dutiyalokadhammasutta

   The eight worldly conditions in detail: gain and loss, fame and disgrace, praise and blame, pleasure and pain.


  AN8.51 — Gotamīsutta

   Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī, the Tathagata’s foster mother, requests ordination from the Tathagata. He declines, until urged to relent by Ānanda. He allows Mahāpajāpatī to go forth on eight conditions.


  AN8.53 — Saṅkhittasutta

   Mahāpajāpatī wishes to go on retreat, so the Tathagata teaches her eight principles that summarize the Dhamma in brief.


  AN8.63 — Saṅkhittasutta

   A disciple asks for teachings before going on retreat, but the Tathagata rebukes him, as he has not practiced sincerely. Nevertheless, he persists, and the Tathagata teaches him meditation in detail.


  AN8.81 — Satisampajaññasutta

   Mindfulness and situational awareness are a foundation for developing higher spiritual qualities leading to liberation.


  AN9.1 — Sambodhisutta

   Beginning with good friendship, the Tathagata teaches nine things that give rise to the qualities that lead to awakening.


  AN9.3 — Meghiyasutta

   Venerable Meghiya, while attending on the Tathagata, wants to go off and meditate in a forest alone. The Tathagata discourages him, but he goes anyway. When his meditation doesn’t go well, he returns chastened to the Tathagata, who teaches him about the benefits of good companions and other fundamentals of a balanced spiritual practice.


  AN9.20 — Velāmasutta

   The wealthy and devoted lay supporter Anāthapiṇḍika rather curiously says that only poor alms are given in his home. The Tathagata praises gracious and bounteous generosity. But meditation surpasses even the greatest offering.


  AN9.27 — First Discourse on Hostility

   A householder who has eliminated the perils that come with breaking the five precepts, and possesses the four factors of stream-entry is freed from lower rebirths.


  AN9.35 — Gāvī Sutta - The Cow

   Just as a foolish cow can get in trouble wandering the mountains, a foolish desciple can get lost practicing concentration if they do it wrongly.


  AN9.36 — Jhānasutta

   The ending of defilements happens due to the practice of concentration.


  AN9.41 — Tapussa Sutta

   The householder Tapussa reflects that it is renunciation that distinguishes a lay person from a disciple. The Tathagata responds by giving a long account of his practice of concentration before awakening.


  AN9.42 — Sambādhasutta

   At Udāyī’s request, Ānanda explains an obscure verse spoken (in SN 2.7) by a deity. The nine progressive meditations are the escape from confinement.


  AN10.17 — Paṭhamanāthasutta

  The ten dhammas that protect one from suffering.


  AN10.60 — The Discourse to Girimānanda

   The disciple Girimānanda is sick. The Tathagata encourages Ānanda to visit him and teach him the ten perceptions.


  AN10.61 — Avijjāsutta

   Even though ignorance has no discernible first point, it still has a cause.


  AN10.62 — Taṇhāsutta

  The Tathagata covers the different kinds of fuels for unwholesome and wholesome mental states.


  AN10.72 — Kaṇṭakasutta

  The 10 Thorns that prevent a disciple from a peaceful abiding.


  AN10.93 — Diṭṭhi Sutta | Views

  Anāthapiṇḍika explains to a group of sectarians why right view is a special form of view: Holding to other views, one is holding to stress, but using right view enables you to see the escape even from right view.


  AN10.95 — Uttiyasutta

   The wanderer Uttiya asks the Tathagata a series of ten metaphysical questions as to whether the cosmos is finite, etc. The Tathagata responds by saying that he only teaches the end of suffering. Uttiya goes on to ask whether all beings will be liberated. The Tathagata is silent, and Ānanda answers on his behalf.


  AN10.99 — Upāli Sutta

   When Upāli asks to go into retreat, the Tathagata warns him that secluded wilderness dwellings are hard to endure unless one is accomplished in meditation. He gives a long account of the training required before going into solitude, and ends by encouraging Upāli to stay in the Saṅgha.


  AN11.1 — Kimatthiyasutta

   Good conduct leads to non-regret, to joy, and so on all the way to liberation.


  AN11.2 — Cetanākaraṇīyasutta

   A virtuous person need not make a wish; it is natural for the path to flow on.


  AN11.9 — Saddhasutta

   The Tathagata tells Venerable Sandha to meditate like a trained thoroughbred, not like a wild colt. Doing so, they may attain a deep state.


  DN1 — Brahmajāla Sutta

   While others may praise or criticize the Tathagata, they tend to focus on trivial details. The Tathagata presents an analysis of 62 kinds of wrong view, seeing through which one becomes detached from meaningless speculations.

DN1


  DN2 — Sāmaññaphalasutta

   The newly crowned King Ajātasattu is disturbed by the violent means by which he achieved the crown. He visits the Tathagata to find peace of mind, and asks him about the benefits of spiritual practice. This is one of the greatest literary and spiritual texts of early Buddhism.

DN2


  DN9 — Poṭṭhapādasutta

   The Tathagata discusses with a wanderer the nature of perception and how it evolves through deeper states of meditation. None of these, however, should be identified with a self or soul.

DN9


  DN10 — Subha Sutta

  Shortly after the Tathagata’s death, Venerable Ānanda explains the core teachings of the gradual path.


  DN11 — Kevaṭṭa Sutta

   The Tathagata refuses to perform miracles, explaining that this is not the right way to inspire faith. He goes on to tell the story of a disciple whose misguided quest for answers led him as far as Brahmā.


  DN15 — Mahānidānasutta

   Rejecting Venerable Ānanda’s claim to easily understand dependent origination, the Tathagata presents a complex and demanding analysis, revealing hidden nuances and implications of this central teaching.


  DN22 — Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta

  This sutta covers many practices found throughout the canon, especially mindfulness of the body, and is one of the most comprehensive discourses on practicing the gradual path.


  DN27 — Aggañña Sutta

   In contrast with the brahmin’s self-serving mythologies of the past, the Tathagata presents an account of evolution that shows how human choices are an integral part of the ecological balance, and how excessive greed destroys the order of nature.


  DN31 — Siṅgālasutta

   The Tathagata encounters a young man who honors his dead parents by performing rituals. The Tathagata recasts the meaningless rites in terms of virtuous conduct. This is the most detailed discourse on ethics for lay people.


  DN33 — Saṅgītisutta

   The Tathagata encourages Venerable Sāriputta to teach the deciples, and he offers an extended listing of Buddhist doctrines arranged in numerical sequence.


  KN.NE37 — The Foundation of the Teaching

  An exposition by the venerable Mahākaccāyana how the foundation of the teaching is established.


  KN.PS1.0 — Mātikā

  Exposition on seventy-three kinds of knowing.


  KN.PS1.1 — Sutamayañāṇaniddesa

  Sariputta gives a detailed exposition regarding the discourse on knowledge.


  KN.PS1.2 — Discussion on Views

  Sariputta gives a detailed exposition on Views.


  KN.PS1.3 — 1.3. Ānāpānassatikathā

  Sariputta gives a detailed exposition regarding mindfulness of breathing, the Anapanasati Sutta.


  KN.PS1.4 — Explanation of the First Discourse

  Detailed Exposition on the Five Faculties


  KN.PS1.5 — Discussion on Liberations

  Sariputta gives a detailed exposition regarding liberation


  KN.PS1.6 — Discussion on Destinies

  Sariputta gives a detailed exposition on destiny.


  KN.PS1.7 — Discourse on Karma

  Exposition on the different kinds of Karma.


  KN.PS1.8 — The Discourse on Distortions

  Discourse on the four distortions of perception, distortions of mind, and distortions of view.


  KN.PS1.9 — Discourse on the Path

  Sariputta gives a detailed exposition regarding the path.


  KN.PS2.1 — Yuganaddhakathā

  Venerable Ānanda gives a discourse on the four types of paths to liberation.


  KN.PS2.2 — Discourse on Truths

  An exposition on the Four Noble Truths.


  KN.PS2.3 — Discourse on the Factors of Enlightenment

  Sariputta gives a detailed exposition regarding the factors of Enlightment.


  KN.PS2.4 — The Discourse on Goodwill

  Discourse on the benefits of practicing Loving Kindness.


  KN.PS2.5 — The Discourse on Dispassion

  Dispassion is the path, liberation is the fruit.


  KN.PS2.6 — The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of Dhamma

  The Discourse on Analytical Knowledge


  KN.PS2.7 — Saccavāra

  The discourse on the Dhamma wheel.


  KN.PS2.8 — Discourse on the Supramundane

  The discourse on the transcendent.


  KN.PS2.9 — Discussion on Strengths

  The discourse on powers, the five strengths.


  KN.PS2.10 — The Discourse on Emptiness

  The discourse on emptiness.


  KN.PS3.1 — Mahāpaññākathā

  The great discourse on wisdom.


  KN.PS3.2 — Discussion on Supernormal Powers

  There are four bases, four supports, eight factors, and sixteen roots for supernormal power.


  KN.PS3.3 — Discussion on Penetration

  The importance of penetrating the Dharma with the mind.


  KN.PS3.4 — The Discourse on Seclusion

  The importance of developing seclusion on the path in regards to virtue, tranquility and wisdom.


  KN.PS3.5 — Paṭisambhidāmagga

  Discussion on to eight types of conduct.


  KN.PS3.6 — Discourse on Miracles

  The miracle of psychic power, the miracle of telepathy, and the miracle of instruction.


  KN.PS3.7 — Samasīsakathā

  The knowing of the head in the complete eradication and cessation of all phenomena is wisdom.


  KN.PS3.8 — The Discourse on the Establishments of Mindfulness

  The discourse on the foundations of mindfulness.


  KN.PS3.9 — The Discourse on Insight

  A contemplation on Insight.


  KN.PS3.10 — Mātikākathā

  Sariputta gives a detailed exposition on the path of discrimination.


  MN1 — The Root of All Things Discourse

  The Tathagata gives an exposition on the root of all suffering: the attachment to being and the self-views that arise from taking on a body as a being separate from the world. A liberated person, on the other hand, has destroyed the craving for being, let go of greed, aversion, delusion, and any sense of self, and has fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment.

MN1


  MN2 — All the Taints Discourse

  The Tathagata explains the different types of defilements and the seven methods that should be used to abandon them: seeing, restraining, using, avoiding, enduring, removing, and developing.

MN2


  MN7 — Vatthasutta

   The many different kinds of impurities that defile the mind are compared to a dirty cloth. When the mind is clean we find joy, which leads to states of higher consciousness. Finally, the Tathagata rejects the Brahmanical notion that purity comes from bathing in sacred rivers.

MN7


  MN9 — Right View Discourse

   Venerable Sāriputta gives a detailed explanation of right view, the first factor of the noble eightfold path. At the prompting of the other desciples, he approaches the topic from a wide range of perspectives.

MN9


  MN10 — Satipatthana Sutta

  This sutta covers many practices found throughout the canon, especially mindfulness of the body, and is one of the most comprehensive discourses on practicing the gradual path.


  MN11 — Cūḷasīhanāda Sutta

  The Tathagata explains that to attain liberation, one has to fully understand clinging, its origin, and its cessation. He covers the four different types of clinging.


  MN12 — The Great Discourse on the Lion's Roar

   A disrobed disciple, Sunakkhatta, attacks the Tathagata’s teaching because it merely leads to the end of suffering. The Tathagata counters that this is, in fact, praise, and goes on to enumerate his many profound and powerful achievements.


  MN13 — The Great Mass of Suffering Discourse

   Challenged to show the difference between his teaching and that of other ascetics, the Tathagata points out that they speak of letting go, but do not really understand why. He then explains in great detail the suffering that arises from attachment to sensual stimulation.


  MN18 — Madhupiṇḍika Sutta

   Challenged by a brahmin, the Tathagata gives an enigmatic response on how conflict arises due to proliferation based on perceptions. Venerable Kaccāna draws out the detailed implications of this in one of the most insightful passages in the entire canon.


  MN19 — Two Kinds of Thought Sutta

  The Tathagata explains how to develop Right Intention by dividing thoughts into two kinds, wholesome and unwholesome, and how single-minded intention leads to Jhana, Right Concentration and then ultimately to letting go of all intention.


  MN20 — Vitakkasaṇṭhānasutta

   In a practical meditation teaching, the Tathagata describes five different approaches to stopping thoughts.


  MN26 — Pāsarāsisutta

   This is one of the most important biographical discourses, telling the Tathagata’s experiences from leaving home to realizing awakening. Throughout, he was driven by the imperative to fully escape from rebirth and suffering.


  MN28 — The Greater Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant's Footprint

   Sāriputta gives an elaborate demonstration of how, just as any footprint can fit inside an elephant’s, all the Tathagata’s teaching can fit inside the four noble truths. This offers an overall template for organizing the Tathagata’s teachings.


  MN36 — Mahāsaccakasutta

   In a less confrontational meeting, the Tathagata and Saccaka discuss the difference between physical and mental development. The Tathagata gives a long account of the various practices he did before awakening, detailing the astonishing lengths he took to mortify the body.


  MN38 — The Greater Discourse on the Destruction of Craving

  The great discourse on the destruction of craving starts out describing how consciousness is dependently originated and how to bring about the cessation of craving. It then describes in detail the gradual path.


  MN39 — Mahāassapurasutta

   The Tathagata encourages the desciples to live up to their name, by actually practicing in a way that meets or exceeds the expectations people have for renunciants.


  MN43 — Mahāvedallasutta

   A series of questions and answers between Sāriputta and Mahākoṭṭhita, examining various subtle and abstruse aspects of the teachings.


  MN44 — The Shorter Series of Questions and Answers

   The layman Visākha asks the nun Dhammadinnā about various difficult matters, including some of the highest meditation attainments. The Tathagata fully endorses her answers.


  MN52 — Aṭṭhakanāgara Sutta

   Asked by a householder to teach a path to freedom, Venerable Ānanda explains no less than eleven states of abiding that may serve as doors to the deathless.


  MN54 — Potaliya Sutta

   When Potaliya got upset at being referred to as “householder”, the Tathagata quizzed him as to the true nature of attachment and renunciation.


  MN59 — The Discourse on Various Kinds of Feeling

   The Tathagata resolves a disagreement on the number of kinds of feelings that he taught, pointing out that different ways of teaching are appropriate in different contexts, and should not be a cause of disputes. He goes on to show the importance of pleasure in developing higher levels of abiding.


  MN62 — Mahārāhulovāda Sutta

   The Tathagata tells Rāhula to contemplate on not-self, which he immediately puts into practice. Seeing him, Venerable Sāriputta advises him to develop mindfulness of breath, but the Tathagata suggests a wide range of different practices first.


  MN64 — Mahāmālukyasutta

   A little baby has no wrong views or intentions, but the underlying tendency for these things is still there. Without practicing, they will inevitably recur.


  MN66 — The Discourse on the Simile of the Quail

   Again raising the rule regarding eating, but this time as a reflection of gratitude for the Tathagata in eliminating things that cause complexity and stress. The Tathagata emphasizes how attachment even to little things can be dangerous.


  MN70 — Kīṭāgirisutta

   A third discourse that presents the health benefits of eating in one part of the day, and the reluctance of some deciples to follow this.


  MN77 — Mahāsakuludāyisutta

   Unlike many teachers, the Tathagata’s followers treat him with genuine love and respect, since they see the sincerity of his teaching and practice.


  MN78 — Samaṇamuṇḍikasutta

   A wanderer teaches that a person has reached the highest attainment when they keep four basic ethical precepts. The Tathagata’s standards are considerably higher.


  MN95 — Caṅkī Sutta

   The reputed brahmin Caṅkī goes with a large group to visit the Tathagata, despite the reservations of other brahmins. A precocious student challenges the Tathagata, affirming the validity of the Vedic scriptures. The Tathagata gives a detailed explanation of how true understanding gradually emerges through spiritual education.


  MN105 — Sunakkhattasutta

   Not all of those who claim to be awakened are genuine. The Tathagata teaches how true spiritual progress depends on an irreversible letting go of the forces that lead to suffering.


  MN106 — Āneñjasappāyasutta

   The Tathagata teaches how to abide and dwell in deeper and deeper levels of concentration, showing how insight on this basis leads to the detaching of consciousness from any form of rebirth.


  MN107 — Gaṇakamoggallāna Sutta

   The Tathagata compares the training of an accountant with the step by step spiritual path of his followers. But even with such a well explained path, the Tathagata can only show the way, and it is up to us to walk it.


  MN111 — Anupadasutta

  The Tathagata describes the process of insight as practiced by Venerable Sāriputta, detailing in great detail the different phenomena as they arise and pass away.


  MN117 — Mahācattārīsakasutta

   A discourse on the prerequisites of right concentration that emphasizes the interrelationship and mutual support of all the factors of the eightfold path. It covers both the mundane and super mundane versions of the path.


  MN118 — Ānāpānassatisutta

   Surrounded by many well-practiced desciples, the Tathagata teaches mindfulness of breathing in detail, showing how it relates to the four kinds of mindfulness practice.


  MN119 — Kāyagatāsatisutta

  This covers the first foundation of mindfulness, mindfulness of the body and all the different practices.


  MN121 — Cūḷasuññatasutta

   The Tathagata describes his own practice of the meditation on emptiness.


  MN122 — Mahāsuññatasutta

  The Tathagata teaches on the importance of seclusion in order to enter fully into emptiness.


  MN125 — Dantabhūmisutta

   A young disciple is unable to persuade a prince of the blessings of peace of mind. The Tathagata offers similes based on training an elephant that would have been successful, as this was a field the prince was familiar with.


  MN127 — Anuruddhasutta

   A lay person becomes confused when encouraged to develop the “limitless” and “expansive” liberations, and asks Venerable Anuruddha to explain whether they are the same or different.


  MN128 — Upakkilesa Sutta

   A second discourse set at the quarrel of Kosambi, this depicts the Tathagata, having failed to achieve reconciliation between the disputing desciples, leaving the monastery. He spends time in the wilderness before encountering an inspiring community of practicing disciples. There he discusses in detail obstacles to practice that he encountered before awakening.


  MN131 — Bhaddekarattasutta

   This discourse opens with a short but powerful set of verses extolling the benefits of insight into the here and now, followed by an explanation.


  MN135 — Cūḷakammavibhaṅga Sutta

   The Tathagata explains to a brahmin how your deeds in past lives affect you in this life.


  MN137 — Saḷāyatanavibhaṅgasutta

   A detailed analysis of the six senses and the relation to emotional and cognitive processes.


  MN138 — Uddesavibhaṅgasutta

   The Tathagata gives a brief and enigmatic statement on the ways consciousness may become attached. Venerable Mahākaccāna is invited by the deciples to draw out the implications.


  MN140 — Dhātuvibhaṅgasutta

   While staying overnight in a potter’s workshop, the Tathagata has a chance encounter with a disciple who does not recognize him. They have a long and profound discussion based on the four elements. This is one of the most insightful and moving discourses in the canon.


  MN141 — Saccavibhaṅga Sutta

   Expanding on the Tathagata’s first sermon, Venerable Sāriputta gives a detailed explanation of the four noble truths.


  MN144 — Channovādasutta

   The disciple Channa is suffering a painful terminal illness and wishes to take his own life.


  MN148 — Chachakkasutta

   The Tathagata teaches how to contemplate the six senses from six perspectives, and discern the unsubstantial nature of all of them.


  MN149 — The Great Sixfold Base Discourse

   Explains how insight into the six senses is integrated with the eightfold path and leads to liberation.


  MN150 — Nagaravindeyyasutta

   In discussion with a group of householders, the Tathagata helps them to distinguish those spiritual practitioners who are truly worthy of respect.


  SN1.1 — Oghataraṇasutta

   The Tathagata crossed the flood of suffering by neither standing nor swimming.


  SN3.12 — Pañcarājasutta

   Five kings including Pasenadi are enjoying themselves and wonder which of the senses affords the highest pleasure. They ask the Tathagata, who replies that it is subjective, depending on a persons preferences. Inspired, the laymen Candanaṅgalika offers a verse in praise of the Tathagata.


  SN3.19 — The Discourse on the Son of a Prostitute

   A wealthy man dies childless, having not enjoyed his riches. The Tathagata says that wealth should be properly enjoyed and shared.


  SN7.16 — The Discourse on Opposition

   A brahmin who loves to contradict everyone approaches the Tathagata thinking to challenge him. But when he hears the Tathagata speak, he cannot find anything to contradict.


  SN9.11 — Unwholesome Thoughts Discourse

   A desciple plagued by bad thoughts is encouraged by a deity.


  SN12.1 — The Discourse on Dependent Origination

   The famous twelve links of dependent origination are spelled out, showing the origin and cessation of suffering dependent on ignorance.


  SN12.2 — Vibhaṅgasutta

   The Tathagata gives definitions for each of the twelve links. These are general definitions that apply wherever the twelve links are mentioned.


  SN12.15 — Kaccānagotta Sutta

   Venerable Kaccānagotta asks the Tathagata about right view, and the Tathagata answers that right view arises when one sees the origin and cessation of "The World", the Five Aggregates, and is free of clinging.


  SN12.25 — Bhūmijasutta

   Sāriputta is asked by Venerable Bhūmija as to the origin of pleasure and pain. He replies that the Tathagata teaches that pleasure and pain originate by conditions. Moreover, all those who offer opinions on this question are themselves part of the web of conditions, as they cannot state their views without contact. Ānanda reports the exchange to the Tathagata, who praises Sāriputta’s answer.


  SN12.38 — The Discourse on Intention

   Intentions or choices are the force that propels consciousness from one life to the next.


  SN12.41 — The Discourse on the Five Dangers and Hostilities

   A noble disciple who is a layperson has eliminated the fear that comes from breaking precepts, possesses the four factors of stream-entry, and understands dependent origination.


  SN12.44 — Discourse on the World

   The origin and ending of the world are explained in terms of sense experience giving rise to craving and suffering.


  SN12.51 — This is what I heard:

  A desciple should thoroughly investigate the causes of suffering in accordance with dependent origination. If someone who still has ignorance makes a choice, their consciousness fares on to a suitable state of existence. But one who has eradicated ignorance is detached and is not reborn anywhere.


  SN12.52 — The Discourse on Clinging

   Craving increases when you linger on pleasing things that stimulate grasping, illustrated with the simile of a bonfire.


  SN12.61 — The Discourse on the Uninstructed

   An ignorant person might become free of attachment to their body, but not their mind. Still, it would be better to attach to the body, as it is less changeable than the mind, which jumps about like a discipleey.


  SN12.62 — Second Discourse on the Uninstructed Person

   An ignorant person might become free of attachment to their body, but not their mind. Still, it would be better to attach to the body, as it is less changeable than the mind. But a noble disciple reflects on dependent origination.


  SN12.63 — Puttamaṁsasutta

   The Tathagata defines the four kinds of “food” or “nutriment”, which include edible food, contact, intention, and consciousness. He illustrates them with a series of powerful and horrifying similes.


  SN12.64 — Atthirāgasutta

   The Tathagata defines the four kinds of “food” or “nutriment”, which include edible food, contact, intention, and consciousness, showing how they lead to suffering according to dependent origination.


  SN12.67 — Naḷakalāpīsutta

   Venerables Mahākoṭṭhita and Sāriputta discuss whether the factors of dependent origination are created by oneself, another, both, or by chance.


  SN13.1 — Nakhasikhāsutta

   For someone who has seen the truth, the suffering eliminated in future lives is like the great earth; what remains is like the dirt under a fingernail.


  SN14.11 — Sattadhātusutta

   A rare group of seven elements: light, beauty, the four formless states, and the attainment of cessation. Each of these is known due to the negation of something: light vs. darkness, beauty vs. ugliness, and so on.


  SN15.5 — The Mountain Discourse

   A great mountain would erode before the end of the eon.


  SN15.11 — The Discourse on the Destitute

   When you see someone suffer, know that you too have experienced that.


  SN21.1 — Kolita Sutta

   Moggallāna reflects that second absorption is the true noble silence, and the Tathagata encourages him to develop it.


  SN22.1 — Nakulapitusutta

   The householder Nakulapitā asks the Tathagata for help in coping with old age. The Tathagata says to reflect: “Even though I am afflicted in body, my mind will be unafflicted.” Later Sāriputta explains this in terms of the five aggregates.


  SN22.5 — Samādhisutta

  A desciple should develop concentration in order to truly understand the origin and ending of the five aggregates.


  SN22.48 — Khandhasutta

   The distinction between “five aggregates” and “five grasping aggregates”.


  SN22.53 — The Discourse on Attachments

   Consciousness stands dependent on the other four aggregates, and this attachment is what fuels the cycle of rebirth.


  SN22.54 — Bījasutta

   Consciousness is like a seed that is planted in the soil of the other four aggregates and watered with craving.


  SN22.57 — Sattaṭṭhānasutta

   To be fully accomplished, a desciple should investigate the five aggregates in light of the four noble truths, as well as their gratification, drawback, and escape. In addition, they should investigate the elements, sense fields, and dependent origination.


  SN22.59 — The Discourse on the Characteristic of Non-Self

   In the Deer Park at Varanasi the Tathagata teaches the famous second discourse, on not-self with regard to the aggregates, to the group of five disciples. At the conclusion, they become perfected ones.


  SN22.60 — The Discourse to Mahāli

   Mahāli the Licchavi reports to the Tathagata that the rival teacher Pūraṇa Kassapa asserts that there is no reason for beings to be either defiled or pure. The Tathagata denies this, and goes on to explain how it happens.


  SN22.79 — Khajjanīyasutta

   One of the most extensive discourses in this collection begins with the Tathagata saying that when anyone recollects a past life, all they are recollecting is the five aggregates. He then gives a distinctive set of definitions of the aggregates in terms of their functions, and discusses them from various aspects.


  SN22.82 — Puṇṇamasutta

   On a sabbath day with the Sangha at Sāvatthi, the Tathagata answers a series of ten questions on the aggregates.


  SN22.85 — Yamakasutta

   Venerable Yamaka had the wrong view that one whose defilements have ended is annihilated at death. The disciples ask Sāriputta to help, and he asks Yamaka whether the Realized One in this very life may be identified as one of the aggregates, or apart from them. Convinced, Yamaka lets go of his view and sees the Dhamma.


  SN22.88 — The Discourse to Assaji

   Venerable Assaji is ill, and asks the Tathagata to visit him. The Tathagata does so, and learns that Assaji has difficulty maintaining his meditation. The Tathagata encourages him to contemplate the impermanence of the aggregates.


  SN22.94 — Flower Discourse

   The Tathagata doesn’t dispute with the world; the world disputes with him. He has understood the five aggregates and explains them. Like a lotus, he was born in the swamp, but rises above it.


  SN22.95 — Foam Lump Simile Sutta

   The Tathagata gives a series of similes for the aggregates: physical form is like foam, feeling is like a bubble, perception is like a mirage, choices are like a coreless tree, and consciousness is like an illusion.


  SN22.97 — Nakhasikhāsutta

   A desciple asks whether anything in the aggregates has even the tiniest bit of stability or permanence. The Tathagata answers using the simile of a little dirt under his fingernail.


  SN22.99 — Gaddulabaddhasutta

   Transmigration has no knowable beginning; even the oceans, mountains, and this great earth will perish. But like a dog on a leash running around a post, beings remain attached to the aggregates.


  SN22.101 — Vāsijaṭa Sutta

   Contemplating the arising and falling away of the Five Aggregates leads to knowing and liberation, but this may not be immediately apparent. The Tathagata illustrates this with similes of a hen brooding on her eggs, the wearing away of an axe handle, and the rotting of a ship’s rigging.


  SN22.122 — The Discourse on the Virtuous

   Mahākoṭṭhita asks what an ethical desciple should focus on, and Sāriputta replies that if they focus on aggregates as impermanent, etc. they may become a stream-enterer. A stream-enterer contemplating in the same way may become a non-returner, a once-returner, and a perfected one.


  SN22.123 — The Discourse on the Learned

   Mahākoṭṭhita asks what an educated deciple should focus on, and Sāriputta replies that if they focus on aggregates as impermanent, etc. they may become a stream-enterer. A stream-enterer contemplating in the same way may become a non-returner, a once-returner, and a perfected one.


  SN22.126 — Discourse on the Nature of Arising

   The Tathagata explains to a desciple that ignorance is not knowing the Five Aggregates in terms of arising and passing away.


  SN22.127 — Dutiyasamudayadhammasutta

   Sāriputta explains to Mahākoṭṭhita that ignorance is not understanding the aggregates in terms of arising and ceasing.


  SN25.1 — The Discourse on the Eye

   One with faith in the teachings on the six interior sense fields is called a “follower by faith”, while someone with conceptual understanding is called a “follower of the teachings”. But someone who sees them directly is called a stream-enterer.


  SN25.10 — Discourse on the Aggregates

   One with faith in the teachings on the five aggregates is called a “follower by faith”, while someone with conceptual understanding is called a “follower of the teachings”. But someone who sees them directly is called a stream-enterer


  SN35.17 — First Discourse on Enjoyment

   Beings are attached to the six interior sense fields due to gratification, repelled due to drawbacks, and find escape because there is an escape.


  SN35.18 — Dutiyanoceassādasutta

   Beings are attached to the six exterior sense fields due to gratification, repelled due to drawbacks, and find escape because there is an escape.


  SN35.21 — The First Discourse on the Arising of Suffering

   The arising of the six interior sense fields is the arising of suffering.


  SN35.22 — The Second Discourse on the Arising of Suffering

   The arising of the six exterior sense fields is the arising of suffering.


  SN35.23 — All Discourse

   The “all” consists of the six interior and exterior sense fields.


  SN35.24 — Discourse on Abandonment

   The “all” consisting of the six interior and exterior sense fields should be given up.


  SN35.28 — Ādittasutta

   The “all” consisting of the six interior and exterior sense fields is burning. This is the famous “third sermon” taught at Gayā’s Head to the followers of the three Kassapa brothers.


  SN35.63 — The First Deer Park Discourse

   Venerable Migajāla asks how one lives alone, and how with a partner. The Tathagata says that so long as one is bound by desire to the senses, one lives with a partner. A desciple free of such desire dwells alone, even if they live in close association with worldly people.


  SN35.74 — Paṭhamagilānasutta

   Hearing that a newly-ordained desciple was sick, the Tathagata visited him to offer support and Dhamma encouragement.


  SN35.80 — The Sick

   Through giving up ignorance, knowledge arises. To do this, contemplate the six senses as impermanent. Then a desciple truly understands, and sees everything differently.


  SN35.86 — Saṅkhittadhammasutta

   Ānanda asks for a teaching to take on retreat. The Tathagata teaches him that the senses are impermanent, etc.


  SN35.95 — Mālukyaputtasutta

   Venerable Māluṅkyaputta asks for a teaching to take on retreat. The Tathagata wonders how to teach an old disciple like him, then questions him on his desire for sense experience that has been or might be, and encourages him to simply let sense experience be. Māluṅkyaputta says he understands, and expands the Tathagata’s teaching in a series of verses.


  SN35.97 — Pamādavihārīsutta

   When a desciple lives without restraint regarding the senses, they are negligent. If they have restraint, they are diligent.


  SN35.117 — Kāmaguṇasutta

   While practicing for awakening, the Tathagata reflected that he should be diligent when his mind strayed to sense pleasures of the past, future, or present. He urges the desciples to realize that place where the senses completely cease, and they ask Ānanda to explain this to them.


  SN35.152 — The Discourse on the Purpose of the Holy Life

   If anyone asks why we live the holy life, it is for the ending of suffering.


  SN35.166 — Sakkāyadiṭṭhipahānasutta

   Identity view arises due to grasping the process of sense experience.


  SN35.206 — Ajjhattapaccuppannayadaniccasutta

   -


  SN35.243 — Avassutapariyāyasutta

   The Tathagata is invited to teach in a new hall in Kapilavatthu. Late at night, after teaching the Sakyans, the Tathagata invites Moggallāna to teach. He speaks on the mental corruption that flows from attachment to the senses.


  SN35.247 — The Simile of Six Animals

  The senses are like a snake, a crocodile, a bird, a dog, a jackal, and a monkey all tied up together, pulling in all directions towards their natural habitat. Mindfulness is like a post that keeps them grounded.


  SN36.6 — Sallasutta

   Both ordinary and awakened people experience the three feelings. The difference is that when an ordinary person is stricken with feeling, they react, creating more suffering, whereas an awakened person responds with equanimity.


  SN36.7 — The First Discourse on Illness

   A desciple should await their death mindful and aware. They should bear the feelings of approaching death with wisdom and equanimity.


  SN36.11 — Rahogatasutta

   A deciple wonders how there can be three kinds of feeling, yet all of them are suffering.


  SN40.1 — The First Question on the First Jhana

   Moggallāna speaks to the deciples of a time when his practice of the first absorption was faltering. He expresses his gratitude for the Tathagata, who urged him to stabilize that attainment.


  SN41.6 — Dutiyakāmabhūsutta

   "Citta asks Kāmabhū about the different kinds of processes (saṅkhāra) in a series of questions that lead to the most profound of meditation experiences. "


  SN41.7 — Godattasutta

   Venerable Godatta asks Citta whether the liberations of measurelessness, nothingness, emptiness, and signlessness are different states, or just different words for the same thing. Citta explains that they are both: they are terms for different meditation experiences, but may also be used of perfection or arahantship.


  SN42.2 — Tālapuṭasutta

   Talapuṭa the head of a troupe of performers asks the Tathagata whether the belief that performers have a good rebirth is correct. The Tathagata tries to dissuade him, but ultimately reveals that by inciting lust they head to a bad rebirth. Talapuṭa is distressed and asks to ordain.


  SN43.1 — Mindfulness of the Body Discourse

   -


  SN43.12 — Asaṅkhatasutta

   -


  SN44.9 — Kutūhalasālāsutta

   The wanderer Vacchagotta reports to the Tathagata a conversation among ascetics on the views of the six heretical teachers as to where a perfected one is reborn. Unsure of what the Tathagata’s position was, he asks how it is to be understood. The Tathagata says it is like a flame that burns dependent on fuel, and goes out when that fuel is extinguished.


  SN45.4 — Jāṇussoṇibrāhmaṇasutta

   Ānanda sees the brahmin Jāṇussoṇi resplendent on his all-white chariot. He asks the Tathagata whether there is a similarly divine vehicle in Buddhism. The Tathagata responds by drawing a detailed set of analogies between the eightfold path and a chariot.


  SN45.8 — Vibhaṅgasutta

   The Tathagata presents the eightfold path together with a detailed analysis of each factor. It should be assumed that these explanations apply wherever the eightfold path is taught.


  SN45.175 — The Discourse on Underlying Tendencies

   -


  SN46.2 — Pabbatavagga Kāyasutta

   Just as the body depends on food, the awakening factors depend on nutriment. The Tathagata gives specific conditions for each of the factors.


  SN46.3 — Silasutta

   Here the awakening factors are described in the context of hearing the teachings and reflecting on them. This leads to full enlightenment, or at least to some lesser attainment.


  SN46.4 — Vatthasutta

   The various awakening factors can be donned at different times of the day, like a man who puts on bright colored clothes whenever he wants.


  SN46.6 — Kuṇḍaliyasutta

   The wanderer Kuṇḍaliya points out that some ascetics argue for the sake of winning debates. But the Tathagata says his path is for the sake of liberation. Kuṇḍaliya asks what leads to liberation, and the Tathagata traces a sequence of conditions back to sense restraint.


  SN46.8 — Upavānasutta

   Sāriputta asks Upavāṇa how one can reflect and see the awakening factors in oneself.


  SN46.51 — Sākacchavagga Āhārasutta

   The Tathagata spells out in detail the factors that nourish the hindrances, and those that nourish the awakening factors.


  SN46.52 — Pariyāyasutta

   Some wanderers tell some Buddhist desciples that they, too, teach the five hindrances and the seven awakening factors, so what is the difference? The Tathagata explains by giving a detailed analytical treatment that he says is beyond the scope of the wanderers.


  SN46.53 — Fire Discourse

   Which awakening factors should be developed when the mind is tired, and which when it is energetic? And what is always useful?


  SN46.54 — Mettāsahagatasutta

   Some wanderers tell some Buddhist desciples that they, too, teach the five hindrances and the four Brahmā meditations, so what is the difference? The Tathagata explains the detailed connection between the Brahmā meditations and the awakening factors, which taken together lead to liberation.


  SN46.55 — Saṅgāravasutta

   The brahmin Saṅgārava asks why sometimes verses stay in memory while other times they don’t. The Tathagata replies that it is due to the presence of either the hindrances of awakening factors. He gives a set of similes illustrating each of the hindrances with different bowls of water.


  SN46.57 — The Discourse on the Perception of a Skeleton

   A series of passages on the benefits of meditating on a skeleton. Some editions treat the sections as separate suttas.


  SN47.4 — Sāla Discourse

   Newly ordained deciples should practice the four kinds of mindfulness meditation; trainees are practicing them, and perfected ones have perfected the practice.


  SN47.6 — Sakuṇagghisutta

   The parable of the quail and the hawk. When the quail ventured outside her ancestral territory, she became vulnerable. And what is a desciple’s ancestral territory? The four kinds of mindfulness meditation.


  SN47.8 — Sūdasutta

  The parable of the cook. The cook prepares different kinds of dishes for the king and keeps track and observes which ones the king likes at different times and on different occasions. In the same way, a disciple observes what the mind needs at that time and gives it an appropriate practice.


  SN47.9 — Gilānasutta

   The Tathagata decides to spend his final rains retreat at Vesālī in Beluvagāmaka. During the retreat he becomes very ill, but later recovers. Ānanda wonders who will guide the Saṅgha when the Tathagata dies, but the Tathagata says they should be their own refuge, grounded on the four kinds of mindfulness meditation.


  SN47.16 — The Discourse to Uttiya

   When Venerable Uttiya asks for a teaching to take on retreat, the Tathagata teaches the four kinds of mindfulness meditation, well grounded on ethics.


  SN47.20 — Discourse on the Beauty of the Country

  The Simile of the Beauty Queen demonstrates the right mind state needed to practice Right Mindfulness when walking. When one is faced with extreme danger from all sides, the mind cannot be hampered or cling to self and its formations, which would obscure true seeing. All attention is on awareness itself, the Five Aggregates.


  SN47.25 — A Certain Brahmin Discourse

   A brahmin asks the Tathagata about the conditions under which the true teaching lasts long or does not last long after the Tathagata’s passing. The Tathagata says it depends on whether the four kinds of mindfulness meditation are practiced.


  SN47.35 — Mindfulness Discourse

   Mindfulness is the four kinds of mindfulness meditation. Situational awareness is watching the arising and passing of feelings, thoughts, and perceptions.


  SN47.38 — Pariññātasutta

   The four kinds of mindfulness meditation lead to realizing the deathless.


  SN47.40 — Vibhaṅgasutta

   The Tathagata teaches the simple passage on the four kinds of mindfulness meditation and an advanced analysis, which involves contemplating them as impermanent.


  SN47.42 — Samudayasutta

   The causes for the origination and cessation of the phenomena upon which the four kinds of mindfulness practice are grounded.


  SN48.10 — Dutiyavibhaṅgasutta

   The Tathagata gives a detailed explanation of each of the five faculties.


  SN48.37 — Dutiyavibhaṅgasutta

   The five faculties of pleasure, pain, happiness, sadness, and equanimity are analyzed in detail. In addition, each is to be seen in one of the three feelings.


  SN48.40 — Uppaṭipāṭikasutta

   The five faculties of pleasure, pain, happiness, sadness, and equanimity are taught in a detailed exposition that treats them in an unusual order. The abandoning of each is related to the attainment of a particular meditative absorption.


  SN48.53 — Sekhasutta

   How does someone recognize that they are a trainee? By understanding the four noble truths and the five faculties. But only a perfected one fully embodies these qualities.


  SN51.13 — The Discourse on the Concentration of Desire

   An analysis of the four bases of psychic power showing how enthusiasm, energy, higher consciousness, and inquiry work in the context of advanced meditation.


  SN51.20 — Vibhaṅgasutta

   The Tathagata teaches the bases for psychic power and analyzes them in detail.


  SN51.21 — Maggasutta

   Before his awakening, the Tathagata reflected on the path for developing the bases of psychic power.


  SN54.1 — Ekadhammasutta

   Breath meditation is very beneficial. It is developed by going into seclusion, establishing mindfulness on the breath, and proceeding through sixteen stages.


  SN54.2 — Bojjhaṅgasutta

   Mindfulness of the breath is very beneficial. It is developed together with the seven factors of awakening.


  SN54.3 — Suddhikasutta

   Breath meditation is very beneficial. It is developed by going into seclusion, establishing mindfulness on the breath, and proceeding through sixteen stages.


  SN54.4 — First Fruit Discourse

   Breath meditation is very beneficial. When developed it leads to perfection or non-return.


  SN54.5 — Dutiyaphalasutta

   Breath meditation is very beneficial. When developed it leads to perfection or one of the lesser attainments.


  SN54.6 — Ariṭṭhasutta

   When the Tathagata asks Venerable Ariṭṭha about breath meditation, his answer, while not incorrect, does not do full justice to the practice.


  SN54.7 — Mahākappinasutta

   The Tathagata sees Venerable Mahākappina meditating nearby and points out that his steadiness and tranquility are due to practicing breath meditation.


  SN54.8 — The Simile of the Lamp

   Before his awakening the Tathagata generally practiced mindfulness of the breath, which kept him alert and peaceful and led to the ending of defilements. One who wishes for any of the higher fruits of the renunciate life should practice the same way.


  SN54.9 — Vesālīsutta

   The Tathagata taught the contemplation on the ugliness of the body, then left to go on retreat. However, many disciples, misconstruing the teachings, ending up killing themselves. The Tathagata taught mindfulness of breath breath as a peaceful and pleasant abiding.


  SN54.11 — The Discourse at Icchānaṅgala

   The Tathagata goes on a three month retreat, and later says that during that time he mostly practiced breath meditation.


  SN54.12 — Kaṅkheyyasutta

   Venerable Lomasavaṅgīsa explains to Mahānāma that the difference between a trainee and the Realized One is that the trainees practice to give up the hindrances, whereas the Realized One has already ended all defilements.


  SN54.13 — The First Discourse to Ānanda

   Answering Ānanda, the Tathagata explains how one thing fulfills four things, four things fulfill seven things, and seven things fulfill two things.


  SN54.20 — Discourse on the Destruction of the Taints

   -


  SN55.5 — The Discourse to Sāriputta the Second

   The Tathagata asks Sāriputta about the four factors for stream-entry: association with good people, hearing the teaching, proper attention, and right practice. He also defines the “stream” and the “stream-enterer”. Keep in mind however that the only way to hear the Dharma at that time was through association with a noble one.


  SN56.42 — Papātasutta

   The Tathagata takes the desciples to a steep precipice, and points out that those who do not understand the four noble truths fall into a still deeper precipice.