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The Saṃyutta Nikāya ("Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings") is a Buddhist scriptures collection, the third of the five Nikāyas, 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/sūtras 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 Rupert Gethin^[1] 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/sūtras are grouped into five vargas/vaggas, or sections. Each varga/vagga is further divided into samyuttas/saṃyuktas, or chapters, each of which in turn contains a group of suttas/sūtras 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 Āhánjīng (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.^[2] The Collation and Annotation of Saṃyuktāgama^[3] (《<雜阿含經>校釋》,Chinese version) makes further comparison.

Dating

Bhante 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.^[4]

Translations

Full translations

The Book of the Kindred Sayings, tr C. A. F. Rhys Davids & F. L. Woodward, 1917–30, 5 volumes, Bristol: Pali Text Society
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
Bhikkhu Sujato (trans.), The “Linked” or “Connected” Discourses, 2018, published online at SuttaCentral and released into the public domain.

Selections

anthology published by Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka^[5]
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^[6] and Thai editions divide the text up somewhat differently):

Vagga Name	Description	Samyutta Number	Samyutta Names
Part I. Sagatha-vagga	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.^[7]	SN 1-11	1.devatāsaṃyuttaṃ 2. devaputtasaṃyuttaṃ 3. kosalasaṃyuttaṃ 4. mārasaṃyuttaṃ 5. bhikkhunīsaṃyuttaṃ 6. brahmasaṃyuttaṃ 7. brāhmaṇasaṃyuttaṃ 8. vaṅgīsasaṃyuttaṃ 9. vanasaṃyuttaṃ 10. yakkhasaṃyuttaṃ 11. sakkasaṃyuttaṃ
Part II. Nidana-vagga	a collection of suttas primarily pertaining to causation (Pali, nidana)	SN 12-21	12. nidānasaṃyuttaṃ 13. abhisamayasaṃyuttaṃ 14. dhātusaṃyuttaṃ 15. anamataggasaṃyuttaṃ 16. kassapasaṃyuttaṃ 17. lābhasakkārasaṃyuttaṃ 18. rāhulasaṃyuttaṃ 19. lakkhaṇasaṃyuttaṃ 20. opammasaṃyuttaṃ 21. bhikkhusaṃyuttaṃ
Part III. Khandha-vagga	a collection of suttas primarily pertaining to the five aggregates (Pali, khandha)	SN 22-34	22. khandhasaṃyuttaṃ 23. rādhasaṃyuttaṃ 24. diṭṭhisaṃyuttaṃ 25. okkantasaṃyuttaṃ 26. uppādasaṃyuttaṃ 27. kilesasaṃyuttaṃ 28. sāriputtasaṃyuttaṃ 29. nāgasaṃyuttaṃ 30. supaṇṇasaṃyuttaṃ 31. gandhabbakāyasaṃyuttaṃ 32. valāhakasaṃyuttaṃ 33. vacchagottasaṃyuttaṃ 34. jhānasaṃyuttaṃ
Part IV. Salayatana-vagga	a collection of suttas primarily pertaining to the six sense bases (Pali, salayatana), including the "Fire Sermon" (Adittapariyaya Sutta)	SN 35-44	35. saḷāyatanasaṃyuttaṃ 36. vedanāsaṃyuttaṃ 37. mātugāmasaṃyuttaṃ 38. jambukhādakasaṃyuttaṃ 39. sāmaṇḍakasaṃyuttaṃ 40. moggallānasaṃyuttaṃ 41. cittasaṃyuttaṃ 42. gāmaṇisaṃyuttaṃ 43. asaṅkhatasaṃyuttaṃ 44. abyākatasaṃyuttaṃ
Part V. Maha-vagga	the largest – that is, great (Pali, maha) – collection	SN 45. the Noble Eightfold Path	45. maggasaṃyuttaṃ
		SN 46. the Seven Factors of Enlightenment	46. bojjhaṅgasaṃyuttaṃ
		SN 47. the Four Establishment of Mindfulness	47. satipaṭṭhānasaṃyuttaṃ
		SN 48. the Faculties	48. indriyasaṃyuttaṃ
		SN 49. the Four Right Striving	49. sammappadhānasaṃyuttaṃ
		SN 50. the Five Powers	50. balasaṃyuttaṃ
		SN 51. the Four Bases for Spiritual Power^[8]	51. iddhipādasaṃyuttaṃ
		SN 52. Anuruddha discourses	52. anuruddhasaṃyuttaṃ
		SN h 53. the Jhanas	53. jhānasaṃyuttaṃ
		SN 54. Mindfulness of Breathing	54. ānāpānasaṃyuttaṃ
		SN 55. Factors of Stream-entry	55. sotāpattisaṃyuttaṃ
		SN 56. the Truths	56. saccasaṃyuttaṃ

Notes

^ Gethin, Rupert (2007). "What's in a Repetition? On Counting the Suttas of the Samyutta-nikaya" (PDF). Journal of the Pali Text Society. XXIX: 369, 381. ISBN 9780860134381. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
^ A Dictionary of Buddhism, by Damien Keown, Oxford University Press: 2004
^ The Collation and Annotation of Saṃyuktāgama, by Wang Jianwei and Jin Hui, East China Normal University Press: 2014
^ Sujato, Bhante (2012), A History of Mindfulness (PDF), Santipada, pp. 31, 37–52, ISBN 9781921842108
^ The BPS anthology was published in three parts, edited by John D. Ireland (1981), Bhikkhu Ñanananda (1983) and Maurice O'C. Walshe (1985).
^
While the PTS Samyutta Nikaya has 56 saṃyuttas (connected collections), the Sinhala Buddha Jayanti Tripitaka Series (BJT) print edition has 54 saṃyuttas and, based on the BJT edition, the softcopy Sri Lanka Tripitaka Project (SLTP) edition has 55 saṃyuttas. The reason for these differences are that:
- the BJT and SLTP saṃyutta 12 (Abhisamaya-saṃyutta) combines the PTS saṃyuttas 12 (Nidana-saṃyutta) and 13 (Abhisamaya-saṃyutta), representing the latter saṃyutta as a final vaggo (chapter) in the former saṃyutta.
- the BJT saṃyutta 34 (Vedanā-saṃyutta) combines the PTS saṃyuttas 35 (Salāyatana-saṃyutta) and 36 (Vedanā-saṃyutta).
^ Bodhi (2000), p. 69.
^ Bodhi (2000), pp. 1485-6, points out that the first seven chapters of the Maggavagga-samyutta pertain to the seven sets of qualities conducive to Enlightenment.

Bibliography

Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.) (2000). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-331-1.
Digital Dictionary of Buddhism, entry on Zá Ahánjīng
The Collation and Annotation of Saṃyuktāgama《<雜阿含經>校釋》,(Chinese version). Wang Jianwei and Jin Hui, East China Normal University Press, 2014.