A Summary of the 152 Suttas of the Majjhima Nikaya

Bhikkhu Bodhi

Courtesy of Dharma Net
For free distribution only, as a gift of dhamma.

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This summary is from "MAJJHIMA NIKAYA: THE MIDDLE LENGTH SAYINGS", edited by Bhiikhu Bodhi. This new translation of the entire Majjhima Nikaya -- one of the most important collections of suttas in the Pali Canon -- is based on the posthumous manuscripts of Bhikkhu Nanamoli, and will be published jointly by Wisdom Publications and the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Fall, 1994.

For further information about this project, contact the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.

Part One: The Root Fifty Discourses

1. Mulapariyaya Sutta: The Root of All Things. The Buddha analyses the cognitive processes of four types of individuals -- the untaught ordinary person, the discipline in higher training, the arahant, and the Tathagata. This is one of the deepest and most difficult suttas in the Pali Canon, and it is therefore suggested that the earnest student read it only in a cursory manner on a first reading of the Majjhima Nikaya, returning to it for an in-depth study after completing the entire collection.

2. Sabbasava Sutta: All the Taints. The Buddha teaches the bhikkhus seven methods for restraining and abandoning the taints, the fundamental defilements that maintain bondage to the round of birth and death.

3. Dhammadayada Sutta: Heirs in the Dhamma. The Buddha enjoins the bhikkhus to be heirs in Dhamma, not heirs in material things. The venerable Sariputta then continues on the same theme by explaining how disciples should train themselves to become the Buddha's heirs in Dhamma.

4. Bhayabherava Sutta: Fear and Dread. The Buddha describes to a brahmin the qualities required of a monk who wishes to live alone in the forest. He then relates an account of his own attempts to conquer fear when striving for enlightenment.

5. Anangana Sutta: Without Blemishes. The venerable Sariputta gives a discourse to the bhikkhus on the meaning of blemishes, explaining that a bhikkhu becomes blemished when he falls under the sway of evil wishes.

6. Akankheyya Sutta: If a Bhikkhu Should Wish. The Buddha begins by stressing the importance of virtue as the foundation for a bhikkhu's training, and he then goes on to enumerate the benefits which a bhikkhu can reap by properly fulfilling the training.

7. Vatthupama Sutta: The Simile of the Cloth. With a simple simile the Buddha illustrates the difference between a defiled mind and a pure mind.

8. Sallekha Sutta: Effacement. The Buddha rejects the view that the mere attainment of the meditative absorptions is effacement and explains how effacement is properly practised in his teaching.

9. Sammaditthi Sutta: Right View. A long and important discourse by the venerable Sariputta, with separate sections on the wholesome and the unwholesome, nutriment, the Four Noble Truths, the twelve factors of dependent origination, and the taints.

10. Satipatthana Sutta: The Foundations of Mindfulness. This is one of the fullest and most important suttas by the Buddha dealing with meditation, with particular emphasis on the development of insight. The Buddha begins by declaring the four foundations of mindfulness to be the direct path for the realisation of Nibbana, then gives detailed instructions on the four foundations: the contemplation of the body, feelings, mind and mind-objects.

11. Culasihanada Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the Lion's Roar. The Buddha declares that only in his Dispensation can the four grades of noble individuals be found, explaining how his teaching can be distinguished from other creeds through its unique rejection of all doctrines of self.

12. Mahasihanada Sutta: The Great Discourse on the Lion's Roar. The Buddha expounds the ten powers of a Tathagata, his four kinds of intrepidity, and other superior qualities which entitle him to "roar his lion's roar in the assemblies."

13. Mahadukkhakkhandha Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the Mass of Suffering. The Buddha explains the full understanding of sensual pleasures, material form and feelings; there is a long section on the dangers in sensual pleasures.

14. Culadukkhakkhandha Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the Mass of Suffering. A variation on the preceding, ending in a discussion with Jain ascetics on the nature of pleasure and pain.

15. Anumana Sutta: Inference. The venerable Maha Moggallana enumerates the qualities which make a bhikkhu difficult to correct and teaches how one should examine oneself to remove the defects in one's character.

16. Cetokhila Sutta: The Wilderness in the Heart. The Buddha explains to the bhikkhus the five "wildernesses in the heart" and the five "shackles in the heart."

17. Vanapattha Sutta: Jungle Thickets. A discourse on the conditions under which a meditative monk should remain living in a jungle thicket and the conditions under which he should go elsewhere.

18. Madhupindika Sutta: The Honey Ball. The Buddha utters a deep but enigmatic statement about "the source through which perceptions and notions tinged by mental proliferation beset a man." This statement is elucidated by the venerable Maha Kaccana, whose explanation is praised by the Buddha.

19. Dvedhavitakka Sutta: Two Kinds of Thought. With reference to his own struggle for enlightenment, the Buddha explains the way to overcome unwholesome thoughts and replace them by wholesome thoughts.

20. Vitakkasanthana Sutta: The Removal of Distracting Thoughts. The Buddha teaches five methods for dealing with the unwholesome thoughts that may arise in the course of meditation.

21. Kakacupama Sutta: The Simile of the Saw. A discourse on the need to maintain patience when addressed with disagreeable words.

22. Alagaddupama Sutta: The Simile of the Snake. A bhikkhu named Arittha gives rise to a pernicious view that conduct prohibited by the Buddha is not really an obstruction. The Buddha reprimands him and with a series of memorable similes stresses the dangers in misapplying and misrepresenting the Dhamma. The sutta culminates in one of the most impressive disquisitions on non-self found in the Canon.

23. Vammika Sutta: The Ant-hill. A deity presents a monk with an obscure riddle, which is unravelled for him by the Buddha.

24. Rathavinita Sutta: The Relay Chariots. The venerable Punna Mantaniputta explains to Sariputta that the goal of the holy life, final Nibbana, is to be reached by way of the seven stages of purification.

25. Nivapa Sutta: The Bait. The Buddha uses the analogy of deer trappers to make known to the bhikkhus the obstacles that confront them in their effort to escape from Mara's control.

26. Ariyapariyesana Sutta: The Noble Search. The Buddha gives the bhikkhus a long account of his own quest for enlightenment from the time of his life in the palace up to his transmission of the Dhamma to his first five disciples.

27. Culahatthipadopama Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant's Footprint. Using the analogy of a woodsman tracking down a big bull elephant, the Buddha explains how a disciple arrives at complete certainty of the truth of his teaching. The sutta presents a full account of the step-by-step training of the Buddhist monk.

28. Mahahatthipadopama Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant's Footprint. The venerable Sariputta begins with a statement of the Four Noble Truths, which he then expounds by way of the contemplation of the four elements and the dependent origination of the five aggregates.

29. Mahasaropama Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the Simile of the Heartwood.
30. Culasaropama Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the Simile of the Heartwood.
These two discourses emphasise that the proper goal of the holy life is the unshakeable deliverance of the mind, to which all other benefits are subsidiary.

31. Culagosinga Sutta: The Shorter Discourse in Gosinga The Buddha meets three bhikkhus who are living in concord, "blending like milk and water," and inquires how they succeed in living together so harmoniously.

32. Mahagosinga Sutta: The Greater Discourse in Gosinga. On a beautiful moonlit night a number of senior disciples meet together in a sala-tree wood and discuss what kind of bhikkhu could illuminate the wood. After each has answered according to his personal ideal, they go the Buddha, who provides his own answer.

33. Mahagopalaka Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the Cowherd. The Buddha teaches eleven qualities that prevent a bhikkhu's growth in the Dhamma and eleven qualities that contribute to his growth.

34. Culagopalaka Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the Cowherd. The Buddha explains the types of bhikkhus who "breast Mara's stream" and get safely across to the further shore.

35. Culasaccaka Sutta: The Shorter Discourse to Saccaka. The debater Saccaka boasts that in debate he can shake the Buddha up and down and thump him about, but when he finally meets the Buddha their discussion takes some unexpected turns.

36. Mahasaccaka Sutta: The Greater Discourse to Saccaka. The Buddha meets again with Saccaka and in the course of a discussion on "development of body" and "development of mind" he relates a detailed narrative on his own spiritual quest.

37. Culatanhasankhaya Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the Destruction of Craving. The venerable Maha Moggallana overhears the Buddha give a brief explanation to Sakka, ruler of gods, as to how a bhikkhu is liberated through the destruction of craving. Wishing to know if Sakka understood the meaning, he makes a trip to the heaven of the Thirty-three to find out.

38. Mahatanhasankhaya Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the Destruction of Craving. A bhikkhu named Sati promulgates the pernicious view that the same consciousness transmigrates from life to life. The Buddha reprimands him with a lengthy discourse on dependent origination, showing how all phenomena of existence arise and cease through conditions.

39. Maha-Assapura Sutta: The Greater Discourse at Assapura. The Buddha elucidates "the things that make one a recluse" with a discourse covering many aspects of the bhikkhu's training.

40. Cula-Assapura Sutta: The Shorter Discourse at Assapura. The Buddha explains "the way proper to the recluse" to be not the mere outward practice of austerities but the inward purification from defilements.

41. Saleyyaka Sutta: The Brahmins of Sala.
42. Veranjaka Sutta: The Brahmins of Veranja.
In these two nearly identical suttas the Buddha explains to groups of brahmin householders the courses of conduct leading to rebirth in lower realms and the courses leading to higher rebirth and deliverance.

43. Mahavedalla Sutta: The Greater Series of Questions and Answers.
44. Culavedalla Sutta: The Shorter Series of Questions and Answers.
These two discourses take the form of discussions on various subtle points of Dhamma, the former between the venerable Maha Kotthita and the venerable Sariputta, the latter between the bhikkhuni Dhammadinna and the lay follower Visakha.

45. Culadhammasamadana Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on Ways of Undertaking Things.
46. Mahadhammasamadana Sutta: The Greater Discourse on Ways of Undertaking Things.
The Buddha explains, differently in each of the two suttas, four ways of undertaking things, distinguished according to whether they are painful or pleasant now and whether they ripen in pain or pleasure in the future.

47. Vimamsaka Sutta: The Inquirer. The Buddha invites the bhikkhus to make a thorough investigation of himself in order to find out whether or not he can be accepted as fully enlightened.

48. Kosambiya Sutta: The Kosambians. During the period when the bhikkhus at Kosambi were divided by a dispute, the Buddha teaches them the six qualities that create love and respect and conduce to unity. He then explains seven extraordinary knowledges possessed by a noble disciple who has realised the fruit of stream-entry.

49. Brahmanimantanika Sutta: The Invitation of a Brahma. Baka the Brahma, a high divinity, adopts the pernicious view that the heavenly world over which he presides is eternal and that there is no higher state beyond. The Buddha visits him to dissuade him from that wrong view and engages him in a contest of Olympian dimensions.

50. Maratajjaniya Sutta: The Rebuke to Mara. Mara attempts to harass the venerable Maha Moggallana, but the latter relates a story of the distant past to warn Mara of the dangers in creating trouble for a disciple of the Buddha.

Part Two: The Middle Fifty Discourses

51. Kandaraka Sutta: To Kandaraka. The Buddha discusses four kinds of persons found in the world -- the one who torments himself, the one who torments others, the one who torments both himself and others, and the one who torments neither but lives a truly holy life.

52. Atthakanagara Sutta: At Atthakanagara. The venerable Ananda teaches eleven "doors to the Deathless" by which a bhikkhu can attain the supreme security from bondage.

53. Sekha Sutta: The Disciple in Higher Training. At the Buddha's request the venerable Ananda gives a discourse on the practices undertaken by a disciple in higher training.

54. Potaliya Sutta: To Potaliya. The Buddha teaches a presumptuous interlocutor the meaning of "the cutting off of affairs" in his discipline. The sutta offers a striking series of similes on the dangers in sensual pleasures.

55. Jivaka Sutta: To Jivaka. The Buddha explains the regulations he has laid down concerning meat-eating and defends his disciples against unjust accusations.

56. Upali Sutta. To Upali. The wealthy and influential householder Upali, a prominent supporter of the Jains, proposes to go to the Buddha and refute his doctrine. Instead, he finds himself converted by the Buddha's "converting magic."

57. Kukkuravatika Sutta: The Dog-Duty Ascetic. The Buddha meets two ascetics, one who imitates the behaviour of a dog, the other who imitates the behaviour of an ox. He reveals to them the futility of their practices and gives them a discourse on kamma and its fruit.

58. Abhayarajakumara Sutta. To Prince Abhaya. The Jain leader, Nigantha Nataputta, teaches Prince Abhaya a "two-horned question" with which he can refute the Buddha's doctrine. The Buddha escapes the dilemma and explains what kind of speech he would and would not utter.

59. Bahuvedaniya Sutta: The Many Kinds of Feeling. After resolving a disagreement about the classification of feelings, the Buddha enumerates the different kinds of pleasure and joy that beings can experience.

60. Apannaka Sutta: The Incontrovertible Teaching. The Buddha gives a group of brahmin householders an "incontrovertible teaching" which will help them steer clear of the tangle in contentious views.

61. Ambalatthikarahulovada Sutta: Advice to Rahula at Ambalatthika. The Buddha admonishes his son, the novice Rahula, on the dangers in lying and stresses the importance of constant reflection on one's motives.

62. Maharahulovada Sutta: The Greater Discourse of Advice to Rahula. The Buddha teaches Rahula the meditation on the elements, on mindfulness of breathing, and other topics.

63. Culamalunkya Sutta: The Shorter Discourse to Malunkyaputta. A bhikkhu threatens to leave the Order unless the Buddha answers his metaphysical questions. With the simile of the man struck by a poisoned arrow, the Buddha makes plain exactly what he does and does not teach.

64. Mahamalunkya Sutta: The Greater Discourse to Malunkyaputta. The Buddha teaches the path to the abandoning of the five lower fetters.

65. Bhaddali Sutta: To Bhaddali. The Buddha admonishes a recalcitrant monk and explains the disadvantages of refusing to submit to the training.

66. Latukikopama Sutta: The Simile of the Quail. The Buddha drives home the importance of abandoning all fetters, no matter how harmless and trifling they may seem.

67. Catuma Sutta: At Catuma. The Buddha teaches a group of newly ordained monks four dangers to be overcome by those who have gone forth into homelessness.

68. Nalakapana Sutta: At Nalakapana. The Buddha explains why, when his disciples die, he declares their level of attainment and plane of rebirth.

69. Gulissani Sutta: Gulissani. The venerable Sariputta gives a discourse on the proper training of a forest-dwelling bhikkhu.

70. Kitagiri Sutta: At Kitagiri. The Buddha admonishes a group of disobedient monks, in the course of which he presents an important sevenfold classification of noble disciples.

71. Tevijjavacchagotta Sutta: To Vacchagotta on the Threefold True Knowledge. The Buddha denies possessing complete knowledge of everything at all times and defines the threefold knowledge he does possess.

72. Aggivacchagotta Sutta: To Vacchagotta on Fire. The Buddha explains to a wanderer why he does not hold any speculative views. With the simile of an extinguished fire he tries to indicate the destiny of the liberated being.

73. Mahavacchagotta Sutta: The Greater Discourse to Vacchagotta. The story of the wanderer Vacchagotta's full conversion to the Dhamma, his going forth and his attainment of arahantship.

74. Dighanakha Sutta: To Dighanakha. The Buddha counters the disclaimers of a sceptic and teaches him the way to liberation through the contemplation of feelings.

75. Magandiya Sutta: To Magandiya. The Buddha meets the hedonist philosopher Magandiya and points out to him the dangers in sensual pleasures, the benefits in renunciation, and the meaning of Nibbana.

76. Sandaka Sutta: To Sandaka. The venerable Ananda teaches a group of wanderers four ways that negate the living of the holy life and four kinds of holy life without consolation. Then he explains the holy life that is truly fruitful.

77. Mahasakuludayi Sutta: The Greater Discourse to Sakuludayin. The Buddha teaches a group of wanderers the reasons why his disciples venerate him and look to him for guidance.

78. Samanamandika Sutta: Samanamandikaputta. The Buddha explains how a man is "one who has attained to the supreme attainment."

79. Culasakuludayi Sutta: The Shorter Discourse to Sakuludayin. The Buddha examines the doctrine of a wandering ascetic, using the simile of "the most beautiful girl in the country" to expose the folly of his claims.

80. Vekhanassa Sutta: To Vekhanassa. A discourse partly similar to the preceding one, with an additional section on sensual pleasure.

81. Ghatikara Sutta: Ghatikara the Potter. The Buddha recounts the story of the chief lay supporter of the past Buddha Kassapa.

82. Ratthapala Sutta: On Ratthapala. The story of a young man who goes forth into homelessness against the wishes of his parents and later returns to visit them.

83. Makhadeva Sutta: King Makhadeva. The story of an ancient lineage of kings and how their virtuous tradition was broken due to negligence.

84. Madhura Sutta: At Madhura. The venerable Maha Kaccana examines the brahmin claim that brahmins are the highest caste.

85. Bodhirajakumara Sutta: To Prince Bodhi. The Buddha counters the claim that pleasure is to be gained through pain with an account of his own quest for enlightenment.

86. Angulimala Sutta: On Angulimala. The story of how the Buddha subdued the notorious criminal Angulimala and led him to the attainment of arahantship.

87. Piyajatika Sutta: Born from Those Who Are Dear. Why the Buddha teaches that sorrow and grief arise from those who are dear.

88. Bahitika Sutta: The Cloak. The venerable Ananda answers King Pasenadi's questions on the Buddha's behaviour.

89. Dhammacetiya Sutta: Monuments to the Dhamma. King Pasenadi offers ten reasons why he shows such deep veneration to the Buddha.

90. Kannakatthala Sutta. At Kannakatthala. King Pasenadi questions the Buddha on omniscience, on caste distinctions, and on the gods.

91. Brahmayu Sutta: Brahmayu. An old and erudite brahmin learns about the Buddha, goes to meet him, and becomes his disciple.

92. Sela Sutta: To Sela. The brahmin Sela questions the Buddha, gains faith in him, and becomes a monk along with his company of pupils.

93. Assalayana Sutta: To Assalayana. A young brahmin approaches the Buddha to argue the thesis that the brahmins are the highest caste.

94. Ghotamukha Sutta: To Ghotamukha. A discussion between a brahmin and a bhikkhu on whether the renunciate life accords with the Dhamma.

95. Canki Sutta: With Canki. The Buddha instructs a young brahmin on the preservation of truth, the discovery of truth, and the final arrival at truth.

96. Esukari Sutta: To Esukari. The Buddha and a brahmin discuss the brahmins' claim to superiority over the other castes.

97. Dhananjani Sutta: To Dhananjani. The venerable Sariputta admonishes a brahmin who tries to excuse his negligence by appeal to his many duties. Later, when he is close to death, Sariputta guides him to rebirth in the Brahma-world but is reprimanded by the Buddha for having done so.

98. Vasettha Sutta: To Vasettha. The Buddha resolves a dispute between two young brahmins on the qualities of a true brahmin.

99. Subha Sutta: To Subha. The Buddha answers a young brahmin's questions and teaches him the way to rebirth in the Brahma-world.

100. Sangarava Sutta: To Sangarava. A brahmin student questions the Buddha about the basis on which he teaches the fundamentals of the holy life.

Part Three: The Final Fifty Discourses

101. Devadaha Sutta: At Devadaha. The Buddha examines the Jain thesis that liberation is to be attained by self-mortification, proposing a different account of how striving becomes fruitful.

102. Pancattaya Sutta: The Five and Three. A survey of various speculative views about the future and the past and of misconceptions about Nibbana.

103. Kinti Sutta: What Do You Think About Me? The Buddha explains how the monks can resolve disagreements about the Dhamma.

104. Samagama Sutta: At Samagama. The Buddha lays down disciplinary procedures for the guidance of the Sangha to ensure its harmonious functioning after his demise.

105. Sunakkhatta Sutta: To Sunakkhatta. The Buddha discusses the problem of an individual's overestimation of his progress in meditation.

106. Anenjasappaya Sutta: The Way to the Imperturbable. The Buddha explains the approaches to various levels of higher meditative states culminating in Nibbana.

107. Ganakamoggallana Sutta: To Ganaka Moggallana. The Buddha sets forth the gradual training of the Buddhist monk and describes himself as the "shower of the way."

108. Gopakamoggallana Sutta: With Gopaka Moggallana. The venerable Ananda explains how the Sangha maintains its unity and internal discipline after the passing away of the Buddha.

109. Mahapunnama Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the Full-moon Night. A bhikkhu questions the Buddha on the five aggregates, clinging, personality view and the realisation of non-self.

110. Culapunnama Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the Full-moon Night. The Buddha explains the differences between an "untrue man" and a "true man."

111. Anupada Sutta: One By One As They Occurred. The Buddha describes the venerable Sariputta's development of insight when he was training for the attainment of arahantship.

112. Chabbisodhana Sutta: The Sixfold Purity. The Buddha explains how a bhikkhu should be interrogated when he claims final knowledge and how he would answer if his claim is genuine.

113. Sappurisa Sutta: The True Man. The Buddha distinguishes the character of a true man from that of an untrue man.

114. Sevitabbasevitabba Sutta: To Be Cultivated and Not To Be Cultivated. The Buddha sets up three brief outlines of things to be cultivated and not to be cultivated, and the venerable Sariputta fills in the details.

115. Bahudhatuka Sutta: The Many Kinds of Elements. The Buddha expounds in detail the elements, the sense bases, dependent origination, and the possible and impossible situations obtaining in the world.

116. Isigili Sutta: Isigili: The Gullet of the Seers. An enumeration of the names and epithets of paccekabuddhas who formerly dwelt on the mountain Isigili.

117. Mahacattarisaka Sutta: The Great Forty. The Buddha defines the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path and explains their inter-relationships.

118. Anapanasati Sutta: Mindfulness of Breathing. An exposition of sixteen steps in mindfulness of breathing and of the relation of this meditation to the four foundations of mindfulness and the seven enlightenment factors.

119. Kayagatasati Sutta: Mindfulness of the Body. The Buddha explains how mindfulness of the body should be developed and cultivated and the benefits to which it leads.

120. Sankharupapatti Sutta: Reappearance by Aspiration. The Buddha teaches how one can be reborn in accordance with one's wish.

121. Culasunnata Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on Voidness. The Buddha instructs Ananda on the "genuine, undistorted, pure descent into voidness."

122. Mahasunnata Sutta: The Greater Discourse on Voidness. Upon finding that the bhikkhus have grown fond of socialising, the Buddha stresses the need for seclusion in order to abide in voidness.

123. Acchariya-abbhuta Sutta: Wonderful and Marvellous. At a gathering of bhikkhus the venerable Ananda recounts the wonderful and marvellous events that preceded and attended the birth of the Buddha.

124. Bakkula Sutta: Bakkula. The elder disciple Bakkula enumerates his austere practices during his eighty years in the Sangha and exhibits a remarkable death.

125. Dantabhumi Sutta: The Grade of the Tamed. By analogy with the taming of an elephant, the Buddha explains how he tames his disciples.

126. Bhumija Sutta: Bhumija. The Buddha brings forward a series of similes to illustrate the natural fruitfulness of the Noble Eightfold Path.

127. Anuruddha Sutta: Anuruddha. The venerable Anuruddha clarifies the difference between the immeasurable deliverance of mind and the exalted deliverance of mind.

128. Upakkilesa Sutta: Imperfections. The Buddha discusses the various impediments to meditative progress he encountered during his quest for enlightenment, with particular reference to the divine eye.

129. Balapandita Sutta: Fools and Wise Men. The sufferings of hell and animal life into which a fool is reborn through his evil deeds, and the pleasures of heaven which a wise man reaps through his good deeds.

130. Devaduta Sutta: The Divine Messengers. The Buddha describes the sufferings of hell which await the evil-doer after death.

131. Bhaddekaratta Sutta: One Fortunate Attachment.
132. Anandabhaddekaratta Sutta: Ananda and One Fortunate Attachment.
133. Mahakaccanabhaddekaratta Sutta: Maha Kaccana and One Fortunate Attachment.
134. Lomasakangiyabhaddekaratta Sutta: Lomasakangiya and One Fortunate Attachment.
The above four suttas all revolve around a stanza spoken by the Buddha emphasising the need for present effort in developing insight into things as they are.

135. Culakammavibhanga Sutta: The Shorter Exposition of Action. The Buddha explains how kamma accounts for the fortune and misfortune of beings.

136. Mahakammavibhanga Sutta: The Greater Exposition of Action. The Buddha reveals subtle complexities in the workings of kamma that overturn simplistic dogmas and generalisations.

137. Salayatanavibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of the Sixfold Base. The Buddha expounds the six internal and external sense bases and other related topics.

138. Uddesavibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of a Summary. The venerable Maha Kaccana elaborates upon a brief saying of the Buddha on the training of consciousness and the overcoming of agitation.

139. Aranavibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of Non-conflict. The Buddha gives a detailed discourse on things which lead to conflict and things which lead away from conflict.

140. Dhatuvibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of Elements. Stopping at a potter's workshop for the night, the Buddha meets a monk named Pukkusati and gives him a profound discourse on the elements culminating in the four foundations of arahantship.

141. Saccavibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of the Truths. The venerable Sariputta gives a detailed analysis of the Four Noble Truths.

142. Dakkhinavibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of Offerings. The Buddha enumerates fourteen kinds of personal offerings and seven kinds of offerings made to the Sangha.

143. Anathapindikovada Sutta: Advice to Anathapindika. The venerable Sariputta is called to Anathapindika's deathbed and gives him a stirring sermon on non-attachment.

144. Channovada Sutta: Advice to Channa. The venerable Channa, gravely ill, takes his own life despite the attempts of two brother-monks to dissuade him.

145. Punnovada Sutta: Advice to Punna. The bhikkhu Punna receives a short exhortation from the Buddha and decides to go live among the fierce people of a remote territory.

146. Nandakovada Sutta: Advice from Nandaka. The venerable Nandaka gives the nuns a discourse on impermanence.

147. Cularahulovada Sutta: The Shorter Discourse of Advice to Rahula. The Buddha gives Rahula a discourse which leads him to the attainment of arahantship.

148. Chachakka Sutta: The Six Sets of Six. An especially profound and penetrating discourse on the contemplation of all the factors of sense experience as not-self.

149. Mahasalayatanika Sutta: The Great Sixfold Base. How wrong view about the six kinds of sense experience leads to future bondage, while right view about them leads to liberation.

150. Nagaravindeyya Sutta: To the Nagaravindans. The Buddha explains to a group of brahmin householders what kind of recluses and brahmins should be venerated.

151. Pindapataparisuddhi Sutta: The Purification of Almsfood. The Buddha teaches Sariputta how a bhikkhu should review himself to make himself worthy of almsfood.

152. Indriyabhavana Sutta: The Development of the Faculties. The Buddha explains the supreme development of control over the sense faculties and the arahant's mastery over his perceptions.