Abstract:

The present article offers a translation of the Saṃyukta-āgama parallel to the Anāthapiṇḍikovāda-sutta of the Majjhima-nikāya, which records a set of insight instructions given by Sāriputta to the terminally sick lay disciple Anāthapiṇḍika. At the end of the discourse, Anāthapiṇḍika sorrowfully remarks that he never received such profound instructions earlier. This remark has prompted me to undertake a closer examination of the teachings that, according to early Buddhist texts — in particular the Majjhima-nikāya and the Saṃyukta-āgama — were given to lay disciples.

Author: Bhikkhu Analayo