The Buddha teaches a repeated simile of great rivers slanting, sloping, and inclining to the east, showing how a mendicant who develops the five faculties likewise inclines to extinguishment, applied across each river in this grouped discourse.

SN 48.71-82 Slanting East, Etc.

“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, gaṅgā nadī pācīnaninnā pācīnapoṇā pācīnapabbhārā; evameva kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu pañcindriyāni bhāvento pañcindriyāni bahulīkaronto nibbānaninno hoti nibbānapoṇo nibbānapabbhāro.

Kathañca, bhikkhave, bhikkhu pañcindriyāni bhāvento pañcindriyāni bahulīkaronto nibbānaninno hoti nibbānapoṇo nibbānapabbhāro? Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu saddhindriyaṁ bhāveti vivekanissitaṁ virāganissitaṁ nirodhanissitaṁ vossaggapariṇāmiṁ, vīriyindriyaṁ …pe… satindriyaṁsamādhindriyaṁpaññindriyaṁ bhāveti vivekanissitaṁ virāganissitaṁ nirodhanissitaṁ vossaggapariṇāmiṁ. Evaṁ kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu pañcindriyāni bhāvento pañcindriyāni bahulīkaronto nibbānaninno hoti nibbānapoṇo nibbānapabbhāro”ti.

Dvādasamaṁ.

Gaṅgāpeyyālavaggo aṭṭhamo.

Tassuddānaṁ

Cha pācīnato ninnā,
cha ninnā ca samuddato;
Dvete cha dvādasa honti,
vaggo tena pavuccatīti.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, gaṅgā nadī pācīnaninnā pācīnapoṇā pācīnapabbhārā;

“Mendicants, the Ganges river slants, slopes, and inclines to the east.

evameva kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu pañcindriyāni bhāvento pañcindriyāni bahulīkaronto nibbānaninno hoti nibbānapoṇo nibbānapabbhāro.

In the same way, a mendicant developing and cultivating the five faculties slants, slopes, and inclines to extinguishment.

Kathañca, bhikkhave, bhikkhu pañcindriyāni bhāvento pañcindriyāni bahulīkaronto nibbānaninno hoti nibbānapoṇo nibbānapabbhāro?

How so?

Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu saddhindriyaṁ bhāveti vivekanissitaṁ virāganissitaṁ nirodhanissitaṁ vossaggapariṇāmiṁ,

It’s when a mendicant develops the faculties of faith,

vīriyindriyaṁ …pe…

energy,

satindriyaṁ

mindfulness,

samādhindriyaṁ

immersion,

paññindriyaṁ bhāveti vivekanissitaṁ virāganissitaṁ nirodhanissitaṁ vossaggapariṇāmiṁ.

and wisdom, which rely on seclusion, fading away, and cessation, and ripen as letting go.

Evaṁ kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu pañcindriyāni bhāvento pañcindriyāni bahulīkaronto nibbānaninno hoti nibbānapoṇo nibbānapabbhāro”ti.

That’s how a mendicant developing and cultivating the five faculties slants, slopes, and inclines to extinguishment.”

Dvādasamaṁ.

Gaṅgāpeyyālavaggo aṭṭhamo.

Tassuddānaṁ

Cha pācīnato ninnā,

Six on slanting to the east,

cha ninnā ca samuddato;

and six on slanting to the ocean;

Dvete cha dvādasa honti,

these two sixes make twelve,

vaggo tena pavuccatīti.

and that’s how this chapter is recited.

Qualities:

Ending

Ending

The complete exhaustion and ending of craving, aversion, and delusion—the three roots of suffering. It refers to both the gradual wearing away of defilements through practice and the final cessation that constitutes Nibbāna.

Also known as: cessation, exhaustion, gradual ending, wearing away
Pāli: khaya, khīṇa, nirodha
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Faith

Faith

Confidence in the Buddha's awakening and the efficacy of the path. It brightens and steadies the mind, removing doubt and inspiring energy toward wholesome practice. True faith rests on clarity and direct experience rather than mere belief.

Also known as: confidence, trust, belief, conviction, self-assurance
Pāli: saddha, pasanna
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Giving up

Giving up

The mental quality of renunciation and release from attachment. It delights in simplicity and freedom rather than in sensual pleasure. Giving up is not loss but the joyful abandoning of burden, opening the way to peace and insight.

Also known as: renunciation, relinquishment, letting go, abandonment
Pāli: nekkhamma
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Mindfulness

Mindfulness

Active presence of mind and lucid retention; the faculty that remembers the Dhamma, anchors attention to the chosen object or present experience, and guards the mind against unwholesome states.

Also known as: recollecting, remembering, keeping in mind, presence, awareness
Pāli: sati, anussati
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Solitude

Solitude

Physical seclusion from crowds and mental seclusion from unwholesome states. It provides the quietude necessary for the mind to settle, detach from worldly entanglements, and develop deep collectedness.

Also known as: seclusion, privacy, aloofness, non-association
Pāli: viveka, asaṃsaṭṭha
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Wisdom

Wisdom

Lived understanding and sound judgment that steers the mind away from suffering, distinct from mere accumulation of facts.

Also known as: (of a person) wise, astute, intelligent, learned, skilled, firm, stable, steadfast, an experiential understanding of the four noble truths
Pāli: paññā, medhā, dhīra, paṇḍita, asammūḷha
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Last updated on July 27, 2026