The Yodhajiva Suttas

Abstract

As a former intelligence analyst in the United States Air Force, one of the most interesting discourses of the Buddha in my mind is the Yodhajiva Sutta, from the Samyutta-Nikaya - because it speaks directly to the mind of the militant-minded.

There are of course other discourses elsewhere with similar titles - but the content differs. As I plan to write this article, I ponder if at one time the piece-meal discourses were one unified body, and over time became disconnected and placed into different nikayas, because of the diverse nature of the contents. Obviously, this cannot exactly be proven, when only speculation predominates. The possibility exists that the Buddha met several warrior-headmen during the course of his forty-five years of ministering Dhamma to the people. Many students of Buddhism perceive the various ‘discourses’ as different episodes, few (none) seem to see them as broken pieces of a singular discourse - there is a reason for this: the Samyutta- Nikaya’s version takes place in Rajagaha, and the Anguttara-Nikaya's versions all take place in SavatthT - the locations differ. The question could be raised: are the Anguttara-Nikaya’s assortment of Yodhajiva Suttas a singular or multiple events? It’s a difficult question to answer.