Hi - Does anyone know the sutta described in the title? I believe the Buddha is speaking & uses a simile to describe how far as a sotapanna has come vs how much is left to reach Arahantship. Something like “all the grains of sand on this beach vs the grains of sand I have in my hand.” Thanks in advance!
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Hi Noah,
All the suttas in SN13 are similes quite close to the one you describe, although not exactly that one (sand grains)!
This Samyutta is about the suffering that is left once a person is accomplished in view vs before. And a person accomplished in view is a stream-enter as defined in SN12.27:
Such a noble disciple is called ‘one accomplished in view’, ‘one accomplished in vision’, ‘one who has come to the true teaching’, ‘one who sees this true teaching’, ‘one endowed with a trainee’s knowledge’, ‘one who has entered the stream of the teaching’, ‘a noble one with penetrative vision’, and ‘one who stands pushing open the door of the deathless’.”
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Do you mean SN 56.49 and the following suttas?
“Bhikkhus, suppose that a man would place on Sineru, the king of mountains, seven grains of gravel the size of mung beans. What do you think, bhikkhus, which is more: the seven grains of gravel the size of mung beans that have been placed there or Sineru, the king of mountains?”
“Venerable sir, Sineru, the king of mountains, is more. The seven grains of gravel the size of mung beans are trifling. Compared to Sineru, the king of mountains, the seven grains of gravel the size of mung beans are not calculable, do not bear comparison, do not amount even to a fraction.”
“So too, bhikkhus, for a noble disciple, a person accomplished in view who has made the breakthrough, the suffering that has been utterly destroyed and eliminated is more, while that which remains is trifling. Compared to the former mass of suffering that has been destroyed and eliminated, the latter is not calculable, does not bear comparison, does not amount even to a fraction, as there is a maximum of seven more lives. He is one who understands as it really is: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering.’
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Guess we posted at the same time 
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Indeed! But in a very complimentary way! 
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Wonderful, that was easy! Thank you both 
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