Untitled in the source — Sāmaññavagga — the third chapter of the Elevens
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
The same cowherd simile and eight contemplations, now crossed against the six kinds of perception
Length
~1 minute to read; stands for forty-eight discourses
Sixth of ten categories
Perception, returning this sequence to the six sense objects rather than the sense faculties
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — the same established pattern, one category over
Why this discourse
The same eleven-factor cowherd simile and eight contemplations apply to the six kinds of perception — perception of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas — forty-eight further discourses (AN 11.262–309).
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
The identical cowherd simile and eight contemplations now apply to the six kinds of perception — of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas — the sixth of this chapter's ten categories.
A return to the sense objects, not the faculties
Unlike consciousness, contact, and feeling, which this sequence has been naming for their originating sense faculty (eye, ear, and so on), this category names each perception for its sense object instead — ‘perception of sights’, not ‘eye perception’ — echoing AN 11.70–117's own naming convention rather than the faculty-based naming of the three categories in between.
What perception adds
Perception (saññā) is what recognizes and labels a sense object once feeling has already registered it — the mind's act of identifying ‘this is a sight’, distinct from the bare feeling that arose moments before, and itself a well-known aggregate (khandha) in the canon's standard fivefold analysis of a person.
The same forty-eight, continuing
Six kinds of perception times eight contemplations gives forty-eight discourses, matching AN 11.262 through AN 11.309 exactly — the sixth of ten categories to repeat this chapter's now-familiar arithmetic.
Key terms
rūpasaññāya, saddasaññāya, gandhasaññāya, rasasaññāya, phoṭṭhabbasaññāya, dhammasaññāya — “perception of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas” — the six kinds of perception, named for their sense objects.
saññā — “perception” — the sixth step in this chapter's sequence, and one of the five aggregates (khandha) in the canon's standard analysis of a person.
rūpasaññā — “perception of sights” — the first of the six, opening this page's list.
khandha — not named directly here, but the five aggregates — form, feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness — of which perception (saññā) is one.
aniccānupassī...paṭinissaggānupassī — the same eight contemplations from AN 11.22–29, again left entirely implicit.
The text
The compressed text in full: the same pattern, now applied to the six kinds of perception. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Six kinds of perception, the same pattern
§1… “… perception of sights … perception of sounds … perception of smells … perception of tastes … perception of touches … perception of ideas. …”
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Self-check quiz
6 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 6
What category does this page address?
Correct: B. The sixth step in this chapter's analytical sequence.
Question 2 of 6
According to the guide, how does this category's naming convention differ from the three before it?
Correct: A. Consciousness, contact, and feeling were named for their sense faculty; perception returns to naming by object.
Question 3 of 6
What does perception (saññā) do, according to the guide?
Correct: B. The mind's act of identifying what has been felt.
Question 4 of 6
What broader category does perception belong to, according to the guide?
Correct: B. One of the five khandhas in the canon's standard analysis of a person.
Question 5 of 6
How many discourses does this page stand for?
Correct: C. 6 × 8 = 48, matching AN 11.262 through AN 11.309.
Question 6 of 6
Where is this compressed passage set?
Correct: B. No location is given for this compressed passage.
