Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 12.37

Not Yours

Natumhasutta

Setting
Sāvatthī
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the assembled mendicants
Form
A short, direct teaching in two parts — a claim about the body's ownership, followed by the chain applied forward and in reverse
Length
~2 minutes to read
Northern parallel
A rough counterpart may exist in the Chinese Saṃyukta-āgama (T99), though this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — brief, but its opening claim is easy to misread

Why this discourse

Coming directly after two discourses dismantling the identity view built into asking who a link in the chain belongs to, this discourse turns the same question onto the body itself and gives a striking, easily misread answer: the body doesn't belong to you, but it doesn't belong to anyone else either. It is old kamma, produced by past choices and intentions, simply something to be felt. Having cleared away both the idea that the body is a self one owns and the idea that it belongs to some other agent, the discourse redirects attention entirely: rather than asking whose the body is, the learned noble disciple applies the mind carefully to dependent origination itself, running the chain forward to suffering's arising and in reverse to its complete cessation.

Reading guide

Not yours, but not anyone else's either

The opening claim is easy to hear as simply denying personal ownership of the body, but the discourse is careful to deny both halves at once: it doesn't belong to you, and it doesn't belong to anyone else.

Old kamma, not a fresh creation

The body is described as something already produced — old deeds, formed by past choices and intentions — framing it as a result to be felt rather than a possession currently being claimed by any owner.

A redirection, not a further argument

Rather than continuing to argue about ownership, the discourse simply changes the subject: the learned noble disciple's attention moves to dependent origination itself, addressed directly by name rather than through any question about who possesses what.

The this/that conditionality formula stated in full

This discourse gives the compact, general statement of conditionality — when this exists, this comes to be; due to the arising of this, this arises — before applying it to the familiar twelve-link chain, making explicit the principle the chain is a specific case of.

Both directions given in full, side by side

The discourse doesn't stop at describing how suffering arises; it immediately restates the entire chain in reverse, link by link, so that arising and complete cessation appear as two halves of the same short teaching.

Key terms

nāyaṁ, bhikkhave, kāyo tumhākaṁ napi aññesaṁ — “this body doesn't belong to you or to anyone else” — the discourse's opening claim, denying ownership in both directions at once.
purāṇamidaṁ, bhikkhave, kammaṁ abhisaṅkhataṁ abhisañcetayitaṁ vedaniyaṁ — “old deeds, produced by choices and intentions, as something to be felt” — how the body is described instead of as an owned possession.
sutavā ariyasāvako — “a learned noble disciple” — the figure whose careful, rational attention is described turning to dependent origination itself.
paṭiccasamuppādaññeva sādhukaṁ yoniso manasi karoti — “carefully and rationally applies the mind to dependent origination itself” — the redirection away from questions of ownership.
iti imasmiṁ sati idaṁ hoti, imassuppādā idaṁ uppajjati — “when this exists, this comes to be; due to the arising of this, this arises” — the general this/that conditionality formula stated before the familiar chain is run through it.

The text

The discourse in full. The middle of the twelve-link chain is elided in both directions, exactly as bilara-data preserves it, trusting the reader's familiarity with SN 12.1–2. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, this body doesn’t belong to you or to anyone else. It’s old deeds, and should be seen as produced by choices and intentions, as something to be felt.

§2A learned noble disciple carefully and rationally applies the mind to dependent origination itself: ‘When this exists, this comes to be; due to the arising of this, this arises. When this doesn’t exist, this doesn’t come to be; due to the cessation of this, this ceases. That is: Ignorance is a requirement for choices. Choices are a requirement for consciousness. … That is how this entire mass of suffering originates.

§3When ignorance fades away and ceases with no residue left behind, choices cease. When choices cease, consciousness ceases. … That is how this entire mass of suffering ceases.’”

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Self-check quiz

Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 10
What does the discourse say about who the body belongs to?
Correct: A. Ownership denied in both directions at once.
Question 2 of 10
How is the body described instead of as an owned possession?
Correct: A. A result of prior kamma, not a currently claimed possession.
Question 3 of 10
What does the learned noble disciple turn their attention to?
Correct: A. A redirection away from ownership questions entirely.
Question 4 of 10
What general formula does this discourse state before applying the twelve-link chain?
Correct: A. The compact this/that conditionality principle underlying the specific chain.
Question 5 of 10
In which directions is the twelve-link chain given in this discourse?
Correct: A. Arising and complete cessation given as two halves of one short teaching.
Question 6 of 10
What immediately precedes this discourse in the saṃyutta?
Correct: A. This discourse extends the same identity-view critique to the body itself.
Question 7 of 10
How does the discourse describe the body's origin?
Correct: A. Explicitly the product of prior volitional action.
Question 8 of 10
Is the middle of the twelve-link chain spelled out in full in this discourse's source text?
Correct: A. Preserved exactly as bilara-data elides it, in keeping with earlier discourses in this book.
Question 9 of 10
Who is the sole speaker in this discourse?
Correct: A. No interlocutor or visiting figure appears.
Question 10 of 10
Where does the Buddha deliver this teaching?
Correct: A. The consistent setting across this chapter of Nidānavagga.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

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