The Buddha alone, addressing the assembled mendicants
Form
A short causal statement, restating SN 14.1's element list and adding one further link
Length
~1 minute 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 assumes SN 14.1's element list as background
Why this discourse
Where SN 14.1 offered only a definition, this discourse puts it to work: diversity of elements — the same eighteen elements in six triads just given — gives rise to diversity of contacts. Each sense door's element triad produces its own distinct contact, so that eye contact, ear contact, and the rest are not interchangeable instances of one generic thing but genuinely different events, each rooted in its own element. The discourse restates the element list in full before drawing this single causal link, establishing the pattern — define, then chain forward — that the next several discourses in this vagga will extend, one link at a time.
Reading guide
One link added, nothing else changed
The element list from SN 14.1 reappears here word for word; the only addition is a single causal clause connecting it to contact.
Six contacts, not one contact repeated
Eye contact, ear contact, nose contact, tongue contact, body contact, and mind contact are each named separately, following the same six-door structure as the element list itself.
A forward direction only
This discourse states only that elements give rise to contacts; it says nothing about whether the reverse holds, leaving that question for the very next discourse in this vagga.
A recurring closing verb
“paṭicca uppajjati,” “gives rise to,” is the causal phrase this entire vagga will repeat with each new link added to the chain.
A pattern for what follows
This is the first of five discourses (SN 14.2–5, the internal set later named in this vagga's own closing verse) that all extend the same eighteen-element base toward contact and feeling.
Key terms
dhātunānattaṁ paṭicca uppajjati phassanānattaṁ — “diversity of elements gives rise to diversity of contacts” — this discourse's single causal claim, and the template for every later link added in this vagga.
phassanānattaṁ — “diversity of contacts” — the new term introduced here, one step beyond SN 14.1's element list.
cakkhusamphasso — “eye contact” — the first of six contacts named, arising specifically from the eye element.
manosamphasso — “mind contact” — the sixth and final contact in the list, arising from the mind element.
paṭicca uppajjati — “gives rise to,” literally “arises dependent on” — the recurring causal verb phrase chaining every link in this vagga together.
The text
The discourse in full. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, diversity of elements gives rise to diversity of contacts. And what is the diversity of elements? The eye element, ear element, nose element, tongue element, body element, and mind element. This is called the diversity of elements.
§2And how does diversity of elements give rise to diversity of contacts? The eye element gives rise to eye contact. The ear element … nose … tongue … body … The mind element gives rise to mind contact. That’s how diversity of elements gives rise to diversity of contacts.”
· · ·
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 single causal claim does this discourse add to SN 14.1's element list?
Correct: A. The vagga's chain gains its first link here.
Question 2 of 10
How many distinct contacts does this discourse name?
Correct: A. Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind contact, each named separately.
Question 3 of 10
Does this discourse address whether contact gives rise back to elements?
Correct: A. SN 14.3 is where the explicit denial of reverse causation appears.
Question 4 of 10
What happens to SN 14.1's element list in this discourse?
Correct: A. The base list reappears word for word before the extension.
Question 5 of 10
What Pali phrase recurs as the causal connector across this vagga?
Correct: A. The template verb phrase this whole vagga chains with.
Question 6 of 10
Which contact arises from the eye element, according to this discourse?
Correct: A. The first of six contacts in the list, matching the eye element from SN 14.1.
Question 7 of 10
How does this discourse relate to the four that immediately follow it in this vagga?
Correct: A. SN 14.3–5 extend and vary this same forward-chaining pattern.
Question 8 of 10
Who is the sole speaker in this discourse?
Correct: A. No interlocutor or visitor appears.
Question 9 of 10
Where does the Buddha deliver this teaching?
Correct: A. The setting shared with most discourses in this collection.
Question 10 of 10
What number does this discourse's closing tag give it within the vagga?
Correct: A. Following directly after SN 14.1's "the first."
