The Buddha alone, addressing the assembled mendicants
Form
The refrain, followed by a direct instruction for how to respond to a specific present-moment encounter
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, and a practical application rather than a measurement of vast scale
Why this discourse
Opening this saṃyutta's second vagga, this discourse turns from measuring vast quantities to something immediately usable: whenever you see someone in a sorry state, in distress, you should conclude, “across this long time, we too have undergone the same thing.” Where Paṭhamavagga's parables asked listeners to imagine continents of wood or oceans of milk, this discourse asks for something far more ordinary: to look at an actual suffering person in front of you and recognize your own beginningless past reflected in their present condition.
Reading guide
A shift from measurement to encounter
Paṭhamavagga's ten discourses each measured some vast quantity against beginningless time; this discourse instead gives a direct instruction for an ordinary, recurring situation — seeing a suffering stranger.
A conclusion to draw, not a fact to memorize
The instruction isn't simply informational; it's phrased as something to actively conclude in the moment (niṭṭhamettha gantabbaṁ, “you should conclude”), turning the teaching into a live practice rather than a stored fact.
Empathy grounded in shared history, not mere sentiment
The recognition isn't generic compassion for a stranger's suffering; it's specifically grounded in the claim that you yourself have already been in exactly that same sorry state, sometime across your own beginningless past.
A discourse that will be immediately mirrored
This teaching's structure — see a specific condition, conclude you've experienced it too — is repeated in the very next discourse with the opposite condition, happiness rather than distress.
A brief opening for a vagga about relationship
Where Paṭhamavagga opened with grand physical measurements, this vagga opens with something interpersonal — fitting for a collection that will go on to address mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters directly.
Key terms
duggataṁ durūpetaṁ — “someone in a sorry state, in distress” — this discourse's title condition, the specific encounter it addresses.
niṭṭhamettha gantabbaṁ — “you should conclude” — the discourse's instruction to actively draw a conclusion, not merely absorb information.
amhehipi evarūpaṁ paccanubhūtaṁ — “we too have undergone the same thing” — the exact conclusion this discourse instructs the listener to reach.
iminā dīghena addhunā — “in all this long time” — the temporal frame grounding the claim, the same beginningless span invoked throughout this saṃyutta.
anamataggoyaṁ … saṁsāro — “this transmigration has no known beginning” — the saṃyutta's core refrain, opening and closing this discourse as in every discourse before it.
The text
The discourse in full, including the source's own elision of the standard setting formula. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, this transmigration has no known beginning. No first point is found of sentient beings roaming and transmigrating, shrouded by ignorance and fettered by craving. When you see someone in a sorry state, in distress, you should conclude: ‘In all this long time, we too have undergone the same thing.’ Why is that? This transmigration has no known beginning. … This is quite enough for you to become disillusioned, dispassionate, and freed regarding all conditions.”
· · ·
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 instruction does this discourse give for encountering someone in distress?
Correct: A. A conclusion to actively draw, grounded in shared beginningless history.
Question 2 of 10
How does this discourse's approach differ from Paṭhamavagga's parables?
Correct: A. A shift from grand measurement to a practical, recurring situation.
Question 3 of 10
What kind of empathy does this discourse ground its instruction in?
Correct: A. Not mere compassion, but recognition of shared personal history.
Question 4 of 10
What does this discourse's structure anticipate in the discourse immediately following it?
Correct: A. SN 15.12 mirrors this discourse with a happy person instead of a suffering one.
Question 5 of 10
How does this reading guide connect this discourse's opening to the rest of this vagga?
Correct: A. Setting up the mother, father, brother, sister, son, and daughter discourses ahead.
Question 6 of 10
What phrase marks this as an active instruction, not mere information?
Correct: A. A live, actionable instruction rather than a stored fact.
Question 7 of 10
What condition does this discourse specifically address?
Correct: A. Duggataṁ durūpetaṁ, this discourse's specific title condition.
Question 8 of 10
Who is the sole speaker in this discourse?
Correct: A. No interlocutor or visitor appears; the Buddha teaches directly.
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 numbering tag closes this discourse?
Correct: A. The first discourse of this saṃyutta's second and final vagga.
