The Buddha alone, addressing the assembled mendicants
Form
The same universal claim as SN 15.14-15, in its most compressed form yet
Length
under 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
★☆☆☆☆ — the most compressed discourse in this entire family-relationship set
Why this discourse
Having addressed both parents, this discourse turns to the first lateral relationship in this set: it's not easy to find a being who hasn't previously been your brother, across this long time. Where mother and father named relationships in which the other person stood in a generation above you, brother marks this saṃyutta's shift toward peer relationships — and the source itself marks the shift with even heavier compression than SN 15.14-15 used, trusting the pattern to be fully established by now.
Reading guide
The most compressed discourse in the set so far
Where SN 15.14 spelled out the full refrain and closing exhortation, this discourse elides nearly everything except the one clause that actually changes — a sign of how firmly established the pattern has become after two full discourses.
A shift from generational to lateral relationship
Mother and father named relationships where the other person stood a generation above you; brother is this set's first lateral relationship, someone standing beside you rather than above.
The identical claim, applied without modification
As with SN 15.15's shift from mother to father, no new argument is built here; the same universal claim simply substitutes bhātā, brother, for the relationship in question.
The middle of a six-part set
This is the third of six discourses in this relationship series, with sister immediately following to complete the sibling pair, then son and daughter closing the set.
Compression as its own kind of confidence
By eliding so much of the standard formula, the source signals that a reader who has followed this saṃyutta this far needs no further explanation — the pattern itself has become the teaching.
Key terms
na … sulabharūpo — “not easy to find” — the same framing phrase carried through unchanged from SN 15.14-15.
nabhātābhūtapubbo — “has not previously been your brother” — this discourse's specific claim.
iminā dīghena addhunā — “in all this long time” — the same beginningless temporal frame used throughout.
bhātā — “brother” — this discourse's title relationship, the first lateral (rather than generational) bond addressed in this set.
chaṭṭhaṁ — “the sixth” — the closing numbering tag, marking this discourse's place in the vagga.
The text
The discourse in full, including the source's own heavy elision of the standard refrain. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. “It’s not easy to find a sentient being who in all this long time has not previously been your brother. … This is quite enough for you to become disillusioned, dispassionate, and freed regarding all conditions.”
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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 claim does this discourse make about brothers?
Correct: A. The same universal claim used for mother and father, now applied to brother.
Question 2 of 10
How does this discourse's compression compare to SN 15.14-15?
Correct: A. A sign of how firmly established the pattern has become.
Question 3 of 10
What kind of relationship does "brother" represent, compared to mother and father?
Correct: A. Someone standing beside you, not above you in generation.
Question 4 of 10
What position does this discourse hold within the six-discourse family-relationship set?
Correct: A. Mother and father precede it; sister, son, and daughter follow.
Question 5 of 10
Does this discourse offer a new argument specific to brothers?
Correct: A. A direct substitution, not a fresh argument.
Question 6 of 10
What does this reading guide say heavy compression signals about the reader at this point?
Correct: A. The pattern itself has become the teaching by this point.
Question 7 of 10
What temporal frame grounds this discourse's claim?
Correct: A. The same beginningless span used throughout this saṃyutta.
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.
