The template extended to what contact itself produces
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
★☆☆☆☆ — the fifth subject, marking the sweep's midpoint
Why this discourse
Continuing directly from SN 18.4's examination of contact, this discourse turns to what contact itself produces: feeling. The six kinds of feeling — born of eye contact, ear contact, and so on through mind contact — receive the same impermanent-suffering-not-self analysis, extending the chain one further link from the conditions examined so far to their direct felt consequence.
Reading guide
A direct causal link to the discourse before it
Where contact in SN 18.4 was described as the meeting of faculty, object, and consciousness, feeling in this discourse is named explicitly as vedanā born of that same contact, making the connection between the two discourses causal rather than merely sequential.
Feeling itself analyzed, not just its objects
This discourse doesn't ask whether feelings are pleasant or painful; it asks whether feeling itself — as a category of experience — is permanent, subjecting the very capacity to feel to the same scrutiny applied to faculties, objects, consciousness, and contact before it.
Six kinds again, completing another parallel set
Feeling born of eye contact through feeling born of mind contact mirrors the six-fold structure of every discourse since SN 18.3, confirming the systematic sweep continues to track the same six sense doors through each new category.
The chain's midpoint in a longer developing sequence
As the fifth discourse in a series of ten, this discourse marks the sweep's approximate midpoint, having moved from the coarsest categories (faculty, object) through progressively more refined ones (consciousness, contact, and now feeling).
A category the wider tradition treats as pivotal
Feeling occupies a well-known pivotal position elsewhere in this tradition's analysis of conditioned arising, often marking the point where craving can take hold; analyzing it here as impermanent lays groundwork relevant well beyond this single discourse.
Key terms
cakkhusamphassajā vedanā — “feeling born of eye contact” — the first of six kinds this discourse examines, each named for the contact that produces it.
vedanā — “feeling” — the general category examined, encompassing pleasant, painful, and neutral feeling alike.
…pe… — the peyyāla elision mark — the same compression convention continuing from the discourses before this one.
aniccaṁ — “impermanent” — the template's first term, applied here to each of the six kinds of feeling.
pañcamaṁ — “the fifth” — this discourse's closing numbering tag.
The text
The discourse as preserved in the source, elided around SN 18.1's fuller sentence structure. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. “What do you think, Rāhula? Is feeling born of eye contact permanent or impermanent?” “Impermanent, sir.” … “… feeling born of ear contact … feeling born of nose contact … feeling born of tongue contact … feeling born of body contact … Is feeling born of mind contact permanent or impermanent?” “Impermanent, sir.” … “Seeing this, a learned noble disciple grows disillusioned with feeling born of eye contact, ear contact, nose contact, tongue contact, body contact, and mind contact. …”
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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 this discourse examine, in direct relation to SN 18.4's contact?
Correct: A. A causal link, not merely a sequential one, between the two discourses.
Question 2 of 10
What specifically does this discourse ask about feeling?
Correct: A. Subjecting the very capacity to feel to the same scrutiny applied to earlier categories.
Question 3 of 10
How many kinds of feeling does this discourse name?
Correct: A. Continuing to track the same six sense doors through each new category.
Question 4 of 10
What position does this discourse hold in the ten-discourse series?
Correct: A. Having moved from coarser categories to progressively more refined ones.
Question 5 of 10
Why might feeling be especially significant to analyze, according to this reading guide?
Correct: A. Laying groundwork relevant well beyond this single discourse's immediate context.
Question 6 of 10
What analytical steps does this discourse apply to each kind of feeling?
Correct: A. The same unchanged template from SN 18.1.
Question 7 of 10
What outcome does this discourse describe for one who sees this clearly?
Correct: A. The same closing sequence reused throughout this saṃyutta.
Question 8 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. The setting shared throughout most of this saṃyutta.
Question 9 of 10
Who are the two participants in this discourse?
Correct: A. The same father-and-son pair continuing throughout this saṃyutta.
