Venerable Lakkhaṇa and Venerable Mahāmoggallāna, with the frame narrative elided
Form
SN 19.1's full frame reused in heavily elided form, with only the vision and its cause given
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 first fully elided discourse in this series
Why this discourse
As promised by SN 19.1's own closing note, this discourse reuses the complete frame narrative in heavily elided form, giving only the vision itself and its karmic cause: a scrap of meat flying through the air, chased and pecked at by vultures, crows, and hawks, screeching in pain. The cause named is identical to SN 19.1's: this being, too, was once a cattle butcher in Rājagaha.
Reading guide
An immediate repeat of the same cause, not a new one
Unlike most pairs of discourses in this saṃyutta, which vary both the apparition and its cause, this discourse repeats SN 19.1's exact occupation — cattle butcher — suggesting a single livelihood can produce more than one distinct karmic manifestation.
A milder image than a full skeleton
Where SN 19.1's vision was an entire skeleton, this discourse's is only a scrap of meat — still torn at by the same birds, still screeching, but a smaller and perhaps even more disturbing fragment of a body.
The elision pattern established immediately
This discourse confirms, on its very first application, that the source intends the frame narrative to disappear entirely from this point forward, leaving only the vision's content and its explanation as each discourse's genuinely new material.
A pair suggesting cattle butchery's varied consequences
Reading SN 19.1 and this discourse together suggests that a single trade doesn't produce a single fixed outcome; the same occupation can result in different apparitions, implying the specific manifestation depends on more than occupation alone.
Setting a rhythm of rapid, varied apparitions
From this discourse onward, the saṃyutta moves quickly from one grotesque image to the next, establishing a rhythm this reading guide will trace discourse by discourse rather than treating the remaining pages as mere repetition.
Key terms
maṁsapesiṁ vehāsaṁ gacchantiṁ — “a scrap of meat flying through the air” — this discourse's title image, smaller in scale than SN 19.1's full skeleton.
…pe… — the peyyāla elision mark — used here for the first time in this saṃyutta, collapsing the entire frame narrative given in full in SN 19.1.
goghātako — “a cattle butcher” — the identical occupation named as SN 19.1's cause, repeated here for a different apparition.
aṭṭassaraṁ karoti — “screeched in pain” — the recurring description of the apparition's distress, unchanged from SN 19.1.
dutiyaṁ — “the second” — this discourse's closing numbering tag.
The text
The discourse as preserved in the source, elided around SN 19.1's fuller frame narrative. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Just now, reverend, as I was descending from Vulture’s Peak Mountain I saw a scrap of meat flying through the air. Vultures, crows, and hawks kept chasing it, pecking and clawing as it screeched in pain. …” … “That being used to be a cattle butcher right here in Rājagaha. …”
· · ·
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 Moggallāna see in this discourse?
Correct: A. A smaller fragment than SN 19.1's full skeleton, still tormented by the same birds.
Question 2 of 10
What cause does this discourse name for this apparition?
Correct: A. Suggesting a single livelihood can produce more than one distinct karmic manifestation.
Question 3 of 10
How does this discourse treat SN 19.1's frame narrative?
Correct: A. Confirming the source's own stated plan to compress the recurring frame from this point on.
Question 4 of 10
What does reading SN 19.1 and this discourse together suggest?
Correct: A. Implying the specific manifestation depends on more than occupation alone.
Question 5 of 10
What rhythm does this discourse help establish for the rest of the saṃyutta?
Correct: A. A pace this reading guide traces discourse by discourse rather than treating as mere repetition.
Question 6 of 10
What description of the apparition's distress recurs from SN 19.1?
Correct: A. Unchanged from SN 19.1's description.
Question 7 of 10
Who are the two speakers in this discourse, once the frame is stripped away?
Correct: A. The same pair established in SN 19.1, continuing throughout this saṃyutta.
Question 8 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. The setting shared throughout this saṃyutta.
Question 9 of 10
What birds chase and peck at the apparition in this discourse?
Correct: A. The same three birds named in SN 19.1, unchanged here.
