The same elided template, with a new apparition and cause
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 third apparition, introducing a new occupation to this saṃyutta's list
Why this discourse
This discourse continues the series with a piece of flesh flying through the air, chased and torn at by the same three birds named throughout this saṃyutta. Unlike the two discourses before it, this one introduces a genuinely new cause: the being was once a bird hunter (sākuṇika) in Rājagaha, the first hunting occupation named in this series distinct from butchery.
Reading guide
A first departure from the cattle-butcher cause
After two consecutive discourses naming cattle butchery as the cause, this discourse introduces bird hunting, confirming the saṃyutta's list of past occupations will vary rather than repeat a single trade throughout.
An irony in the specific pairing chosen
The being who hunted birds is now himself pursued and torn at by birds — whether or not this specific reversal is meant to be noticed, the correspondence between past harm done to birds and present harm suffered from birds is difficult to read past.
A slightly smaller image than the two before it
Piṇḍa, “a lump” or piece, describes something even less defined than pesi's scrap in the discourse before this one — the images in this opening run of discourses trend toward increasingly fragmentary remains before shifting to intact but afflicted bodies.
Consistency in what doesn't change across these discourses
The birds doing the chasing, the screeching in pain, and the Rājagaha setting remain constant across all three discourses so far, isolating the varying cause and the varying image as the only elements genuinely changing from one discourse to the next.
Building toward a fuller catalog of livelihoods
Cattle butcher, cattle butcher again, now bird hunter: this discourse's new occupation begins what becomes, across the rest of Paṭhamavagga, a fuller catalog of specific trades the saṃyutta associates with this kind of karmic consequence.
Key terms
maṁsapiṇḍaṁ vehāsaṁ gacchantaṁ — “a piece of flesh flying through the air” — this discourse's title image, less defined than SN 19.2's scrap of meat.
sākuṇiko — “a bird hunter” — the new occupation this discourse introduces, distinct from the cattle butchery named in the two discourses before it.
…pe… — the peyyāla elision mark — the same compression convention continuing from SN 19.2.
aṭṭassaraṁ karoti — “screeched in pain” — the recurring description, unchanged across all three discourses so far.
tatiyaṁ — “the third” — 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 piece of flesh 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 bird hunter right here in Rājagaha. …”
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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 new occupation does this discourse introduce as a karmic cause?
Correct: A. The first hunting occupation named in this series, distinct from butchery.
Question 2 of 10
What irony does this reading guide note about this discourse's specific pairing?
Correct: A. The correspondence between past harm to birds and present harm from birds.
Question 3 of 10
How does this discourse's image compare in scale to the two before it?
Correct: A. Part of a trend toward increasingly fragmentary remains in this opening run.
Question 4 of 10
What elements remain constant across SN 19.1 through this discourse?
Correct: A. Isolating the varying cause and image as the only genuinely changing elements.
Question 5 of 10
What does this discourse begin, according to this reading guide?
Correct: A. Continuing across the rest of Paṭhamavagga with further varied occupations.
Question 6 of 10
What birds chase and tear at the apparition in this discourse?
Correct: A. The same three birds named throughout this saṃyutta.
Question 7 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. The setting shared throughout this saṃyutta.
Question 8 of 10
Who are the two speakers in this discourse?
Correct: A. The same pair from SN 19.1, continuing throughout this saṃyutta.
Question 9 of 10
What description of the apparition's condition recurs unchanged from SN 19.1-2?
Correct: A. Unchanged across all three discourses so far.
