SN 22.124 · With Kappa — No I-Making, No Mine-Making

Reading guide

A precisely worded question

"How does one know and see so that there's no I-making, mine-making, or underlying tendency to conceit for this conscious body and externally for all signs?" — naming three distinct things to be free of (I-making, mine-making, underlying tendency to conceit) and two distinct domains (this body, and everything external).

The phrase "externally for all signs" extends the question's scope beyond the five aggregates as usually discussed in this book, to nimitta ("signs") generally — any feature of experience, internal or external, that might become an occasion for I-making or mine-making.

The elevenfold scope formula, applied

The Buddha's answer applies the familiar elevenfold formula — "past, future, or present; internal or external; solid or subtle; inferior or superior; far or near" — to "all form," then each remaining aggregate in turn, each seen with the negated three-clause formula: "this is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self."

This is the same exhaustive-scope formula first technically defined at SN 22.48 earlier in this book, here put to direct practical use rather than being defined in the abstract.

Why the exhaustive scope answers Kappa's specific question

Kappa's question named a comprehensive concern — no I-making anywhere, for the body or externally — and the Buddha's answer matches that comprehensiveness precisely: the elevenfold formula leaves no gap (no time period, no location, no degree of refinement, no relative status, no distance) where I-making or mine-making could still take root unexamined.

Setting up its own companion, which goes further still

This discourse answers "how to know and see" so that I-making does not arise. Its companion, SN 22.125, will ask a related but more advanced question — not merely how to prevent I-making, but how the heart becomes fully "rid of" it and "peaceful and well freed," extending the identical elevenfold formula to a fuller liberative conclusion.

Key terms

ahaṅkāra — I-making — the active construction of a sense of "I," one of the three things Kappa asks to be free of

mamaṅkāra — mine-making — the parallel active construction of a sense of "mine"

mānānusaya — the underlying tendency to conceit — the third and most subtle of the three, a dormant disposition rather than an active construction

nimitta — signs — the term extending Kappa's question beyond the aggregates themselves to any feature of experience, internal or external

saviññāṇaka kāya — this conscious body — the internal domain named in Kappa's question, paired with the external "signs"

The text

The complete discourse: Kappa's question, and the Buddha's answer applying the elevenfold scope formula to each aggregate. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1At Sāvatthī. Then Venerable Kappa went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him: “Sir, how does one know and see so that there’s no I-making, mine-making, or underlying tendency to conceit for this conscious body and externally for all signs?”

§2“Kappa, one truly sees any kind of form at all—past, future, or present; internal or external; solid or subtle; inferior or superior; far or near: <em>all</em> form—with right understanding: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’ One truly sees any kind of feeling …

§3perception … choices … consciousness at all—past, future, or present; internal or external; solid or subtle; inferior or superior; far or near: <em>all</em> consciousness—with right understanding: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’ That’s how to know and see so that there’s no I-making, mine-making, or underlying tendency to conceit for this conscious body and externally for all signs.”

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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

Who asks the question in this discourse?

Correct: A. A new questioner introduced specifically for this discourse and its companion.

Question 2 of 10

What three things does Kappa's question name as needing to be absent?

Correct: A. Two active constructions (I-making, mine-making) plus one dormant disposition (underlying tendency to conceit).

Question 3 of 10

What two domains does Kappa's question cover?

Correct: A. Extending beyond the aggregates themselves to nimitta, any feature of experience.

Question 4 of 10

What formula does the Buddha's answer apply?

Correct: A. The same exhaustive-scope formula first technically defined at SN 22.48.

Question 5 of 10

What specific formula does the Buddha pair with the elevenfold scope for each aggregate?

Correct: A. The negated three-clause formula, applied across the full elevenfold scope.

Question 6 of 10

Why does the exhaustive elevenfold scope match Kappa's question specifically?

Correct: A. Matching the comprehensiveness of Kappa's own comprehensive concern.

Question 7 of 10

Where was the elevenfold scope formula first technically defined earlier in this book?

Correct: A. This discourse puts that earlier definition to direct practical use.

Question 8 of 10

What does this discourse's companion, SN 22.125, ask about that goes further?

Correct: A. Extending the identical elevenfold formula to a fuller liberative conclusion.

Question 9 of 10

Where is this discourse set?

Correct: A. Returning to Sāvatthī after SN 22.122-123's setting at Isipatana.

Question 10 of 10

What does "mamaṅkāra" (mine-making) specifically refer to?

Correct: A. Paired with ahaṅkāra ("I-making") as two parallel active mental constructions.

Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

With Kappa

Why this discourse