A single opening line, with the remainder elided in the source as an exact repeat of SN 22.137's structure
Length
The shortest discourse in this vagga so far — a single sentence plus an ellipsis
Northern parallel
Shares its structure with SN 22.137, now applied to suffering (dukkha) rather than impermanence (anicca)
Difficulty
Approachable — brevity itself is the notable feature here
Why this discourse
Opens this vagga's second three-discourse set, reasoning from suffering rather than impermanence — but so closely mirrors SN 22.137's own structure that the source text elides everything beyond the opening line, trusting the reader to supply the rest from memory.
Reading guide
A single line, then silence
"You should give up desire for what is suffering..." — the source text gives only this opening clause before an ellipsis, the most compressed presentation yet in this vagga, more compressed even than SN 22.107's own two-sentence brevity earlier in this book.
What the elision assumes
The full pattern, inferred from SN 22.137's own complete structure, would run: "and what is suffering? Form is suffering; you should give up desire for it," repeated for each remaining aggregate, closing with "you should give up desire for what is suffering" — identical in every particular except substituting dukkha for anicca throughout.
Why suffering earns even less text than impermanence
By this point in the vagga, the reader has already seen this exact three-part reasoning (name the quality, name what has it, instruct giving up desire) run in full three times for impermanence — repeating it in full for suffering would add nothing the reader could not already supply, so the source text simply names the substitution and trusts the pattern to be understood.
Opening this vagga's middle three-discourse set
This discourse opens the same desire/greed/both progression already seen for impermanence, now applied to suffering: SN 22.141 will substitute greed for desire, and SN 22.142 will combine them, exactly mirroring SN 22.137-139's own three-discourse arc.
Key terms
dukkha — suffering — the quality this discourse reasons from, replacing SN 22.137's anicca
chanda — desire — the specific term named, matching SN 22.137's own opening term
anicca — impermanent — the quality reasoned from in the preceding three-discourse set
peyyāla — an elision mark, here representing the entire remainder of SN 22.137's structure left unstated
pajahitabba — should be given up — the instruction's core imperative, assumed to be repeated for each aggregate
The text
The complete discourse as given in the source, a single opening line with the remainder elided. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, you should give up desire for what is suffering. …”
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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
How much of this discourse's text does the source give in full?
Correct: A. The most compressed presentation yet in this vagga.
Question 2 of 10
What quality does this discourse reason from, replacing SN 22.137's "impermanent"?
Correct: A. Opening this vagga's second three-discourse set.
Question 3 of 10
What does the full pattern, inferred from SN 22.137, likely run for each aggregate?
Correct: A. Identical in every particular except substituting dukkha for anicca throughout.
Question 4 of 10
Why does this discourse receive even less text than SN 22.137?
Correct: A. The source trusts the established pattern to be understood without full repetition.
Question 5 of 10
What specific term for "give up" attitude does this discourse use, matching SN 22.137?
Correct: A. Matching SN 22.137's own opening term, before this new set escalates through greed and both combined.
Question 6 of 10
What discourse will substitute greed for desire in this new three-discourse set?
Correct: A. Mirroring SN 22.138's own role in the impermanence set.
Question 7 of 10
How many aggregates does this instruction (by inference from SN 22.137) apply to?
Correct: A. Form, feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness, following the established pattern.
Question 8 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. Continuing the setting of the surrounding discourses in this vagga.
Question 9 of 10
What structural device does the source text use to represent the unstated remainder?
Correct: A. A standard compression device used throughout this collection for material repeating an established pattern.
Question 10 of 10
What comes after this three-discourse set within Kukkuḷavagga's overall structure?
Correct: A. Completing this vagga's opening nine discourses as a full 3×3 matrix.
