A single opening line, elided exactly as SN 22.141
Length
Among the shortest discourses in this vagga
Northern parallel
Shares its structure with SN 22.138 and SN 22.141, now applied to not-self
Difficulty
Approachable — best read directly alongside SN 22.143
Why this discourse
The middle discourse of this vagga's third set: substitutes greed for SN 22.143's desire, mirroring SN 22.138 and SN 22.141's own roles in the earlier two sets, completing the second position in a now fully consistent nine-discourse structure.
Reading guide
The second term, the third mark
"You should give up greed for what is not-self..." — the identical single-clause presentation, substituting rāga for SN 22.143's chanda, exactly as SN 22.138 and SN 22.141 did for their own respective marks.
A consistency now fully established
By this ninth discourse in the sequence, the pattern governing every position is completely predictable: first discourse in each triad uses chanda, second uses rāga, third uses chandarāga — and this predictability is itself part of what the extreme compression communicates, since a reader who has followed this vagga from SN 22.137 needs no further explanation to know exactly what this discourse says.
Not-self and the mechanism of greed
Applying "give up greed" specifically to what is not-self highlights something worth noting: greed for an aggregate is, in a sense, greed reaching toward something that was never available to be possessed as "mine" in the first place — not-self names exactly the mismatch between greed's implicit assumption (there is a self that could hold this) and the aggregate's actual nature.
One discourse remaining
SN 22.145, this discourse's own companion, will combine desire and greed for not-self, closing this vagga's third and final opening set before SN 22.146 introduces an entirely different kind of discourse.
Key terms
rāga — greed — this discourse's own term, matching SN 22.138 and SN 22.141's role
anattā — not-self — the quality this discourse reasons from, shared with SN 22.143
chanda — desire — SN 22.143's own term, the counterpart this discourse substitutes
chandarāga — desire and greed together — the combined term SN 22.145 will use to close this set
attaniya — belonging to a self — the implicit assumption not-self is said to contradict, underlying why greed misfires toward the aggregates
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 greed for what is not-self. …”
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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 term does this discourse use, replacing SN 22.143's "desire"?
Correct: A. Mirroring SN 22.138 and SN 22.141's own role in the earlier two sets.
Question 2 of 10
What pattern is fully established by this ninth discourse in the sequence?
Correct: A. A predictability that itself explains the extreme compression by this point.
Question 3 of 10
What does applying "give up greed" to what is not-self highlight?
Correct: A. Not-self names the mismatch between greed's assumption and the aggregate's actual nature.
Question 4 of 10
What discourse closes this not-self set by combining desire and greed?
Correct: A. This discourse's own direct companion, closing the final opening set.
Question 5 of 10
What quality does this discourse reason from?
Correct: A. Shared with SN 22.143 and SN 22.145, this vagga's final three-discourse set.
Question 6 of 10
How much text does the source give for this discourse?
Correct: A. Matching SN 22.141's own extreme compression.
Question 7 of 10
What comes after this final three-discourse set within Kukkuḷavagga's overall structure?
Correct: A. The vagga's 3×3 opening structure now complete.
Question 8 of 10
How many aggregates does this instruction (by inference) apply to?
Correct: A. Following the established pattern from all the preceding discourses in this sequence.
Question 9 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. Matching SN 22.143's own setting.
Question 10 of 10
What implicit assumption does "not-self" contradict, relevant to why greed misfires here?
Correct: A. Not-self names exactly this mismatch between greed's assumption and reality.
