Reading guide
A term already analyzed at length earlier in the book
“Conceiving” recalls SN 22.47's detailed psychological analysis of the conceit “I am” and its nine future-oriented variants. This discourse does not repeat that analysis; it simply names the underlying mental act — maññati, to conceive or construe — and binds it directly to Māra's dominion, trusting the listener's familiarity with what conceiving actually involves.
The identical narrative frame, unchanged
Every other element of the discourse matches SN 22.63 exactly: the mendicant's request for a teaching in brief, the Buddha's compact formula, the mendicant's confirmed explanation applying it to each aggregate, and his subsequent attainment of arahantship. Only the single central verb has changed.
Grasping and conceiving as two related but distinct acts
Read alongside SN 22.63, this discourse suggests grasping (upādiyati) and conceiving (maññati) are treated as two related but distinct mental acts, each independently sufficient to bind one to Māra. Neither discourse claims the other is redundant or covers the same ground exactly; the vagga simply presents both as equally valid formulas for the identical underlying concern.
The second of eight matched discourses
This is the second term in the vagga's set of eight identically structured discourses (SN 22.63-70), each substituting a different central concept into the same fixed narrative shell — a demonstration, repeated eight times, that several distinct diagnostic terms can each serve as the single teaching a mendicant needs to attain full liberation.
Key terms
The text
§1Then a mendicant went up to the Buddha … and asked him, “Sir, may the Buddha please teach me Dhamma in brief. When I’ve heard it, I’ll live alone, withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute.” “When you conceive, mendicant, you’re bound by Māra. Not conceiving, you’re free from the Wicked One.” “Understood, Blessed One! Understood, Holy One!”
§2“But how do you see the detailed meaning of my brief statement?” “Sir, when you conceive form you’re bound by Māra. Not conceiving, you’re free from the Wicked One.
§3consciousness, you’re bound by Māra. Not conceiving, you’re free from the Wicked One. That’s how I understand the detailed meaning of the Buddha’s brief statement.”
§4“Good, good, mendicant! It’s good that you understand the detailed meaning of what I’ve said in brief like this. When you conceive form you’re bound by Māra. Not conceiving, you’re free from the Wicked One. When you conceive feeling …
§5consciousness, you’re bound by Māra. Not conceiving, you’re free from the Wicked One. This is how to understand the detailed meaning of what I said in brief.” … And that mendicant became one of the perfected.
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