Reading guide
The third mark, given the same treatment as the first two
As with impermanence and suffering before it, not-self is stated here as a direct, unqualified claim: form is not-self. No argument connects it back to the previous two marks within this discourse itself — each discourse in the quartet presents its term independently, exactly as SN 22.12-14's original direct-statement triplet did in Aniccavagga.
Completing the traditional three marks within this vagga's narrative frame
With this discourse, the quartet has now delivered impermanence, suffering, and not-self — the full traditional tilakkhaṇa — each through the identical request-and-confirm narrative structure this vagga uses throughout. The three marks, previously explored at length as direct teachings in Aniccavagga, now also exist in this narrative-embedded form.
A resolution stated identically for the third time
The mendicant's confirmed explanation again takes the same first-person shape: form is not-self, and I should give up desire for it. The consistency of this phrasing across all three discourses in the quartet so far emphasizes that the underlying practice — giving up desire — remains constant regardless of which mark motivates it.
One term remaining before the quartet closes
SN 22.69 will complete the quartet with a fourth, related but distinct term — “not belonging to self” (anattaniya) — before the vagga moves to its eighth and final matched-template discourse in SN 22.70.
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 When I’ve heard it, I’ll live alone, withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute.” “Mendicant, give up desire for what is not-self.” “Understood, Blessed One! Understood, Holy One!”
§2“But how do you see the detailed meaning of my brief statement?” “Sir, form is not-self; I should give up desire for it.
§3Consciousness is not-self; I should give up desire for it. 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. Form is not-self; you should give up desire for it.
§5Consciousness is not-self; you should give up desire for it. 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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