A named disciple's extended question, closing the vagga with the same combined formula used for Rādha but pushed toward full liberation
Length
~2 minutes to read
Northern parallel
A rough counterpart may exist in the Chinese Saṃyukta-āgama (T99), though this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★★☆☆ — closes the vagga with an escalated version of SN 22.71's already technical question
Why this discourse
This discourse closes Arahantavagga with a companion to SN 22.71, this time featuring Venerable Surādha — likely a close associate or relation of Rādha given the shared name and immediate adjacency, though this reading guide does not assert the exact nature of their relationship. Surādha's question extends Rādha's concern about I-making and mine-making one step further, adding a further aspiration: that the heart become “peaceful and well freed,” “going beyond discrimination.” The Buddha's answer reuses the identical combined formula given to Rādha, but now explicitly framed as producing freedom by not grasping (anupādāya vimutta), closing the vagga on the same “well freed” language that closed SN 22.4, SN 22.51, and SN 22.52 earlier in the book.
Reading guide
An escalated version of Rādha's question
Surādha's question repeats Rādha's concern about I-making, mine-making, and conceit toward the “conscious body” and external signs, but adds a further clause: how does one know and see so that the heart, “going beyond discrimination (vidhā), is peaceful and well freed”? This addition connects back to SN 22.49's earlier discussion of the comparing conceits (“I'm better, equal, worse”), since vidhā names exactly this kind of measuring or discriminating judgment.
The identical combined formula, now framed as producing freedom
The Buddha's answer to Surādha reuses SN 22.71's exact combination of the elevenfold scope formula and the negated “not mine” formula, but explicitly names the result this time: one is “freed by not grasping” (anupādāya vimutto) having truly seen each aggregate this way. Where SN 22.71's answer stopped at ending I-making and mine-making, this discourse extends the identical seeing all the way to explicit liberation.
Closing on the same "well freed" language used earlier in the book
The discourse's closing description — peaceful and well freed (suvimutta) — echoes the identical term used to close SN 22.4 in Nakulapituvagga and SN 22.51-52 at the close of Attadīpavagga. Arahantavagga's own closing pair reaches back across the whole book for its final word, tying this vagga's ending to the same vocabulary that closed two earlier vaggas.
A vagga that closes on two individuals rather than an abstraction
Where Bhāravagga closed on the brief, understated Pabhaṅgusutta and Natumhākavagga closed on an elided peyyāla quartet, Arahantavagga closes on two named, personally engaged questioners — Rādha and Surādha — each explicitly declared to become one of the perfected. This gives the vagga's ending a more individually grounded character than several of the book's other vagga closings.
Key terms
vidhāsamatikkanta — “going beyond discrimination” — Surādha's distinctive added phrase, connecting back to SN 22.49's earlier discussion of the comparing conceits.
anupādāya vimutto — “freed by not grasping” — the explicit outcome this discourse names, extending SN 22.71's answer toward full liberation.
santa — “peaceful” — part of Surādha's closing aspiration, paired with “well freed.”
suvimutta — “well freed” — the closing term shared with SN 22.4 and SN 22.51-52 earlier in the book, tying this vagga's ending to that recurring vocabulary.
n'etaṁ mama, nesohamasmi, na meso attā — “this is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self” — the same negated formula reused from SN 22.71, unchanged in wording.
The text
The discourse in full. Elided repetitions (feeling, perception, and choices, each following the same pattern spelled out in full for form and consciousness) are given exactly as bilara-data preserves them. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. Then Venerable Surādha said to the Buddha: “Sir, how does one know and see so that the heart is rid of I-making, mine-making, and conceit for this conscious body and externally for all signs; and going beyond discrimination, it’s peaceful and well freed?” “Surādha, one is freed by not grasping having truly seen 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.’
§2That’s how to know and see so that the heart is rid of I-making, mine-making, and conceit for this conscious body and externally for all signs; and going beyond discrimination, it’s peaceful and well freed.” … And Venerable Surādha became one of the perfected.
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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 does Surādha's question add beyond Rādha's earlier concern?
Correct: A. An escalation of SN 22.71's already technical question toward full liberation.
Question 2 of 10
What does "going beyond discrimination" (vidhāsamatikkanta) connect back to?
Correct: A. Vidhā names exactly this kind of measuring or discriminating judgment.
Question 3 of 10
How does the Buddha's answer to Surādha differ from his answer to Rādha in SN 22.71?
Correct: A. SN 22.71 stopped at ending I-making and mine-making; this discourse extends to explicit freedom.
Question 4 of 10
What closing term does this discourse share with SN 22.4 and SN 22.51-52?
Correct: A. Tying this vagga's ending to the same vocabulary that closed two earlier vaggas.
Question 5 of 10
How does Arahantavagga's closing compare to Bhāravagga's and Natumhākavagga's?
Correct: A. A more individually grounded character than several of the book's other vagga closings.
Question 6 of 10
What two established formulas does the Buddha's answer to Surādha combine, as in SN 22.71?
Correct: A. The identical combination reused from SN 22.71, now framed as producing explicit liberation.
Question 7 of 10
How many aggregates does the Buddha's answer apply to?
Correct: A. Feeling, perception, and choices are elided but follow the same pattern.
Question 8 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. Continuing the same setting as SN 22.71.
Question 9 of 10
What outcome closes this discourse?
Correct: A. The same outcome shared by nearly every discourse in this vagga.
Question 10 of 10
What comes immediately after this discourse, moving beyond Arahantavagga?
Correct: A. The book's own systematic coverage continues into its next chapter.
