The bare six-item list plus the compressed formula reference, matching SN 25.3–7's own treatment
Length
Under a minute 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
★★☆☆☆ — brief in text, though closing this sequence's chain deserves a pause
Why this discourse
The climax of this saṃyutta's own contact-to-craving chain, walked one link at a time since SN 25.4: craving (taṇhā) for each of the six sense objects — elsewhere in the Nikāyas identified as the second noble truth's own direct cause of suffering, and the link the whole preceding sequence (contact, feeling, perception, intention) has been building toward.
Reading guide
Six cravings, the chain's own destination
"Craving for sights is impermanent, decaying, and perishing. Craving for sounds, craving for smells, craving for tastes, craving for touches, and craving for ideas are impermanent, decaying, and perishing" — the same object-based framing as SN 25.6 and 25.7, naming craving for each of the six sense objects in turn.
Even craving itself is impermanent
The discourse's real force lies in what it declares impermanent: not merely the neutral sense faculties or objects, but craving itself, the very thing the second noble truth identifies as suffering's direct cause. If craving too decays and perishes, it cannot be a stable possession or a fixed feature of who someone is — it is one more impermanent phenomenon, arising and passing with the same conditions that produce everything else in this sequence.
A quiet echo of the second noble truth
This discourse never names the four noble truths directly, but craving's placement as the culmination of the contact-feeling-perception-intention chain implicitly retraces the second truth's own diagnosis: suffering's cause traced back through a specific causal sequence, here demonstrated one link at a time rather than asserted as a single proposition.
Two broader categories still to come
With the sense-experience chain now complete across eight discourses (SN 25.1–8), this saṃyutta's final two discourses step back to two more general categories: the physical elements (SN 25.9) and the five aggregates themselves (SN 25.10), closing the saṃyutta on its broadest possible frame.
Key terms
taṇhā — craving — the subject of this discourse, elsewhere identified as the second noble truth's own direct cause of suffering
rūpataṇhā — craving for sights — the first of the six cravings named, framed by object as at SN 25.6–7
dukkhasamudaya — the origin of suffering — the second noble truth this discourse's placement implicitly echoes without naming directly
peyyāla — an elision mark — continuing this saṃyutta's compression pattern from SN 25.3–7
sotāpanno avinipātadhammo niyato sambodhiparāyano — a stream-enterer, not liable to be reborn in the underworld, assured, destined for awakening — this saṃyutta's standing conclusion
The text
The complete discourse as bilara-data preserves it: the six cravings named impermanent, then the formula's opening words alone. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, craving for sights is impermanent, decaying, and perishing. Craving for sounds, craving for smells, craving for tastes, craving for touches, and craving for ideas are impermanent, decaying, and perishing. Someone who has faith and confidence in these teachings is called a follower by faith. …”
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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 six items does this discourse declare impermanent?
Correct: A. The culmination of the contact-feeling-perception-intention chain walked since SN 25.4.
Question 2 of 10
What is elsewhere identified as craving's role in the four noble truths?
Correct: A. Implicitly echoed by craving's placement as this chain's own culmination.
Question 3 of 10
What is the real force of this discourse's declaration, according to this reading guide?
Correct: A. One more impermanent phenomenon, arising and passing with the same conditions as everything else.
Question 4 of 10
Does this discourse name the four noble truths directly?
Correct: A. Demonstrated one link at a time rather than asserted as a single proposition.
Question 5 of 10
What completes with this discourse, across SN 25.1–8?
Correct: A. Eight discourses walking one continuous analytical sequence.
Question 6 of 10
What two broader categories remain for this saṃyutta's final two discourses?
Correct: A. Stepping back to close the saṃyutta on its broadest possible frame.
Question 7 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. Matching the setting of most discourses in this saṃyutta.
Question 8 of 10
How does this discourse's compression compare to SN 25.3–7's own?
Correct: A. The six-item list plus the formula's opening words, unchanged since SN 25.3.
Question 9 of 10
What is the first of the six cravings named in this discourse?
Correct: A. Followed by craving for sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas.
Question 10 of 10
What framing does this discourse share with SN 25.6 and 25.7?
Correct: A. Craving for sights, sounds, and so on, matching perception and intention's own phrasing.
