The compressed arising/cessation formula, this saṃyutta's own compression pattern beginning here
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 and familiar after SN 26.1–2
Why this discourse
The third step in this saṃyutta's sequence, and the point where the source text's own compression begins — matching exactly where SN 25.3 began its own compression at the identical category. This discourse applies the arising/cessation identity to the six sense-consciousnesses, completing, with SN 26.1–2, the eighteen elements in this saṃyutta's own frame.
Reading guide
Consciousness, completing the eighteen elements again
"The arising of eye consciousness... mind consciousness... is the manifestation of old age and death. The cessation of eye consciousness... mind consciousness... is the disappearance of old age and death" — the same six-consciousness set already named at SN 25.3, now given this saṃyutta's own arising/cessation treatment.
Compression arriving at the identical point as SN 25
Both this saṃyutta and Okkantasaṃyutta compress their own formulas starting exactly at their third discourse (consciousness), spelling out faculties and objects in full but trusting the reader from consciousness onward — a structural parallel this reading guide can confirm precisely because both saṃyuttas share the identical ten-category sequence.
What the elision keeps and what it drops
This discourse's compressed text keeps the full name of the first and last items in the six-consciousness set (eye consciousness, mind consciousness) while eliding the four in between, and keeps the closing phrase ("is the manifestation of old age and death") in full — a different compression style from SN 25's own, which elided the closing formula instead and kept the opening words.
Seven categories still to come
This saṃyutta's remaining seven discourses will continue through contact, feeling, perception, intention, craving, the elements, and finally the five aggregates.
Key terms
cakkhuviññāṇa — eye-consciousness — the first of the six sense-consciousnesses named in this discourse
dhātu — element — faculty, object, and consciousness together comprise the classic eighteen elements
peyyāla — an elision mark — marking this saṃyutta's first compression, at the identical category where SN 25 also began compressing
uppāda / nirodha — arising / cessation — this saṃyutta's own standing pair, unchanged from SN 26.1–2
dukkhassa uppādo / dukkhassa nirodho — the arising of suffering / the cessation of suffering — the identity this discourse restates for the six consciousnesses
The text
The complete discourse as bilara-data preserves it: the six sense-consciousnesses' arising and cessation, compressed. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, the arising of eye consciousness … mind consciousness … is the manifestation of old age and death. The cessation of eye consciousness … mind consciousness … is the disappearance of old age and death.”
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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 examine?
Correct: A. Completing the eighteen elements together with SN 26.1–2.
Question 2 of 10
At what point does this saṃyutta's compression begin, compared to SN 25's own?
Correct: A. Both saṃyuttas spell out faculties and objects in full, then compress starting at consciousness.
Question 3 of 10
How does this discourse's elision style differ from SN 25's own compression?
Correct: A. A different but equally deliberate compression strategy for the same underlying formula.
Question 4 of 10
What do SN 26.1, 26.2, and this discourse together comprise?
Correct: A. Six faculties, six objects, six consciousnesses.
Question 5 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. Matching the setting of most discourses in this saṃyutta.
Question 6 of 10
What seven categories remain after this discourse?
Correct: A. Completing this saṃyutta's own ten-part sequence.
Question 7 of 10
What is the first of the six sense-consciousnesses named in this discourse?
Correct: A. Followed by ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind consciousness.
Question 8 of 10
What discourse in this project's earlier coverage examined this same category with a different formula?
Correct: A. The identical category, differently aimed.
Question 9 of 10
What discourse comes next in this saṃyutta's sequence?
Correct: A. Continuing the standard analytical chain.
Question 10 of 10
What is this saṃyutta's own recurring pair of terms?
Correct: A. The pair giving this saṃyutta its own working method and its own name.
