The compressed arising/cessation formula, matching SN 26.3–7'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 chain deserves a pause
Why this discourse
The climax of this saṃyutta's own contact-to-craving chain: craving (taṇhā) for each of the six sense objects, given the identical arising/cessation identity as every category before it — the second noble truth's own named cause of suffering, here declared, like everything preceding it in this saṃyutta, to be suffering's own arising and cessation directly.
Reading guide
Six cravings, the chain's own destination
"The arising of craving for sights... craving for ideas... is the manifestation of old age and death" — craving named last in this saṃyutta's own walk through the standard chain, receiving the identical treatment every other link already received.
The whole chain's real point, made explicit here
Where SN 25.8 examined craving's own impermanence as one more item disqualified from being a stable self, this saṃyutta's parallel discourse makes the more direct claim: craving's arising simply is suffering's arising, the second noble truth's own diagnosis stated without argument, as a bare fact rather than a conclusion reasoned toward.
Why craving receives no special emphasis here
Despite craving's outsized reputation elsewhere in the Canon as suffering's specific cause, this discourse treats it exactly as every other link was treated — the same formula, the same six-item structure, the same compression. This saṃyutta's own quiet argument is that craving is not uniquely responsible; the entire chain, from the sense faculties onward, already constitutes suffering's arising and cessation.
Two broader categories still to come
With the sense-experience chain complete across eight discourses (SN 26.1–8), this saṃyutta's final two discourses step back to the physical elements (SN 26.9) and the five aggregates (SN 26.10), closing on the broadest possible frame, exactly as SN 25 did.
Key terms
taṇhā — craving — the subject of this discourse, the second noble truth's own named cause of suffering
rūpataṇhā — craving for sights — the first of the six cravings named, framed by object as at SN 26.6–7
dukkhasamudaya — the origin of suffering — the second noble truth this discourse's own arising/cessation formula states as a bare fact
peyyāla — an elision mark — continuing this saṃyutta's compression pattern from SN 26.3–7
uppāda / nirodha — arising / cessation — this saṃyutta's own standing pair, closing its own sense-experience chain here
The text
The complete discourse as bilara-data preserves it: the six cravings' arising and cessation, compressed. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, the arising of craving for sights … craving for ideas … is the manifestation of old age and death. The cessation of craving for sights … craving for ideas … 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. The culmination of the contact-feeling-perception-intention-craving chain.
Question 2 of 10
How does this discourse's treatment of craving compare to SN 25.8's own?
Correct: A. The second noble truth's own diagnosis, stated without argument here.
Question 3 of 10
Does this discourse give craving special emphasis compared to the other nine categories?
Correct: A. This saṃyutta's own quiet argument: the entire chain constitutes suffering's arising, not craving uniquely.
Question 4 of 10
What is this saṃyutta's own implicit argument about where suffering's arising begins?
Correct: A. Craving receives no more emphasis than the sense faculties did at SN 26.1.
Question 5 of 10
What completes with this discourse, across SN 26.1–8?
Correct: A. Eight discourses walking one continuous chain, mirroring SN 25's own structure.
Question 6 of 10
What two broader categories remain for this saṃyutta's final two discourses?
Correct: A. Closing on the broadest possible frame, exactly as SN 25 did.
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 26.3–7's own?
Correct: A. The six-item names at each end, closing phrase kept in full, unchanged since SN 26.3.
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 technical role does craving occupy in the four noble truths?
Correct: A. Named directly in the second noble truth's own formula.
