The compressed corruption formula, matching SN 27.4'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 and familiar by this point
Why this discourse
The fifth step: feeling (vedanā) born of each of the six contacts, given this saṃyutta's own corruption/renunciation treatment — and a small but worth-noting moment where Sujato's translation shifts from "corruption" to "defilement" for the identical underlying Pāli term.
Reading guide
Six feelings, each traced to its own contact
"Desire and greed for feeling born of eye contact, feeling born of ear contact, feeling born of nose contact, feeling born of tongue contact, feeling born of body contact, or feeling born of mind contact is a defilement of the mind. …" — each feeling explicitly traced back to its producing contact, exactly as SN 25.5 and SN 26.5's own phrasing at this category.
A translation inconsistency worth flagging honestly
This discourse's translation reads "is a defilement of the mind" rather than the "corruption of the mind" used at every other discourse in this saṃyutta — almost certainly the identical Pāli term (upakkilesa) rendered with a different English word at this one point, an inconsistency in Sujato's own translation rather than a deliberate variation in the source. This reading guide notes it rather than silently smoothing it over.
Feeling, no exception to the pattern
Despite feeling's own special status elsewhere in the Nikāyas as the hinge point where craving can be interrupted, this discourse gives it no different treatment than any other category — the same six-item structure, the same compression, the same underlying corrupting factor.
Four categories still to come
SN 27.6 through SN 27.9 will continue through perception, intention, craving, and the elements, before SN 27.10 closes this saṃyutta in full.
Key terms
vedanā — feeling — the sensation born of contact, the subject of this discourse
cakkhusamphassajā vedanā — feeling born of eye contact — the first of the six feelings named, each explicitly traced to its producing contact
upakkilesa — corruption, defilement — the underlying term this discourse's translation renders "defilement," inconsistently with "corruption" used elsewhere in this saṃyutta
chandarāga — desire and greed — this saṃyutta's own standing corrupting factor
taṇhā — craving — the link several steps ahead in this saṃyutta's sequence (SN 27.8)
The text
The complete discourse as bilara-data preserves it: the six feelings named a corruption (rendered "defilement" here) of the mind. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, desire and greed for feeling born of eye contact, feeling born of ear contact, feeling born of nose contact, feeling born of tongue contact, feeling born of body contact, or feeling born of mind contact is a defilement of the mind. …”
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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. Feeling born of eye contact, ear contact, and the other four.
Question 2 of 10
What translation inconsistency does this discourse show, compared to the rest of this saṃyutta?
Correct: A. Almost certainly the identical Pāli term rendered differently at this one point in Sujato's translation.
Question 3 of 10
How does this reading guide handle this inconsistency?
Correct: A. Consistent with this project's general practice of flagging rather than hiding textual quirks.
Question 4 of 10
Does this discourse give feeling any special treatment, despite its significance elsewhere in the Nikāyas?
Correct: A. No different treatment despite feeling's own status as the hinge point elsewhere in the Nikāyas.
Question 5 of 10
What four categories remain after this discourse?
Correct: A. Completing this saṃyutta's own ten-part sequence.
Question 6 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. Matching the setting of most discourses in this saṃyutta.
Question 7 of 10
What is the first of the six feelings named in this discourse?
Correct: A. Followed by feeling born of ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind contact.
Question 8 of 10
What discourse comes next in this saṃyutta's sequence?
Correct: A. Continuing one link at a time through the standard chain.
Question 9 of 10
What underlying Pāli term likely lies behind both "corruption" and "defilement" in this saṃyutta's translation?
Correct: A. The technical term this saṃyutta's own name (kilesa) derives from, in its fuller form.
Question 10 of 10
What discourse in this project's earlier coverage examined feeling with a different formula?
Correct: A. The identical category, now examined a third time.
