The Buddha addressing the mendicants (by cross-reference)
Form
A peyyāla stub matching SN 35.10–11's own shape, closing with this vagga's own untranslated colophon and uddāna
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
★☆☆☆☆ — understood only alongside SN 35.1 and SN 35.7
Why this discourse
This discourse closes Aniccavagga ("the Chapter on Impermanence"), the first of Saḷāyatanasaṃyutta's own nineteen vaggas, completing this vagga's own full 2×2×3 structure — interior and exterior, present and three-times, impermanent, suffering, and not-self — across exactly twelve discourses. Bilara-data itself carries this vagga's own untranslated Pāli colophon ("Aniccavaggo paṭhamo") and its own uddāna, neither translated in the source and so not quoted in this reading guide's own text below.
Reading guide
The final claim, closing the vagga's own structure
"Sights of the past and future are not-self, let alone the present …" — the twelfth and final combination in this vagga's own 2×2×3 design, matching SN 35.10–11's own minimal shape.
This vagga's own colophon and uddāna, untranslated
Unlike SN 34.55's own closing discourse, which carried genuinely translated closing lines, this vagga's own colophon ("Aniccavaggo paṭhamo," "Aniccavagga, the first, finished") and its own uddāna (naming the vagga's own twelve topics in verse: impermanence, suffering, not-self, times three, interior and exterior) are both left untranslated in the English source, and are described here rather than quoted.
Aniccavagga's own complete structure, confirmed
With this discourse, this vagga's own twelve-discourse design stands fully confirmed: two domains (interior, exterior) times two temporal framings (present, three-times) times three terms (impermanent, suffering, not-self), each combination given progressively less restatement as the pattern became familiar.
Opening onto Yamakavagga, this saṃyutta's own second vagga
SN 35.13 will open Yamakavagga ("the Chapter of Pairs"), this saṃyutta's own second of nineteen vaggas — its own structure not to be assumed from Aniccavagga's own shape without independent confirmation.
Key terms
anattā — not-self — this discourse's own final claim, closing this vagga's own twelve-discourse structure
Aniccavaggo paṭhamo — "Aniccavagga, the first, finished" — the untranslated vagga colophon closing this discourse
Dvādasamaṁ — "the twelfth" — the untranslated ordinal marker immediately preceding this vagga's own colophon
tayo ajjhattabāhirā — "the three, interior and exterior" — a phrase from this vagga's own untranslated uddāna, summarizing its own 2×2×3 design in verse
Yamakavagga — "the Chapter of Pairs" — this saṃyutta's own second vagga, opening next at SN 35.13
The text
The discourse as the source itself preserves it, compressed to its opening line. This vagga's own untranslated colophon and uddāna are described above rather than quoted, since the source itself leaves them untranslated. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, sights of the past and future are not-self, let alone the present. …”
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Self-check quiz
5 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 5
What claim does this discourse make about the exterior sense objects?
Correct: A. The twelfth and final combination in this vagga's own 2×2×3 design.
Question 2 of 5
Is this vagga's own closing colophon translated in the source?
Correct: A. Unlike SN 34.55's own genuinely translated closing lines.
Question 3 of 5
What structure does this vagga's own twelve discourses confirm in full?
Correct: A. Each combination given progressively less restatement as the pattern became familiar.
Question 4 of 5
What does this vagga's own uddāna summarize in verse?
Correct: A. Also left untranslated in the English source.
Question 5 of 5
What opens next, at SN 35.13?
Correct: A. Its own structure not to be assumed from Aniccavagga's own shape without independent confirmation.
