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Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 35.130

With Hāliddikāni

Hāliddikānisutta — Gahapativagga

Setting
The land of the Avantis, near Kuraraghara, on Steep Mountain (Papāta Pabbata)
Speakers
Venerable Mahākaccāna and the householder Hāliddikāni — the Buddha does not appear
Form
An extended Q&A, restating the previous discourse's concept as an explicit two-step causal chain, with the mendicant's own judgment of an object determining the feeling that follows
Length
~2 minutes 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
★★★☆☆ — the same concept as the previous discourse, reasoned through an extra causal step

Why this discourse

This discourse pairs directly with the previous one, both addressing “the diversity of elements,” but from a different distance and to a different respondent: the householder Hāliddikāni puts the question to Venerable Mahākaccāna, quoting back a saying he attributes to the Buddha himself — diversity of elements gives rise to diversity of contacts, and diversity of contacts gives rise to diversity of feelings — and asking how. Mahākaccāna's answer makes explicit the two-step causal chain that SN 35.129's flatter correlation left implicit, and shifts the deciding factor from the object's own nature to how the mendicant judges it.

Reading guide

An explicit two-step chain, not a flat correlation

Where SN 35.129 stated the element, the object, and the feeling as a single three-way match, this discourse spells out the intermediate step: diversity of elements gives rise to diversity of contacts, and diversity of contacts gives rise to diversity of feelings — two distinct causal links rather than one flat correlation.

The mendicant's own judgment, not the object's fixed nature

This discourse frames the three-way split differently: a mendicant sees a sight and understands it to be agreeable, disagreeable, or a basis for equanimity. The judgment belongs to the perceiving mendicant, not to some fixed property of the object itself, a subtle shift from the previous discourse's own framing.

Mahākaccāna, twice in one vagga

Venerable Mahākaccāna answers a householder's question here and will do so again at SN 35.132 later in this vagga, on an entirely different subject — the only monk besides the Buddha to appear twice as respondent within Gahapativagga.

A basic form, then an extended form, side by side

Read together, SN 35.129 and this discourse function as a matched pair — not a paṭhama/dutiya-titled pair like this book has used before, but a genuine basic-then-extended presentation of the identical underlying concept, to two different respondents at two different locations.

Key terms

dhātunānattaṃ paṭicca uppajjati phassanānattaṃ — diversity of elements gives rise to diversity of contacts — the first link in this discourse's own causal chain, quoted by Hāliddikāni as the Buddha's own saying
phassanānattaṃ paṭicca uppajjati vedanānānattaṃ — diversity of contacts gives rise to diversity of feelings — the second link, completing the chain from element to feeling
pajānāti — understands, discerns — the verb governing the mendicant's own judgment of an object as agreeable, disagreeable, or a basis for equanimity, central to this discourse's own framing
āyasmā mahākaccāno — Venerable Mahākaccāna — this discourse's respondent, the only monk besides the Buddha to answer a householder's question twice within this vagga
kuraraghare papāte pabbate — at Kuraraghara, on Steep Mountain — a distinctive place-name in the Avanti country, this book's westernmost setting so far

The text

The complete discourse: Hāliddikāni's question quoting the Buddha's own causal-chain saying, and Mahākaccāna's answer run across the eye, the four senses folded into a single ellipsis, and the mind. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1At one time Venerable Mahākaccāna was staying in the land of the Avantis near Kuraraghara on Steep Mountain. Then the householder Hāliddikāni went up to Venerable Mahākaccāna … and asked him, “Sir, this was said by the Buddha: ‘Diversity of elements gives rise to diversity of contacts, and diversity of contacts gives rise to diversity of feelings.’ How does diversity of elements give rise to diversity of contacts, and diversity of contacts gives rise to diversity of feelings?”

§2“Householder, it’s when a mendicant sees a sight with the eye and understands it to be agreeable. There is eye consciousness; and pleasant feeling arises dependent on a contact to be experienced as pleasant. Then they see a sight and understand it to be disagreeable. There is eye consciousness; and painful feeling arises dependent on a contact to be experienced as painful. Then they see a sight and understand it to be a basis for equanimity. There is eye consciousness; and neutral feeling arises dependent on a contact to be experienced as neutral. Furthermore, a mendicant hears a sound with the ear … smells an odor with the nose … tastes a flavor with the tongue … feels a touch with the body … knows an idea with the mind and understands it to be agreeable. There is mind consciousness; and pleasant feeling arises dependent on a contact to be experienced as pleasant. Then they know an idea and understand it to be disagreeable. There is mind consciousness; and painful feeling arises dependent on a contact to be experienced as painful. Then they know an idea and understand it to be a basis for equanimity. Neutral feeling arises dependent on a contact to be experienced as neutral. That’s how diversity of elements gives rise to diversity of contacts, and diversity of contacts gives rise to diversity of feelings.”

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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 two-step causal chain does the householder Hāliddikāni quote back to Mahākaccāna, attributing it to the Buddha?
Correct: A. The explicit two-step chain this discourse's answer unpacks.
Question 2 of 5
How does this discourse's account of the three-way object classification differ from SN 35.129's?
Correct: A. A subtle shift from object-based framing to the perceiving mendicant's own discernment.
Question 3 of 5
Which monk answers a householder's question twice within Gahapativagga, here and later at SN 35.132?
Correct: A. The only monk besides the Buddha to appear twice as respondent in this vagga.
Question 4 of 5
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. This book's westernmost setting so far.
Question 5 of 5
How do SN 35.129 and this discourse relate to each other?
Correct: A. Not a paṭhama/dutiya-titled pair, but a genuine basic-then-extended presentation.
Answered 0 of 5 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 35.129 · With Ghosita