Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 35.139

Not Yours (2nd)

Dutiyanatumhākasutta — Devadahavagga

Setting
Not restated; the grass simile again names "this Jeta's Grove," inherited unchanged from the same formula's earlier occurrences
Speakers
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants
Form
The six external sense objects named as not-yours, followed by the grass simile compressed to a single narrated line with no question-and-answer exchange
Length
under 1 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
★☆☆☆☆ — the previous discourse's own companion, compressed further

Why this discourse

Where the previous discourse named the six internal sense bases as not-yours, this one inverts the scope to their six external correlates — sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas — and drops the grass simile's own interactive dialogue entirely. There is no “would you think” question here, no “no, sir,” no “why is that,” no explanation that the grass is neither self nor belonging to self — only a single narrated line invoking the grove's grass, sticks, branches, and leaves before moving straight to the restatement. The same simile, genuinely different in form, within the same titled pairing.

Reading guide

Six objects, not six bases

This discourse's own scope is the external correlate of its companion: rūpā (sights) through dhammā (ideas), not cakkhu (the eye) through mano (the mind) — the outward half of the same not-yours logic.

The dialogue disappears

This discourse narrates the grass-and-sticks simile in a single compressed line and moves straight to restatement — no question, no denial, no explanation. Genuinely different in form from its own companion immediately before it, despite the shared title family.

The same vocabulary, more tersely delivered

Where present, the simile's own words — grass, sticks, branches, leaves, this Jeta's Grove — match every earlier occurrence exactly. What's missing here is not the vocabulary but the surrounding back-and-forth this teaching usually carries.

Key terms

rūpā...dhammā na tumhākaṁ — sights...ideas aren't yours — the six external objects, this discourse's own scope
saddā, gandhā, rasā, phoṭṭhabbā — sounds, smells, tastes, touches — the four objects compressed into a shared ellipsis between the opening and closing terms
tiṇakaṭṭhasākhāpalāsaṁ — grass, sticks, branches, and leaves — the same simile vocabulary as its companion discourse, narrated here without the surrounding dialogue
te vo pahīnā hitāya sukhāya bhavissanti — giving them up will be for your welfare and happiness — the plural form of the refrain, since objects rather than a single base are being relinquished at each turn
evameva kho...te pajahatha — in the same way...give them up — the restatement bridging the compressed simile directly to its own conclusion

The text

The complete discourse: the six external sense objects named as not-yours, the grass simile compressed to a single narrated line, and the restatement that closes it. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1“Mendicants, give up what’s not yours. Giving it up will be for your welfare and happiness. And what isn’t yours? Sights aren’t yours: give them up. Giving them up will be for your welfare and happiness.

§2Sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas aren’t yours: give them up. Giving them up will be for your welfare and happiness.

§3Suppose a person was to carry off the grass, sticks, branches, and leaves in this Jeta’s Grove … In the same way, sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas aren’t yours: give them up. Giving them up will be for your welfare and happiness.”

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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 does this discourse name as "not yours," to be given up?
Correct: A. The outward correlate of the previous discourse's own internal scope.
Question 2 of 5
How does this discourse's treatment of the grass-and-sticks simile differ from its companion discourse (SN 35.138)?
Correct: A. The dialogue — question, denial, explanation — disappears here.
Question 3 of 5
What vocabulary does this discourse's own simile share with every earlier occurrence of this teaching on this site?
Correct: A. The same simile vocabulary, delivered more tersely here.
Question 4 of 5
What is the plural refrain used for giving up the six sense objects in this discourse?
Correct: A. The plural form, since objects rather than a single base are relinquished each time.
Question 5 of 5
What best characterizes this discourse's relationship to its own companion, SN 35.138?
Correct: A. Genuinely different in form despite the shared title family and shared vocabulary.
Answered 0 of 5 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 35.138 · Not Yours (1st)