The Buddha, by cross-reference to SN 35.13's own first-person frame
Form
A peyyāla stub, giving only the opening question before eliding the rest to SN 35.13's own answer
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 35.13
Why this discourse
This discourse completes this vagga's own first pair, applying SN 35.13's own pre-awakening question to the six exterior sense objects rather than the six interior faculties — but unlike SN 35.13's own full treatment, this discourse compresses to just the opening question, trusting readers to supply the full gratification-drawback-escape answer and the closing awakening declaration from the interior discourse just before it.
Reading guide
The same pre-awakening question, redirected outward
"What's the gratification, the drawback, and the escape when it comes to sights … sounds … smells … tastes … touches … and ideas?" — the identical question as SN 35.13, now asked of what the six senses perceive rather than the faculties themselves.
Only the question survives, not the answer
Where SN 35.13 gave both the question and its own full threefold answer, this discourse elides everything past the question itself, including the closing declaration of awakening — a genuinely different compression point than Aniccavagga's own equivalent pairs.
Completing this vagga's own first named pair
With this discourse, the "Before My Awakening" pair (SN 35.13–14) is complete — the first of five such interior-exterior pairs this vagga will work through, giving Yamakavagga its own name.
A genuine feature of transmission, not an omission
As with other short peyyāla stubs elsewhere in this project's coverage of the Saṃyutta Nikāya, this discourse's brevity is quoted here exactly as the source gives it rather than expanded into invented prose.
Key terms
pubbe sambodhā — "before my awakening" — the same autobiographical frame as SN 35.13, carried over by cross-reference
rūpa — sights — the first exterior sense object named, standing in for all six
dhamma — ideas, or mental objects — the sixth and final exterior sense object named
assāda — gratification — the first term of the triad this discourse's own question implies but does not spell out
peyyāla — an elision mark — here compressing the full threefold answer and the closing awakening declaration to nothing beyond the question itself
The text
The discourse as the source itself preserves it, compressed to its opening question. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, before my awakening—when I was still unawakened but intent on awakening—I thought: ‘What’s the gratification, the drawback, and the escape when it comes to sights … sounds … smells … tastes … touches … and ideas?’ …”
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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 question does this discourse ask, applied to the exterior sense objects?
Correct: A. The identical question as SN 35.13, now asked of the six exterior sense objects.
Question 2 of 5
How much of SN 35.13's own content survives in this discourse?
Correct: A. A genuinely different compression point than Aniccavagga's own equivalent pairs.
Question 3 of 5
What does this discourse complete?
Correct: A. The first of five interior-exterior pairs giving Yamakavagga its own name.
Question 4 of 5
What does this reading guide do with this discourse's own brevity?
Correct: A. Consistent with this project's practice on other short peyyāla stubs.
Question 5 of 5
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. Consistent with this saṃyutta's other discourses, though given here only by cross-reference.
