The six internal sense bases and their own cause declared suffering, closing on the matrix's compressed formula
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 same argument, one word changed
Why this discourse
This discourse repeats the previous one's exact shape with a single substitution: suffering (dukkha) in place of impermanence (anicca) throughout, both for each base itself and for the cause that gives rise to it. Its own closing formula, though, is new for this matrix: where SN 35.140 spelled out the full disillusionment-to-freedom chain, this discourse compresses it to a bare “seeing this …,” the peyyāla convention this matrix's own middle four discourses (this one through SN 35.144) will all share.
Reading guide
Same shape, one word changed
Impermanence becomes suffering throughout: the eye is suffering, the cause and reason that gives rise to it is also suffering, and since it's produced by what is suffering, how could it be happiness? The matrix's own basic substitution technique, now visible in action.
The closing formula, now compressed
“Seeing this …” replaces the previous discourse's four full clauses, and “they understand: '… there is nothing further for this place'” replaces its full declaration — the peyyāla convention taking over from this discourse through SN 35.144.
Suffering as a structural category, not just felt pain
Calling the eye itself “suffering” is an unusual claim on its face. Read alongside the discourse's own logic, dukkha here names a structural consequence of being produced by what is impermanent, not an emotional report — the second leg of the canonical anicca-dukkha-anattā sequence, which this matrix's own next discourse (SN 35.142) will complete for the internal bases.
Key terms
cakkhuṁ...dukkhaṁ — the eye is suffering — an unusual-sounding claim this discourse treats as a structural consequence of impermanence, not a felt report
dukkhasambhūtaṁ...kuto sukhaṁ bhavissati — produced by what is suffering, how could it be happiness? — the same rhetorical pattern as the previous discourse, with anicca replaced by dukkha
evaṁ passaṁ …pe… — seeing this … — the compressed formula's own opening words, replacing the previous discourse's full chain
anicca → dukkha → anattā — the canonical order of the three marks, running across this discourse and its own two immediate neighbors, SN 35.140 and SN 35.142
nāparaṁ itthattāyā'ti pajānāti — "there is nothing further for this place" they understand — the one clause of the closing declaration this compressed version keeps
The text
The complete discourse: the six internal bases and their own cause declared suffering, closing on this matrix's own compressed formula. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, the eye is suffering. The cause and reason that gives rise to the eye is also suffering. Since the eye is produced by what is suffering, how could it be happiness? The ear … nose … tongue … body … mind is suffering. The cause and reason that gives rise to the mind is also suffering. Since the mind is produced by what is suffering, how could it be happiness?
§2Seeing this … They understand: ‘… there is nothing further for this place.’”
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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 single substitution distinguishes this discourse from the previous one, SN 35.140?
Correct: A. The matrix's basic substitution technique.
Question 2 of 5
How does this discourse's own closing formula differ from SN 35.140's?
Correct: A. The peyyāla convention this matrix's middle four discourses share.
Question 3 of 5
In this discourse's own logic, what kind of claim is 'the eye is suffering'?
Correct: A. Dukkha here names a structural category, the second leg of the canonical three-mark sequence.
Question 4 of 5
What is the canonical order of the three marks this discourse participates in?
Correct: A. Running across this discourse and its two immediate neighbors in the matrix.
Question 5 of 5
What rhetorical question does this discourse ask about the eye's own cause?
Correct: A. The same rhetorical pattern as SN 35.140, with dukkha substituted for anicca.
