The six external sense objects and their own cause declared not-self, closing on the full liberation formula, this vagga's own untranslated colophon, and its uddāna
Length
~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 matrix's own resolution, and a structural reveal
Why this discourse
This discourse closes both the six-piece matrix and Devadahavagga itself. Not-self completes the external triad (impermanence at SN 35.143, suffering at SN 35.144, now not-self), and the full disillusionment-to-freedom formula returns in full for the first time since the matrix's own opening discourse (SN 35.140), bookending its four compressed middle pieces. Its own closing colophon, left untranslated in the Pali root, is “Devadahavaggo catuttho” — Devadahavagga, the fourth — which settles a question this project's own working notes had left open: not the opening of a fresh fourth paṇṇāsaka, as one earlier guess along the way had speculated, but confirmation that Devadahavagga is the fourth vagga of the third paṇṇāsaka already underway, following Yogakkhemivagga (“paṭhamo,” the first), Lokakāmaguṇavagga (“dutiyo,” the second), and Gahapativagga (“tatiyo,” the third).
Reading guide
The matrix's own bookend
Like SN 35.140, this discourse spells out the full chain — disillusioned, desire fades, freed, know they're freed, the complete closing declaration — rather than the compressed “seeing this …” its four immediate predecessors (SN 35.141–144) all use. The matrix's two full statements frame its own compressed middle.
External completes, matching internal
Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas are declared not-self, and their own cause is declared not-self as well — completing the external triad exactly as SN 35.142 completed the internal one three discourses earlier.
This vagga's own closing colophon
“Devadahavaggo catuttho” (Devadahavagga, the fourth) settles what this project's own working notes had left as an open question after Gahapativagga's own close: this is not a fresh reset to a new, fourth paṇṇāsaka, but the fourth vagga of the third paṇṇāsaka already in progress since SN 35.104 — Yogakkhemivagga (paṭhamo), Lokakāmaguṇavagga (dutiyo), Gahapativagga (tatiyo), and now Devadahavagga (catuttho). If the pattern holds, the next vagga, Navapurāṇavagga (SN 35.146–155), should close out this paṇṇāsaka as its own fifth vagga — a prediction, not yet confirmed, that this reading guide states as such.
An untranslated closing uddāna
The accompanying summary verse, left untranslated in the Pali root and, matching this site's established practice, described rather than quoted here, names this vagga's own twelve discourses by group rather than by number: Devadaha, Khaṇa, “sights” (standing for the Rūpārāma pair), “two Natumhāka,” “three also spoken by cause,” and “two, internal and external” — an accurate roll call of everything this vagga has just covered.
Key terms
rūpā, bhikkhave, anattā — mendicants, sights are not-self — completing the external triad, matching SN 35.142's own completion of the internal one
nibbindati...vimuttamiti ñāṇaṁ hoti — the full disillusionment-to-freedom chain, restored in full here, bookending SN 35.140's own opening use
devadahavaggo catuttho — Devadahavagga, the fourth — this vagga's own closing colophon, left untranslated in the Pali root, confirming its place as the third paṇṇāsaka's fourth vagga
tassuddānaṁ — "its own summary verse" — the heading introducing the vagga's closing uddāna, itself left untranslated and described, not quoted, in this reading guide
paṭhamo / dutiyo / tatiyo / catuttho — first / second / third / fourth — the ordinal sequence run across Yogakkhemivagga, Lokakāmaguṇavagga, Gahapativagga, and now Devadahavagga, all four already published on this site
The text
The complete discourse: the six external sense objects and their own cause declared not-self, closing on the full disillusionment-to-freedom formula. This vagga's own closing colophon and uddāna, both left untranslated in the Pali root, are described, not quoted, above. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, sights are not-self. The cause and reason that gives rise to sights is also not-self. Since sights are produced by what is not-self, how could they be self? Sounds … Smells … Tastes … Touches … Ideas are not-self. The cause and reason that gives rise to ideas is also not-self. Since ideas are produced by what is not-self, how could they be self?
§2Seeing this … Being disillusioned, desire fades away. When desire fades away they’re freed. When they’re freed, they know they’re freed. They understand: ‘Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, 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
Which mark does this discourse complete for the six external objects?
Correct: A. Completing the external triad, matching SN 35.142's completion of the internal one.
Question 2 of 5
How does this discourse's closing formula compare to its four immediate predecessors (SN 35.141-144)?
Correct: A. The matrix's two full statements frame its own compressed middle.
Question 3 of 5
What does this discourse's own closing colophon, "Devadahavaggo catuttho," confirm?
Correct: A. Settling a question this project's own working notes had left open after Gahapativagga.
Question 4 of 5
Which three vaggas, together with Devadahavagga, make up the third paṇṇāsaka according to this discourse's own colophon?
Correct: A. All four already published on this site, forming a consecutive ordinal sequence.
Question 5 of 5
What does this reading guide predict, but explicitly not yet confirm, about the next vagga, Navapurāṇavagga (SN 35.146-155)?
Correct: A. A prediction based on the pattern so far, stated as a prediction rather than a settled fact.
