Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 35.148

The Suffering as Conducive to Extinguishment

Dukkhanibbānasappāyasutta — Navapurāṇavagga

Setting
Not restated in this discourse
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
The identical structure as the previous discourse, with one word substituted throughout
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 trio's second, near-identical installment

Why this discourse

The trio's second discourse repeats SN 35.147's own structure word for word, substituting "suffering" (dukkha) for "impermanent" throughout: the same five elements per sense field — the field itself, its object, the consciousness that knows it, the contact between them, and the feeling that contact produces — all declared suffering rather than impermanent. The trio's own logic depends on exactly this kind of controlled substitution: holding the frame constant while swapping the mark makes each discourse's own specific claim easy to isolate, and easy to compare against its neighbors.

Reading guide

One word changed, the frame held constant

Every structural element of SN 35.147 recurs here unaltered — the same announcement, the same five-part enumeration per sense field — with only "impermanent" replaced by "suffering" throughout.

Suffering, not merely painful feeling

The discourse declares neutral and pleasant feeling "suffering" here just as readily as painful feeling — a use of dukkha broader than ordinary unpleasantness, consistent with how this project has already met the term applied to conditioned experience generally, not physical or emotional pain specifically.

The trio's middle term

Positioned between SN 35.147 (impermanence) and SN 35.149 (not-self), this discourse supplies the middle link of the canonical anicca-dukkha-anattā sequence, each mark still standing alone rather than derived from the one before it.

A derivation withheld, for now

Unlike the familiar three-step chain this project has traced repeatedly since SN 35.1 (impermanent, therefore suffering, therefore not-self), this discourse does not explicitly derive suffering from impermanence — it simply asserts suffering directly, leaving the logical chain to SN 35.150's own closing catechism three discourses ahead.

Key terms

dukkha — suffering — this discourse's own sole focus, applied to all five elements of each sense field alike, not painful feeling specifically
nibbānasappāya — conducive to extinguishment — the trio's own shared key term, repeated unaltered from SN 35.147
vedanā — feeling — declared suffering here regardless of whether it is itself painful, pleasant, or neutral
cakkhu, rūpā, cakkhuviññāṇaṁ, cakkhusamphasso — the eye, sights, eye consciousness, and eye contact — the same four elements as SN 35.147, now declared suffering rather than impermanent
anicca → dukkha → anattā — the canonical sequence's middle term, here standing alone rather than derived from impermanence

The text

The complete discourse: the practice conducive to extinguishment defined as suffering seen across each sense field's own five elements. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1“Mendicants, I will teach you a practice that’s conducive to extinguishment. Listen … And what is that practice that’s conducive to extinguishment?

§2It’s when a mendicant sees that the eye, sights, eye consciousness, and eye contact are suffering. And they see that the painful, pleasant, or neutral feeling that arises dependent on eye contact is also suffering. They see that the ear … nose … tongue … body … mind, ideas, mind-consciousness, and mind contact are suffering. And they see that the painful, pleasant, or neutral feeling that arises dependent on mind contact is also suffering. This is that practice that’s conducive to extinguishment.”

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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
How does this discourse relate structurally to SN 35.147, the previous discourse?
Correct: A. The trio's own logic depends on holding the frame constant while substituting one mark for another.
Question 2 of 5
Does this discourse declare only painful feeling to be suffering?
Correct: A. A broader use of dukkha than ordinary unpleasantness, applied to conditioned experience generally.
Question 3 of 5
Where does this discourse sit within the trio, and within the canonical three-mark sequence?
Correct: A. Between SN 35.147 (impermanence) and SN 35.149 (not-self).
Question 4 of 5
Does this discourse explicitly derive suffering from impermanence, the way the familiar three-step chain does?
Correct: A. Each of the trio's first three installments lets one mark stand alone, without yet chaining it to the others.
Question 5 of 5
How many elements per sense field does this discourse enumerate, matching SN 35.147?
Correct: A. The identical five-part structure as the trio's first installment.
Answered 0 of 5 · Correct 0

Further reading

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