The Buddha alone, addressing the assembled mendicants
Form
The same two-step chain as SN 35.158, run for the six exterior sense fields instead of the six interior ones
Length
~2 minutes 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
★☆☆☆☆ — closes the vagga's opening quartet
Why this discourse
This discourse closes the four-discourse opening set SN 35.156 began: interior and exterior, single-step and two-step, in the four possible combinations. This one supplies the last combination — the two-step rational-attention opening, run for the six exterior sense fields. As with SN 35.157, the interior/exterior split has no counterpart in the five-aggregate scheme, so this discourse's content, like its companion, is genuinely new rather than a second setting of already-published material.
Reading guide
The quartet's fourth and final combination
SN 35.156 (interior, single-step), SN 35.157 (exterior, single-step), and SN 35.158 (interior, two-step) precede this discourse's own exterior, two-step combination — completing all four possible pairings of the vagga's two variables.
The two-step opening, restated for exterior fields
“Rationally apply the mind to sights. Truly see the impermanence of sights” opens the chain, exactly as SN 35.158 opened it for the eye — the same substitution, now for the exterior half of the sense-field scheme.
A quartet, not four unrelated pieces
Read together, SN 35.156-159 form a small, complete system: every field (interior or exterior) meets every opening act (seeing directly, or rationally applying attention first) exactly once, before the vagga moves on to new material at SN 35.160.
Key terms
yoniso manasi karotha — “rationally apply the mind” — the same opening act as SN 35.158's, here directed at the exterior fields
rūpāniccatā — the impermanence of sights — what rational attention and true seeing are directed toward in this discourse
nandikkhayā rāgakkhayo, rāgakkhayā nandikkhayo — “when relishing ends, greed ends; when greed ends, relishing ends” — the mutual-ending formula, unchanged across all four discourses of this opening quartet
bāhirāni āyatanāni — the exterior sense fields — this discourse's own subject, completing the quartet's four combinations
nibbindati — grows disillusioned — the outcome shared by all four discourses of this opening set
The text
The complete discourse, apart from its own closing count (left untranslated and not quoted): the two-step opening and its chain, run for sights, compressed through the remaining exterior fields, then given in full again for ideas. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, rationally apply the mind to sights. Truly see the impermanence of sights. When a mendicant does this, they grow disillusioned with sights. When relishing ends, greed ends. When greed ends, relishing ends. When relishing and greed end, the mind is said to be well freed. Rationally apply the mind to sounds … smells … tastes … touches … ideas. Truly see the impermanence of ideas. When a mendicant does this, they grow disillusioned with ideas. When relishing ends, greed ends. When greed ends, relishing ends. When relishing and greed end, the mind is said to be well freed.”
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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 is the fourth and final combination this discourse supplies, completing the opening quartet SN 35.156 began?
Correct: A. Interior/exterior crossed with single-step/two-step gives exactly four combinations.
Question 2 of 5
How does this discourse's own opening act compare to SN 35.158's?
Correct: A. The same two-step substitution, now for sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas.
Question 3 of 5
What do SN 35.156-159, read together, form?
Correct: A. Every field (interior or exterior) meets every opening act (direct seeing or rational attention) exactly once.
Question 4 of 5
Why does this discourse, like SN 35.157, have no direct counterpart among already-published five-aggregate discourses?
Correct: A. The exterior half of this quartet is genuinely new material, not a second setting of SN 22.52.
Question 5 of 5
What follows once this quartet closes at SN 35.159?
Correct: A. Eight discourses remain in Nandikkhayavagga after this quartet.
