Three discourses compressed into a single file, identical in shape to SN 35.171-173
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 third and final quality in round one's interior half
Why this discourse
This file completes round one's interior half: the six interior sense fields now declared not-self (anattā), the third of the three qualities cycled through — impermanent at SN 35.168-170, suffering at SN 35.171-173, not-self here — with the identical desire/greed/both compression.
Reading guide
Not-self completes the three-mark cycle
“Yo, bhikkhave, anattā…” (“what is not-self…”) opens this file, using a different interrogative pronoun (yo/ko, “who/what”) than SN 35.168-173's own yaṁ/kiñca (“which/what”) — a small grammatical adjustment the not-self declaration requires, that impermanence and suffering do not.
Interior half of round one now complete
SN 35.168-176 together give round one's own three interior combinations (impermanent, suffering, not-self), each crossed with desire/greed/both. SN 35.177 turns to the same three qualities applied to the exterior sense fields.
Key terms
anattā — not-self — the quality declared here, completing round one's three-mark cycle after anicca and dukkha
yo, bhikkhave, anattā — “what, mendicants, is not-self” — this file's own opening question, using yo rather than the yaṁ used for anicca and dukkha
chando pahātabbo, rāgo pahātabbo, chandarāgo pahātabbo — the same three-variant compression as SN 35.171-173, unchanged apart from the quality declared
ajjhattikāyatana — the six interior sense fields — completing their own three-quality cycle with this file
bāhirāyatana — the six exterior sense fields — taken up next, starting at SN 35.177
The text
The complete merged file: the instruction, then the definition of what is not-self. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, you should give up desire … greed … desire and greed for what is not-self. And what is not-self?
§2The eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are not-self …”
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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 quality does this file declare of the six interior sense fields, completing round one's three-mark cycle?
Correct: A. Anattā, following anicca at SN 35.168-170 and dukkha at SN 35.171-173.
Question 2 of 5
What small grammatical difference marks this file's opening question, compared to the impermanence and suffering files?
Correct: A. A grammatical adjustment the not-self declaration itself requires.
Question 3 of 5
What does this file complete, together with SN 35.168-173?
Correct: A. SN 35.168-176 together give the interior half of round one's own combinatorial matrix.
Question 4 of 5
What begins immediately after this file, at SN 35.177?
Correct: A. SN 35.177-185 give round one's exterior half, cycling through the same three qualities again.
Question 5 of 5
How is the desire/greed/both compression handled in this file, compared to SN 35.171-173?
Correct: A. The same compression pattern established at SN 35.171-173 continues unchanged.
