The identical structure as SN 35.177-182, with not-self (anattā) substituted, closing round one
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
★☆☆☆☆ — closes round one's own eighteen-discourse matrix
Why this discourse
This file closes round one of Saṭṭhipeyyālavagga's own combinatorial design: the exterior sense fields declared not-self, completing a full eighteen-discourse matrix (interior/exterior × impermanent/suffering/not-self × desire/greed/both) that the vagga's own closing colophon (at SN 35.227) will later confirm in its own untranslated arithmetic: “chandena aṭṭhārasa honti” (“with desire, there are eighteen”).
Reading guide
Not-self, closing round one's exterior half
“Rūpā, bhikkhave, anattā…” (“sights, mendicants, are not-self…”) completes the exterior half's own three-quality cycle — impermanent at SN 35.177-179, suffering at SN 35.180-182, not-self here — mirroring the identical interior sequence at SN 35.168-176.
Round one complete: eighteen discourses
SN 35.168 through 35.185 together give round one's full matrix: two halves (interior, exterior), each crossing three qualities with three variants of what is to be given up — eighteen discourses total, the exact count the vagga's own closing uddāna will later cite as “chandena aṭṭhārasa” (“with desire, eighteen”).
Round two begins next, with a different second variable
SN 35.186 opens round two, keeping the same interior/exterior × impermanent/suffering/not-self structure but replacing the desire/greed/both variable with past/future/present — and, this reading guide notes without yet asserting more, attaching the project's own familiar full disillusionment-to-liberation formula rather than a simple instruction to give up.
Key terms
anattā — not-self — the quality declared here, closing the exterior half's own three-mark cycle
rūpā, bhikkhave, anattā — “sights, mendicants, are not-self” — this file's own opening line
chandena aṭṭhārasa honti — “with desire, there are eighteen” — the vagga's own closing uddāna (at SN 35.227), confirming this round's own total count
bāhirāyatana — the six exterior sense fields — completing their own three-quality cycle with this file, mirroring the interior fields at SN 35.174-176
chando pahātabbo, rāgo pahātabbo, chandarāgo pahātabbo — the same three-variant compression, unchanged across all eighteen discourses of round one
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?
§2Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas are not-self …”
· · ·
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 exterior sense fields, closing round one's own matrix?
Correct: A. Anattā closes the exterior half's own three-mark cycle, following anicca and dukkha.
Question 2 of 5
How many discourses does round one's full matrix (SN 35.168-185) contain in total?
Correct: A. The vagga's own closing uddāna (at SN 35.227) later confirms this count: “chandena aṭṭhārasa honti.”
Question 3 of 5
What untranslated phrase from the vagga's own closing colophon confirms round one's own count?
Correct: A. This line from the closing uddāna specifically names round one's own eighteen-discourse total.
Question 4 of 5
What changes in round two, beginning at SN 35.186?
Correct: A. Round two keeps the same two-quality structure but swaps in a new second variable and a longer formula.
Question 5 of 5
What sense fields does this file address?
Correct: A. Bāhirāyatana, completing the exterior half begun at SN 35.177.
