The identical structure as SN 35.186-187, with “present” substituted
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
★☆☆☆☆ — closes the three-file opening unit
Why this discourse
This discourse closes round two's opening trio, declaring the interior sense fields impermanent in the present — completing past (SN 35.186), future (SN 35.187), and present here — before SN 35.189 begins merging all three time-values into a single line per file, exactly as round one's own desire/greed/both trio gave way to merged files after its own opening three.
Reading guide
The present, completing the opening trio
“In the present the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are impermanent…” completes the three time-values this opening trio spells out one file each — past, future, present — before the compression pattern this project has now seen twice (round one's own SN 35.171 onward) repeats itself.
A pattern confirmed a second time
Round two's own opening three-item unit (SN 35.186-188), kept as three separate files exactly as round one's own opening trio (SN 35.168-170) was, confirms this is a structural feature of the whole vagga: whichever combination sits first within a round gets three separate files, and every later combination in that round merges its own three-item unit into one.
Key terms
paccuppanna — present — this discourse's own time-value, the third and last of round two's opening trio
cakkhu…aniccaṁ paccuppannaṁ — “the eye…is impermanent [in the present]” — this discourse's own opening declaration
atīta, anāgata — past, future — SN 35.186's and 35.187's own time-values, now joined by this discourse's present
ajjhattikāyatana — the six interior sense fields — unchanged across all three discourses of this opening trio
peyyāla — an elision mark — the compression that will merge all three time-values into a single line beginning at SN 35.189
The text
The complete discourse, apart from its own closing ellipsis (Sujato's own English elides the liberation formula already spelled out at SN 35.186): the declaration. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, in the present the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are impermanent …”
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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 time-value does this discourse address, completing round two's opening trio?
Correct: A. Paccuppannaṁ, the third of three, completing past (SN 35.186) and future (SN 35.187).
Question 2 of 5
What compression pattern does SN 35.189 begin, immediately after this discourse?
Correct: A. The same structural pattern round one already established: three separate files first, then merged files for the remaining combinations.
Question 3 of 5
What does the repetition of this three-separate-files-then-merge pattern across both round one and round two confirm?
Correct: A. Both rounds open with three separate files before compressing their remaining combinations into merged files.
Question 4 of 5
What sense fields does this discourse address?
Correct: A. Ajjhattikāyatana, exactly as in SN 35.186-187; only the time-value changes.
Question 5 of 5
What quality is declared of the interior sense fields across SN 35.186-188?
Correct: A. Anicca stays constant across this opening trio; only the time-value varies, exactly as round one held anicca constant while desire/greed/both varied.
