Three discourses compressed into a single file, now addressing the six exterior sense fields across the three times
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 identical formula, one variable switched
Why this discourse
This file opens round two's exterior half: the identical past/future/present, impermanent/suffering/not-self matrix already run for the interior sense fields (SN 35.186-194), now applied to the six exterior sense fields — sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas, all six spelled out together on a single line.
Reading guide
The exterior sense fields, all six on one line
“Sights, mendicants, are impermanent in the past, future, and present. Sounds … smells … tastes … touches … and ideas are impermanent…” — unlike round one's own exterior files (SN 35.177-185), which spelled out each of the six fields on its own line, this file's own greater compression (three time-values already folded in) elides the middle four fields as well.
Round two's own matrix now fully visible
Round two mirrors round one's own two-half structure (interior, then exterior), each crossing three qualities with the new time-value variable — eighteen discourses per round, the same total round one's own closing uddāna will cite for its own matrix.
Key terms
bāhirāyatana — the six exterior sense fields — sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas, this file's own new subject
rūpā…dhammā — sights…ideas — the six exterior sense fields, compressed onto a single line in this file, unlike round one's own exterior files
anicca — impermanent — the quality declared here, the first of the exterior half's own three-quality cycle in round two
atītaṁ anāgataṁ paccuppannaṁ — past, future, present — the same three-time compression carried over from the interior half
ajjhattikāyatana — the six interior sense fields — already completed at SN 35.186-194, contrasted here with the exterior fields
The text
The complete merged file, apart from its own closing ellipsis: the declaration, naming each of the six exterior sense fields. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, in the past … future … present sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas 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 sense fields does this file address, opening round two's second half?
Correct: A. Bāhirāyatana, following the interior half's own completion at SN 35.186-194.
Question 2 of 5
How does this file's own treatment of the six sense fields compare to round one's own exterior files (SN 35.177-185)?
Correct: A. Round two's own greater compression (already carrying three time-values) elides the middle four fields as well.
Question 3 of 5
What quality does this file declare of the exterior sense fields?
Correct: A. The exterior half repeats the identical anicca/dukkha/anattā cycle already run for the interior fields.
Question 4 of 5
What time-values does this file compress into a single line?
Correct: A. Atītaṁ anāgataṁ paccuppannaṁ, carried over unchanged from the interior half.
Question 5 of 5
How many discourses does round two's exterior half (SN 35.195-203) cover in total?
Correct: A. SN 35.195-203 spans nine discourse numbers across three merged three-item files.
