The same six-field declaration as SN 35.1, opening midway through the chain at suffering rather than impermanence
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
★★☆☆☆ — straightforward once SN 35.1's own chain is clear
Why this discourse
This discourse opens the chain one link later than SN 35.1: rather than starting from impermanence, it declares the six interior sense fields suffering directly, then derives not-self from that — the second of three terms (impermanent, suffering, not-self) this vagga will systematically apply to both the interior and exterior sense fields, with and without the three-times dimension.
Reading guide
Starting midway through the chain
"The eye is suffering. What's suffering is not-self" — this discourse begins one step later than SN 35.1, treating suffering as the given starting point rather than deriving it from impermanence first.
The same six fields, more concisely listed
Where SN 35.1 named each of the six interior fields with its own full sentence, this discourse compresses ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind into a single list after the eye's own full treatment.
The closing formula, now itself compressed
"Seeing this …" and "they understand: '… there is nothing further for this place'" — SN 35.1's own closing liberation sequence is here elided, trusting the reader to supply it from the previous discourse.
Second of this vagga's own three-term cycle
With impermanence (SN 35.1) and now suffering both applied to the interior sense fields, only not-self (SN 35.3) remains to complete this vagga's own first three-discourse cycle before the exterior sense fields receive the identical treatment at SN 35.4–6.
Key terms
dukkha — suffering — this discourse's own starting point, the second term in this vagga's own three-part cycle
anicca — impermanent — SN 35.1's own starting point, not restated here
anattā — not-self — the term this discourse derives directly from suffering
ajjhatta — interior — the six sense faculties this discourse concerns, matching SN 35.1's own focus
peyyāla — an elision mark — here compressing both the middle four sense fields and the closing liberation formula
The text
The complete discourse, with the middle sense fields and closing formula compressed exactly as bilara-data preserves them. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, the eye is suffering. What’s suffering is not-self. And what’s not-self should be truly seen with right understanding like this: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’ The ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are suffering. What’s suffering is not-self. And what’s not-self should be truly seen with right understanding like this: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’ Seeing this … They understand: ‘… there is nothing further for this place.’”
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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
Where does this discourse begin, unlike SN 35.1's own full three-step chain?
Correct: A. Suffering is treated as the given starting point here, with not-self derived from it.
Question 2 of 5
How does this discourse present the middle four sense fields (ear, nose, tongue, body)?
Correct: A. Only the eye receives full treatment before the rest are listed together.
Question 3 of 5
What happens to SN 35.1's own closing liberation formula in this discourse?
Correct: A. "Seeing this …" stands in for the full sequence given at SN 35.1.
Question 4 of 5
Where does this discourse fall in this vagga's own three-term cycle?
Correct: A. Not-self at SN 35.3 will complete this vagga's own first three-discourse cycle.
Question 5 of 5
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. Consistent with this saṃyutta's other discourses.
