A full worked example: the interior sense fields impermanent in the past, then the chain formula (impermanent→suffering→not-self→“not mine”) run for the eye and the mind
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
★★☆☆☆ — opens round three, combining two formulas this project has already met separately
Why this discourse
This discourse opens round three of Saṭṭhipeyyālavagga's own matrix, combining round two's past/future/present with a formula this project has not yet seen crossed with a time-value: the four-step chain — “what's impermanent is suffering, what's suffering is not-self, and what's not-self should be seen: ‘this is not mine…’” — already published at SN 22.15 for the five aggregates, timelessly. Here, for the first time in this project, the chain is run specifically for the past.
Reading guide
A formula this project already knows, given a new variable
SN 22.15 (Yadaniccasutta), already published in Book III, runs this identical chain — impermanent, therefore suffering, therefore not-self, therefore “this is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self” — for the five aggregates, without any time-value attached. This discourse crosses the same chain with round two's own past/future/present variable, a combination SN 22 itself never makes.
The longest text in this vagga so far
Sujato's own English spells out the full chain twice — once for the eye, once for the mind — before eliding the remaining four interior fields, making this discourse's own rendered text the fullest in Saṭṭhipeyyālavagga to date, even though the Pāli root itself runs the chain in full for all six fields.
A combination round two and SN 22 each keep separate
Book III keeps its own kālattaya formula (SN 22.9-11) and its own chain formula (SN 22.12-17) as two distinct sets, never crossed. Saṭṭhipeyyālavagga's own round three is the first place this project has found the two formulas combined into a single discourse.
Key terms
yadaniccaṁ, taṁ dukkhaṁ — “what's impermanent is suffering” — the chain's own first step, already published at SN 22.15
yaṁ dukkhaṁ, tadanattā — “what's suffering is not-self” — the chain's own second step, at SN 22.16
netaṁ mama, nesohamasmi, na meso attā — “this is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self” — the chain's own closing formula of right understanding
atīta — past — the time-value this discourse attaches to the chain, a combination not found elsewhere in this project
sammappaññā — right understanding — the faculty by which the chain's own final step should be seen
The text
The complete discourse: the chain formula, run in full for the eye, then again for the mind (the four remaining interior fields elided in translation, though the root spells out each in turn). Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, in the past the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind were impermanent. What’s impermanent 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.’ …”
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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 formula does this discourse combine with round two's own past/future/present variable?
Correct: A. The chain formula already familiar from SN 22.15-17, here crossed with a time-value for the first time in this project.
Question 2 of 5
What does SN 22.15-17, already published in Book III, run this identical chain for?
Correct: A. Book III keeps the chain formula and the three-times formula as two separate sets, never crossed — this vagga is the first to combine them.
Question 3 of 5
How does this discourse's own rendered English text compare to earlier discourses in this vagga?
Correct: A. Sujato's own English spells out the four-step chain in full for two sense fields before compressing the remainder.
Question 4 of 5
What time-value does this specific discourse (SN 35.204) address?
Correct: A. Atītaṁ — the past, the first of round three's own three time-values, before future (SN 35.205) and present (SN 35.206).
Question 5 of 5
What closing formula does the chain's own final step name?
Correct: A. Netaṁ mama, nesohamasmi, na meso attā — the classic three-part formula of not-self understanding.
