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Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourses 35.210–212

The Interior and What’s Not-Self in the Three Times

Ajjhattātītādiyadanattasutta — Saṭṭhipeyyālavagga

Setting
Not restated in this discourse
Speakers
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants
Form
Three discourses compressed into a single file, the chain reduced to its own single closing step
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 shortest chain entry point in this round

Why this discourse

This file completes round three's interior half: the chain reduced to its own single final step — “what's not-self should be seen: ‘this is not mine…’” — declared directly of the interior fields across past, future, and present, mirroring SN 22.17 (Yadanattāsutta), already published in Book III for the five aggregates.

Reading guide

The chain's own shortest entry point

Where SN 35.204-206 ran all four steps and SN 35.207-209 entered at the second, this file enters at the chain's own final step directly: not-self declared outright, followed immediately by “this is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self”.

Interior half of round three now complete

SN 35.204-212 together give round three's own three interior combinations, each entering the chain one step later than the last — mirroring SN 22.15-17's identical three-discourse progression for the five aggregates. SN 35.213 turns to the exterior sense fields.

Key terms

yadanattā, taṁ netaṁ mama… — “what's not-self, this is not mine…” — this file's own single-step entry into the chain, the shortest of round three's three interior combinations
anattā — not-self — declared directly here, rather than derived through the chain's earlier steps
atītaṁ anāgataṁ paccuppannaṁ — past, future, present — merged into this file's own single line, unchanged from SN 35.207-209
ajjhattikāyatana — the six interior sense fields — completing their own chain-formula cycle in round three with this file
bāhirāyatana — the six exterior sense fields — taken up next, starting at SN 35.213

The text

The complete merged file, apart from its own closing ellipsis: the declaration and the chain's own final step. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1“Mendicants, in the past … future … present the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are 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
How does this file's own entry point into the chain compare to SN 35.207-209's own?
Correct: A. The shortest of round three's three interior combinations, mirroring SN 22.17's own economy.
Question 2 of 5
What already-published discourse uses this identical single-step entry for the five aggregates?
Correct: A. SN 22.15-17 together show this same progressive shortening this vagga's SN 35.204-212 now mirrors.
Question 3 of 5
What does this file complete, together with SN 35.204-209?
Correct: A. SN 35.204-212 together give the interior half of round three's own combinatorial matrix.
Question 4 of 5
What begins immediately after this file, at SN 35.213?
Correct: A. SN 35.213-221 gives round three's exterior half, cycling through the same progressive shortening again.
Question 5 of 5
What time-values does this file merge into a single line?
Correct: A. Atītaṁ anāgataṁ paccuppannaṁ, unchanged from SN 35.207-209.
Answered 0 of 5 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 35.207–209 · The Interior and What’s Suffering in the Three Times