The Exterior and What’s Not-Self in the Three Times
Bāhirātītādiyadanattasutta — Saṭṭhipeyyālavagga
Setting
Not restated in this discourse
Speakers
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants
Form
The identical structure as SN 35.213-218, with not-self declared directly, closing round three
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 round three's own eighteen-discourse matrix
Why this discourse
This file closes round three of Saṭṭhipeyyālavagga's own matrix: the exterior sense fields declared not-self directly, entering the chain at its own shortest, final step, across past, future, and present — completing a third eighteen-discourse round, the count the vagga's own closing colophon will confirm as “yadaniccā aṭṭhārasa vuttā” (“‘whatever is impermanent,’ eighteen are told”).
Reading guide
Not-self, closing round three's exterior half
“Sights, mendicants, are not-self in the past, future, and present…” completes the exterior half's own progressive shortening in round three, mirroring the identical interior sequence at SN 35.204-212.
Round three complete: a third eighteen-discourse round
SN 35.204 through 35.221 together give round three's full matrix — the chain formula, crossed with past/future/present, entered one step later at each of the six combinations. Eighteen discourses total, matching the vagga's own closing uddāna: “yadaniccā aṭṭhārasa vuttā, tayo ajjhattabāhirā” (“‘whatever is impermanent,’ eighteen are told, three each for interior and exterior”).
Round four begins next: the timeless individual set
SN 35.222 opens round four, the vagga's own final round and, at only six discourses, its smallest — the interior/exterior split crossed with impermanent/suffering/not-self one final time, now timeless and each combination kept as its own separate file, mirroring SN 22.12-14's identical timeless, individual treatment of the five aggregates.
yadaniccā aṭṭhārasa vuttā — “‘whatever is impermanent,’ eighteen are told” — the vagga's own closing uddāna (at SN 35.227), confirming round three's own eighteen-discourse total
bāhirāyatana — the six exterior sense fields — completing their own chain-formula cycle in round three with this file
atītaṁ anāgataṁ paccuppannaṁ — past, future, present — unchanged across all eighteen discourses of round three
tayo ajjhattabāhirā — “three each for interior and exterior” — the closing uddāna's own gloss on how round three's eighteen discourses divide
The text
The complete merged file, apart from its own closing ellipsis: the declaration, naming each of the six exterior sense fields, then the chain's own final step. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, in the past … future … present sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas 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
What quality does this file declare of the exterior sense fields, closing round three's own matrix?
Correct: A. Anattā, entered at the chain's own shortest, final step, closing round three's exterior half.
Question 2 of 5
What untranslated phrase from the vagga's own closing colophon confirms round three's own count?
Correct: A. This line from the closing uddāna specifically names round three's own eighteen-discourse total, naming it for the chain formula's own key term, yadaniccaṁ.
Question 3 of 5
What changes in round four, beginning at SN 35.222?
Correct: A. Round four is the vagga's own smallest round, six discourses, each kept as its own file.
Question 4 of 5
How many discourses does round three's full matrix (SN 35.204-221) contain in total?
Correct: A. The identical eighteen-discourse structure as rounds one and two, with the chain formula as this round's own addition.
Question 5 of 5
What sense fields does this file address?
Correct: A. Bāhirāyatana, completing the exterior half begun at SN 35.213.
