Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 35.72

Six Fields of Contact (2nd)

Dutiyachaphassāyatanasutta — Migajālavagga

Setting
Not restated in this discourse
Speakers
The Buddha declaring; the same unnamed mendicant confessing discouragement; the Buddha then questioning him directly
Form
SN 35.71's own opening declaration and confession repeated verbatim, then a catechism inverted to ask whether the mendicant rightly does not regard each field as self, answered “yes” throughout
Length
~2 minutes 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 same content as SN 35.71, approached from its affirmed side

Why this discourse

This discourse repeats SN 35.71's own opening declaration and confession verbatim, then inverts the catechism's own polarity: rather than asking whether the mendicant wrongly regards each field as self (answered “no”), the Buddha now asks whether the mendicant already, rightly, regards each field as not-self (answered “yes”) — the same underlying content, approached from its affirmed rather than negated side. This discourse's own distinct closing refrain names each field by its own ordinal position within the sixfold list — “you will give up the first field of contact…the sixth field of contact” — a numbering this project has not seen used this explicitly elsewhere in Book IV, and ties the outcome directly to rebirth (“so that there are no more future lives”) rather than the more general “end of suffering” SN 35.71 used.

Reading guide

The same opening, once more

The identical declaration and confession that opened SN 35.71, repeated here to open its own inverted companion.

“Yes,” this time

Where SN 35.71 asked whether the mendicant wrongly self-identifies with each field (answered “no”), this discourse asks whether he already rightly does not (answered “yes”) — the same content, its polarity flipped.

Fields numbered, first through sixth

This discourse's own closing refrain names each field by ordinal position — “the first field of contact…the sixth field of contact” — an explicit numbering not used quite this way elsewhere in this book.

No more future lives

Rather than SN 35.71's own general “end of suffering,” this discourse ties giving up each field directly to rebirth: “so that there are no more future lives.”

Key terms

na etaṁ mama, na esohamasmi, na eso me attā — “this is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self” — the negated self-view formula, here affirmed as already true
paṭhamaṁ phassāyatanaṁ…chaṭṭhaṁ phassāyatanaṁ — the first field of contact…the sixth field of contact — this discourse's own explicit ordinal numbering
āyatiṁ punabbhava — future rebirth — what giving up each field is said to end
pajahissasi — “you will give up” — this discourse's own closing verb
anassāsa — discouraged, dismayed — the same confession carried over from SN 35.71

The text

The complete discourse: the same opening declaration and confession as SN 35.71, then the catechism inverted to “yes,” closing field by field on rebirth's end. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1“Mendicants, anyone who doesn’t truly understand the six fields of contact’s origin, disappearance, gratification, drawback, and escape has not completed the spiritual journey and is far from this teaching and training.” When he said this, one of the mendicants said to the Buddha, “Here, sir, I’m discouraged, really discouraged. For I don’t truly understand the six fields of contact’s origin, disappearance, gratification, drawback, and escape.”

§2“What do you think, mendicant? Do you regard the eye like this: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self’?” “Yes, sir.”

§3“Good, mendicant! And regarding the eye, you will truly see clearly with right wisdom that: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’ In this way you will give up the first field of contact, so that there are no more future lives. Do you regard the ear … nose … tongue … body … Do you regard the mind like this: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self’?” “Yes, sir.”

§4“Good, mendicant! And regarding the mind, you will truly see clearly with right wisdom that: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’ In this way you will give up the sixth field of contact, so that there are no more future lives.”

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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 discourse's own opening compare with SN 35.71's?
Correct: A. The same opening reused to launch this discourse's own inverted catechism.
Question 2 of 5
How does the catechism's own polarity differ from SN 35.71's?
Correct: A. The same content as SN 35.71, approached from its affirmed rather than negated side.
Question 3 of 5
What unusual detail does the closing refrain add, not present in SN 35.71's own refrain?
Correct: A. “The first field of contact…the sixth field of contact.”
Question 4 of 5
What outcome does the closing refrain tie the giving-up of each field to?
Correct: A. More specific than SN 35.71's own general “end of suffering.”
Question 5 of 5
What comes next, closing this triad and the vagga itself?
Correct: A. The third and final escalation, closing Migajālavagga.
Answered 0 of 5 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 35.71 · Six Fields of Contact (1st)