Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 35.86

A Teaching In Brief

Saṅkhittadhammasutta — Channavagga

Setting
Not restated in this discourse
Speakers
Venerable Ānanda requesting; the Buddha teaching
Form
A request for a brief teaching, answered with the full impermanent–suffering–not-self catechism run across all six sense fields, closing in the standard liberation refrain
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
★★☆☆☆ — a familiar formula, once the three-marks catechism is recognized

Why this discourse

Ānanda's third question closes this vagga's own opening trio with a different register entirely: not “how is X defined,” but a direct request — “may the Buddha please teach me Dhamma in brief” — so that he can go and meditate alone, withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute. The Buddha's answer is the project's own familiar three-marks catechism (impermanent, therefore suffering, therefore not fit to be regarded as self) run across the eye and its downstream links, then the remaining five sense fields, closing in the standard disillusionment-to-liberation refrain. This exact opening request — “teach me Dhamma in brief” — recurs twice more within this very vagga, put by Puṇṇa (SN 35.88) and Bāhiya (SN 35.89) in turn, each triggering a differently shaped response: this discourse's own full catechism is only the first of the three answers this formula receives here.

Reading guide

A different kind of request closes the opening trio

Where SN 35.84 and SN 35.85 asked how a term is defined, this discourse's own request is practical: Ānanda wants a teaching he can carry into solitary meditation, “in brief” (saṅkhittena).

The full three-marks catechism, eye through mind

Is the eye permanent or impermanent? Impermanent. Suffering, then. Fit to be regarded as “mine, I, my self”? No — the same three-step question run first for the eye and its downstream links, then repeated for the remaining five sense fields in turn.

A closing refrain, and a foreshadowing

Seeing this, a learned noble disciple grows disillusioned, desire fades, and freedom is known. This same “teach me Dhamma in brief” opening will recur twice more in this very vagga — for Puṇṇa (SN 35.88) and Bāhiya (SN 35.89) — each drawing a differently shaped answer from the Buddha.

Key terms

saṅkhittena — in brief — Ānanda's own request, contrasting the definitional questions of SN 35.84–85
anicca — impermanent — the first term of the three-marks catechism run across all six fields
dukkha — suffering — the second term, following directly from impermanence
etaṁ mama — “this is mine” — the opening clause of the self-view formula denied at each step of the catechism
nibbindati — grows disillusioned — the closing movement toward liberation, the common refrain word

The text

The complete discourse: Ānanda's request for a teaching in brief, answered with the full three-marks catechism across the six sense fields. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1Seated to one side, Venerable Ānanda said to the Buddha: “Sir, may the Buddha please teach me Dhamma in brief. When I’ve heard it, I’ll live alone, withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute.”

§2“What do you think, Ānanda? Is the eye permanent or impermanent?” “Impermanent, sir.” “But if it’s impermanent, is it suffering or happiness?” “Suffering, sir.” “But if it’s impermanent, suffering, and perishable, is it fit to be regarded thus: ‘This is mine, I am this, this is my self’?” “No, sir.”

§3“Are sights … eye consciousness … eye contact … The pleasant, painful, or neutral feeling that arises dependent on eye contact: is that permanent or impermanent?” “Impermanent, sir.” “But if it’s impermanent, is it suffering or happiness?” “Suffering, sir.” “But if it’s impermanent, suffering, and perishable, is it fit to be regarded thus: ‘This is mine, I am this, this is my self’?” “No, sir.” …

§4“Is the ear … nose … tongue … body … mind … The pleasant, painful, or neutral feeling that arises dependent on mind contact: is that permanent or impermanent?” “Impermanent, sir.” “But if it’s impermanent, is it suffering or happiness?” “Suffering, sir.” “But if it’s impermanent, suffering, and perishable, is it fit to be regarded thus: ‘This is mine, I am this, this is my self’?” “No, sir.”

§5“Seeing this, a learned noble disciple grows disillusioned with the eye, sights, eye consciousness, and eye contact. And they grow disillusioned with the painful, pleasant, or neutral feeling that arises dependent on eye contact. They grow disillusioned with the ear … nose … tongue … body … mind … painful, pleasant, or neutral feeling that arises dependent on mind contact. Being disillusioned, desire fades away. When desire fades away they’re freed. When they’re freed, they know they’re freed. They understand: ‘Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, 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
What does Ānanda request from the Buddha, unlike his questions at SN 35.84 and SN 35.85?
Correct: A. A practical request, not a definitional question.
Question 2 of 5
What three-step question does the Buddha run across each of the six sense fields?
Correct: A. The project's own familiar three-marks catechism.
Question 3 of 5
What does the catechism conclude for each of the six fields?
Correct: A. “No, sir” — consistently, for every field.
Question 4 of 5
What closing movement does the discourse describe once the catechism is seen through?
Correct: A. The standard liberation refrain closing the catechism.
Question 5 of 5
Where does this discourse's own opening request — “teach me Dhamma in brief” — recur within this vagga?
Correct: A. The identical formula, drawing two differently shaped answers in turn.
Answered 0 of 5 · Correct 0

Further reading

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