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Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 36.5

Should Be Seen

Daṭṭhabbasutta — Sagāthāvagga

Setting
Not restated in this discourse
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the assembled mendicants
Form
A threefold prescription for how each feeling should be seen, followed by a two-verse elaboration
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
★★☆☆☆ — three sharp reframings, easy to state, worth sitting with

Why this discourse

This discourse gives each of the three feelings a single, specific way it “should be seen” (daṭṭhabba): pleasant feeling as suffering, painful feeling as a dart (salla), and neutral feeling as impermanent. This is the immediate predecessor to SN 36.6, this book's own famous “two arrows” discourse already published on this site — and the shared image of a salla, a dart or arrow, for painful feeling here anticipates the more elaborate arrow simile that discourse develops at length. A mendicant who sees all three feelings this way is described in language nearly identical to SN 36.3's own closing formula: seeing rightly, cutting off craving, casting off the fetters, and making an end of suffering.

Reading guide

Three feelings, three sharp specific reframings

Rather than a shared diagnosis applied to all three feelings equally (as in SN 36.2) or a matched tendency to be given up (as in SN 36.3), this discourse assigns each feeling its own distinct lens: pleasant feeling as suffering, painful feeling as a dart, neutral feeling as impermanent — three different reasons for the same underlying non-attachment.

A dart for painful feeling, anticipating the next discourse

The word salla (dart, or arrow) applied here to painful feeling directly anticipates SN 36.6's own extended “struck by an arrow” simile for the same feeling — this discourse supplies the single word, the next discourse builds an entire narrative image around it.

Pleasant feeling reframed as suffering, not merely limited

Calling pleasant feeling itself “suffering” (dukkhato daṭṭhabbā) is a stronger claim than saying pleasant feeling is impermanent or leads to suffering eventually — the discourse asks it to be seen as suffering directly, in the manner it should be seen right now.

A closing formula shared almost verbatim with SN 36.3

The verses' closing lines — complete understanding of feelings, freedom from defilements in this very life, a “knowledge master” (vedagū) “unreckonable” when the body breaks up — repeat SN 36.3's own closing verse almost word for word, confirming this saṃyutta uses a shared closing template across more than one discourse in this vagga.

Key terms

daṭṭhabbā — “should be seen” — the discourse's own governing verb, giving each feeling a specific way it ought to be viewed
sukhā vedanā dukkhato daṭṭhabbā — “pleasant feeling should be seen as suffering” — a direct reframing, not merely a warning about its impermanence
dukkhā vedanā sallato daṭṭhabbā — “painful feeling should be seen as a dart” — the same word, salla, that SN 36.6's own two-arrows simile will build an entire discourse around
adukkhamasukhā vedanā aniccato daṭṭhabbā — “neutral feeling should be seen as impermanent” — the third of the three distinct reframings
vedagū — “knowledge master” — the closing verse's own epithet, shared almost word for word with SN 36.3's own closing verse

The text

The complete discourse: the threefold prescription for how each feeling should be seen, and the closing verses. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1“Mendicants, there are these three feelings. What three? Pleasant, painful, and neutral feeling. Pleasant feeling should be seen as suffering. Painful feeling should be seen as a dart. Neutral feeling should be seen as impermanent. When a mendicant has seen these three feelings in this way, they’re called a mendicant who sees rightly, has cut off craving, cast off the fetters, and by rightly comprehending conceit has made an end of suffering.

§2A mendicant who sees pleasure as pain, and suffering as a dart, and that peaceful, neutral feeling as impermanent sees rightly; they completely understand feelings. Completely understanding feelings, they’re without defilements in this very life. That knowledge master is firm in principle; when their body breaks up, they can’t be reckoned.”

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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 three ways does this discourse say pleasant, painful, and neutral feeling should each be seen?
Correct: A. Three distinct, specific reframings — not a single shared diagnosis applied uniformly.
Question 2 of 5
What word does this discourse use for painful feeling that the very next discourse, SN 36.6, builds an extended simile around?
Correct: A. This discourse supplies the single word; SN 36.6 develops an entire "struck by an arrow" narrative from it.
Question 3 of 5
How strong a claim is "pleasant feeling should be seen as suffering," compared to saying it merely leads to suffering eventually?
Correct: A. Dukkhato daṭṭhabbā — a direct reframing in the present, not a warning about a future outcome.
Question 4 of 5
How does this discourse's closing verse relate to SN 36.3's own closing verse?
Correct: A. Both close on complete understanding, freedom from defilements, and the "knowledge master" (vedagū) epithet.
Question 5 of 5
What formula describes a mendicant who has seen all three feelings this way?
Correct: A. A formula nearly identical to SN 36.3's own description of a mendicant who has given up the three underlying tendencies.
Answered 0 of 5 · Correct 0

Further reading

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