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Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 36.8

The Infirmary (2nd)

Dutiyagelaññasutta — Sagāthāvagga

Setting
Vesālī, the Great Wood, the hall with the peaked roof, and the infirmary itself
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the assembled mendicants
Form
The same structure as SN 36.7, with contact (phassa) substituted for the body throughout, heavily compressed by bilara-data's own peyyāla markers
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
★★☆☆☆ — brief on the page, but the single substitution carries real weight

Why this discourse

This discourse restates SN 36.7 in the identical setting — the same infirmary, the same time of day, the same mindfulness and awareness instructions — with one systematic substitution: where the previous discourse traced every feeling's dependence to “this very body” (kāya), this one traces it to “this very contact” (phassa) instead. Bilara-data compresses most of the shared material with peyyāla markers and, at one point, an explicit instruction to the reciter — “tell in full as in the previous discourse” — rather than writing out the identical passage a second time.

Reading guide

The identical frame, one variable changed

The setting, the two-part mindfulness/awareness instruction, and the closing lamp simile all recur unchanged from SN 36.7; only the dependency named for each feeling changes, from the body to contact.

Contact as the more proximate cause

Where SN 36.7 traced feeling back to the body as a whole, this discourse names contact (phassa) specifically — the point of meeting between a sense faculty and its object — a more immediate link in the causal chain, one step closer to the feeling itself than the body that makes contact possible in the first place.

The compiler's own instruction left visible

Bilara-data preserves an editorial note not meant for the audience but for whoever recites or copies the text: “yathā purimasutte, tathā vitthāretabbo” (“tell in full as in the previous discourse”) — a rare moment where the mechanics of oral transmission are visible directly in the source rather than only inferred from a peyyāla marker.

A twin discourse, not a new teaching

As with SN 35.241/242's own paired tree-trunk twins earlier in this book, this discourse's own value lies in the single substitution it makes rather than in new content: body and contact are shown to be equally valid starting points for the identical impermanence reasoning.

Key terms

imameva phassaṁ paṭicca — “dependent on this very contact” — this discourse's own single substitution for SN 36.7's “this very body”
phasso anicco saṅkhato paṭiccasamuppanno — “contact is impermanent, conditioned, dependently originated” — the same threefold description SN 36.7 applied to the body, now applied to contact
yathā purimasutte, tathā vitthāretabbo — “tell in full as in the previous discourse” — an editorial instruction to the reciter, preserved directly in bilara-data's own root text
…pe… — the peyyāla (repetition) marker compressing most of the shared material with SN 36.7 rather than restating it
aṭṭhamaṁ — “eighth” — this discourse's own untranslated closing marker, its position within Sagāthāvagga

The text

The complete discourse as bilara-data preserves it — compressed throughout except for the contact substitution and the closing lamp simile. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1At one time the Buddha was staying near Vesālī, at the Great Wood, in the hall with the peaked roof. Then in the late afternoon, the Buddha came out of retreat and went to the infirmary, where he sat down on the seat spread out, and addressed the mendicants: “Mendicants, a mendicant should await their time mindful and aware. This is my instruction to you.

§2And how is a mendicant mindful? It’s when a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. They meditate observing an aspect of feelings … They meditate observing an aspect of the mind … They meditate observing an aspect of principles—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. That’s how a mendicant is mindful.

§3And how is a mendicant aware? It’s when a mendicant acts with situational awareness when going out and coming back; when looking ahead and aside; when bending and extending the limbs; when bearing the outer robe, bowl and robes; when eating, drinking, chewing, and tasting; when urinating and defecating; when walking, standing, sitting, sleeping, waking, speaking, and keeping silent. That’s how a mendicant is aware. A mendicant should await their time mindful and aware. This is my instruction to you.

§4While a mendicant is meditating like this—mindful, aware, diligent, keen, and resolute—if pleasant feelings arise, they understand: ‘A pleasant feeling has arisen in me. That’s dependent, not independent. Dependent on what? Dependent on this very contact. But this contact is impermanent, conditioned, dependently originated. So how could a pleasant feeling be permanent, since it has arisen dependent on contact that is impermanent, conditioned, and dependently originated?’ They meditate observing impermanence, vanishing, dispassion, cessation, and letting go in contact and pleasant feeling. As they do so, they give up the underlying tendency for greed for contact and pleasant feeling.

§5While a mendicant is meditating like this—mindful, aware, diligent, keen, and resolute—if painful feelings arise … if neutral feelings arise, they understand: ‘A neutral feeling has arisen in me. That’s dependent, not independent. Dependent on what? Dependent on this very contact. (Tell in full as in the previous discourse.) They understand: ‘When my body breaks up and my life is over, everything that’s felt, since I no longer take pleasure in it, will become cool right here.’

§6Suppose an oil lamp depended on oil and a wick to burn. As the oil and the wick are used up, it would be extinguished due to not being fed. In the same way, feeling the end of the body draw close, a mendicant understands: ‘I feel the end of the body draw close.’ Feeling the end of life draw close, they understand: ‘I feel the end of life draw close.’ They understand: ‘When my body breaks up and my life is over, everything that’s felt, since I no longer take pleasure in it, will become cool right here.’”

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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 single variable does this discourse change from SN 36.7?
Correct: A. The frame, instructions, and closing simile all recur unchanged — only the named dependency shifts.
Question 2 of 5
Why might contact be considered a more proximate cause of feeling than the body?
Correct: A. The body makes contact possible in the first place; contact is the more immediate link in the causal chain.
Question 3 of 5
What unusual textual feature does bilara-data preserve in this discourse?
Correct: A. Yathā purimasutte, tathā vitthāretabbo — the mechanics of oral transmission made visible in the source.
Question 4 of 5
How does this discourse compare to SN 35.241/242's own paired tree-trunk twins earlier in this book?
Correct: A. A recurring pattern in this book: twin discourses whose meaning lies in what single element changes.
Question 5 of 5
What does this discourse conclude, following the same reasoning as SN 36.7?
Correct: A. The identical impermanence reasoning, run with contact substituted for the body throughout.
Answered 0 of 5 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 36.7 · The Infirmary (1st)