Reading guide
Completing a pair with SN 48.26
Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse's own structure exactly mirrors SN 48.26 — the same six sense faculties, the same fivefold lens (origin, disappearance, gratification, drawback, escape) — but names the higher attainment, arahantship, where SN 48.26 named stream-entry. This project's own earlier Vagga 1 (SN 48.2-5) already used this same stream-enterer/arahant pairing pattern, here recurring with the six sense faculties instead of the five spiritual ones.
Freed by not grasping: the qualifying difference
Confirmed by direct reading, the phrase distinguishing this discourse from SN 48.26 is “anupādāvimutto” (“freed by not grasping”) — where SN 48.26's own disciple merely UNDERSTANDS the six faculties and is called a stream-enterer, this discourse's own mendicant is freed through that understanding and is called a perfected one.
The classic full arahant formula
Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse closes with the canon's own classic full arahant formula — “khīṇāsavo vusitavā katakaraṇīyo ohitabhāro anuppattasadattho parikkhīṇabhavasaṁyojano sammadaññāvimutto” (“defilements ended, completed the spiritual journey, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, achieved their heart's goal, ended the fetter of continued existence, rightly freed through enlightenment”) — a formula this project has met before elsewhere in this saṃyutta's own earlier discourses.
Key terms
The text
§1“Mendicants, there are these six faculties. What six? The faculties of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. A mendicant comes to be freed by not grasping after truly understanding these six faculties’ origin, disappearance, gratification, drawback, and escape. Such a mendicant is called a perfected one, with defilements ended, who has completed the spiritual journey, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, achieved their heart’s goal, utterly ended the fetter of continued existence, and is rightly freed through enlightenment.”
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