Near Sāvatthī, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery
Occasion
The Buddha watches Venerable Mahākaccāna meditating nearby, with mindfulness of the body well established
Form
A brief narrative frame with no recorded dialogue, closed by a six-line inspired utterance (udāna)
Length
<1 minute to read
Companion
A close structural twin of Ud 7.6, with the same sitting posture and silent frame, applied to a different disciple
Difficulty
★★★☆☆ — the verse's central formula is compressed and repays close, careful reading
Why this discourse, mindfulness observed
Venerable Mahākaccāna, elsewhere in the canon celebrated as the disciple most skilled at drawing out the full meaning of the Buddha’s brief statements, appears here simply sitting — not teaching, not explaining, just meditating with “mindfulness of the body… well-established.” The Buddha’s response describes exactly what that mindfulness looks like when practiced consistently, using a formula built around what will, and will not, exist.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Watching Mahākaccāna sit with body-focused mindfulness firmly in place, the Buddha describes, in verse, the exact contemplation that mindfulness sustains — a repeated noticing of what is not, and will not be, mine — and says that meditating on it stage by stage eventually carries a person across clinging entirely.
A near-twin of Ud 7.6
This discourse’s frame is close enough to Ud 7.6’s to be read as a structural pair: both open with a senior disciple sitting “not far from the Buddha, cross-legged, with his body straight,” both have the Buddha simply “see him meditating there,” and both close with a verse and no dialogue at all. Where Ud 7.6 named Koṇḍañña’s specific object of reflection as “the ending of craving,” this discourse names Mahākaccāna’s as “mindfulness of the body… well-established internally on the present” — a related but distinct practice, giving the pairing a sense of variation on a theme rather than mere repetition.
A disciple known for precision
Mahākaccāna appears elsewhere in the canon as the disciple most often called on to unpack a compressed statement of the Buddha’s into its full, explicit meaning — a role that makes his silent, wordless meditation here a notable contrast. There is no unpacking or explanation in this scene; simply a monk sitting in a well-established, embodied practice, and the Buddha responding to what he observes rather than to anything Mahākaccāna says.
What might not be, and what will not be
The verse’s central image is a formula repeated with small variations: “it might not be, and it might not be mine, it will not be, and it will not be mine.” This is a contemplation of non-self and impermanence turned toward the future rather than the present — not simply noting that the body changes now, but rehearsing, deliberately, that whatever currently exists as “me” or “mine” may cease to exist, and that this is workable rather than frightening. The verse frames this as something to be practiced with mindfulness “always… established in the body, constant” — not a single insight but a repeated, embodied rehearsal.
The closing lines describe the result as gradual rather than sudden: “meditating stage by stage on that, in time they’d cross over clinging.” This is one of the few verses in this chapter to describe liberation as a process unfolding “in time” rather than a single decisive event — a small but real contrast with, for instance, the sudden freedom described in Ud 7.1.
Key terms
kāyagatā sati (mindfulness of the body) — the specific practice Mahākaccāna is described as maintaining, treated as its own full topic elsewhere (see MN 119).
Mahākaccāna — a senior disciple elsewhere celebrated as foremost in explaining the Buddha’s brief statements in full detail; here shown silently meditating rather than teaching.
“it might not be, and it might not be mine” — the verse’s repeated contemplation formula, turning reflection on non-self and impermanence toward the future.
anupubbavihārī (meditating stage by stage) — the verse’s description of a gradual, sustained practice rather than one sudden insight.
visattikā (clinging) — what the verse says is eventually crossed “in time” through this sustained contemplation.
The text
The discourse in full — a brief narrative frame with no recorded dialogue, closed by a six-line inspired utterance. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Mindfulness, well established
§1So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Now at that time Venerable Mahākaccāna was sitting not far from the Buddha, cross-legged, with his body straight and mindfulness of the body well-established internally on the present.
§2The Buddha saw him meditating there.
§3Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha expressed this heartfelt sentiment:
The verse
§4“Their mindfulness would always
be established in the body, constant:
‘It might not be, and it might not be mine,
It will not be, and it will not be mine.’
Meditating stage by stage on that,
in time they’d cross over clinging.”
· · ·
Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What is Venerable Mahākaccāna doing at the start of this discourse?
Correct: B. The reading guide notes this silent meditation as a striking contrast to his usual role as an explainer.
Question 2 of 10
According to the reading guide, how is Mahākaccāna usually described elsewhere in the canon?
Correct: D. This makes his wordless meditation here a notable contrast within the discourse.
Question 3 of 10
What discourse in this chapter does the reading guide identify as this sutta's closest structural twin?
Correct: A. Both discourses open with a disciple sitting "not far from the Buddha, cross-legged, with his body straight."
Question 4 of 10
What is the verse's repeated contemplation formula?
Correct: C. This formula turns reflection on non-self and impermanence toward the future.
Question 5 of 10
According to the reading guide, what direction in time does this verse's contemplation formula turn toward, distinguishing it from a simple present-moment observation?
Correct: B. The formula is phrased in future and conditional terms: "might not be," "will not be."
Question 6 of 10
How does the verse describe the result of this sustained contemplation?
Correct: A. The reading guide contrasts this gradual description with the sudden freedom described in Ud 7.1.
Question 7 of 10
What does "kāyagatā sati" mean, and where is it treated at greater length in this reading series?
Correct: C. MN 119, Mindfulness of the Body, exists elsewhere on this site.
Question 8 of 10
Does the Buddha speak directly to Mahākaccāna in this discourse?
Correct: D. No dialogue is recorded in this discourse.
Question 9 of 10
What does "visattikā" (clinging) refer to in the verse's final line?
Correct: B. This is the state the whole contemplation is aimed at moving beyond.
Question 10 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: C. The same recurring setting used for most of the discourses in this chapter.
