[page 1] SN 35.101 Saṁyutta Nikāya The Connected Discourses Saḷāyatanavagga Saṁyutta (Group of Connected Discourses On the Six Sense Spheres) Saḷāyatana Saṁyutta (Connected Discourses On the Six Sense Spheres) Saḷa Vagga (The Section on the Sixes) Paṭhama Natumhāka Sutta “They’re Not Yours!” (Part 1) Translated by Bhikkhu Candana Copyright © Bhikkhu Candana 2023 “Bhikkhus, whatever that is not yours, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “And what, Bhikkhus, is it that is not yours? 1. “The eye is not yours and never belonged to you! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Visible forms which the eyes see, are not yours either, and in fact, never belonged to you! So, just give them up and abandon them. For, the moment you give them up and abandon them, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Eye-consciousness, that is the distinction between the eye and visible forms, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Eye-contact that manifests due to eye-consciousness, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. [page 2] “And whatever kind of feeling that is triggered due to the eye-contact being made, as its condition, whether lovely or painful or neutral, that too, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. 2. “The ear is not yours and never belonged to you! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Audible sounds which the ears hear, are not yours either, and in fact, never belonged to you! So, just give them up and abandon them. For, the moment you give them up and abandon them, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Ear-consciousness, that is the distinction between the ear and audible sounds, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Ear-contact that manifests due to ear-consciousness, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “And whatever kind of feeling that is triggered due to the ear-contact being made, as its condition, whether lovely or painful or neutral, that too, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. 3. “The nose is not yours and never belonged to you! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Odors which the nose smells, are not yours either, and in fact, never belonged to you! So, just give them up and abandon them. For, the moment you give them up and abandon them, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Nose-consciousness, that is the distinction between the nose and odors, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Nose-contact that manifests due to nose-consciousness, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “And whatever kind of feeling that is triggered due to the nose-contact being made, as its condition, whether lovely or painful or neutral, that too, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. [page 3] 4. “The tongue is not yours and never belonged to you! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Flavors which the tongue tastes, are not yours either, and in fact, never belonged to you! So, just give them up and abandon them. For, the moment you give them up and abandon them, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Tongue-consciousness, that is the distinction between the tongue and flavors, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Tongue-contact that manifests due to tongue-consciousness, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “And whatever kind of feeling that is triggered due to the tongue-contact being made, as its condition, whether lovely or painful or neutral, that too, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. 5. “The physical body is not yours and never belonged to you! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Tactile objects which the body touches, are not yours either, and in fact, never belonged to you! So, just give them up and abandon them. For, the moment you give them up and abandon them, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Body-consciousness, that is the distinction between the body and tactile objects, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Body-contact that manifests due to body-consciousness, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “And whatever kind of feeling that is triggered due to the body-contact being made, as its condition, whether lovely or painful or neutral, that too, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. 6. “The mind is not yours and never belonged to you! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Mental objects, such as thoughts, ideas, or concepts which the mind cognizes or thinks about, are not yours either, and in fact, never belonged to you! So, just give them up and abandon them. [page 4] For, the moment you give them up and abandon them, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Mind-consciousness, that is the distinction between the mind and mental objects, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Mind-contact that manifests due to mind-consciousness, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “And whatever kind of feeling that is triggered due to the mind-contact being made, as its condition, whether lovely or painful or neutral, that too, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Imagine, Bhikkhus, that there were people who came by to this Jeta’s Park, and started to collect dry grass, leaves, twigs, and branches of trees, to do with them whatever they wanted, whether to burn them or take them away. “Now, in witnessing this, would you then start thinking to yourselves: ‘These laypeople have come to collect us, in order to burn us, or to carry us off with them, to do whatever they want with us?’ “No, Bhante. “And what is the reason for us not to be thinking this? “It is because, Bhante, whatever heap of material those laypeople are collecting is neither ourselves, nor in any way belongs to us.” “In just the same way, Bhikkhus, you must be reflecting as you carefully consider that, 1. “The eye is not yours and never belonged to you! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Visible forms which the eyes see, are not yours either, and in fact, never belonged to you! So, just give them up and abandon them. For, the moment you give them up and abandon them, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Eye-consciousness, that is the distinction between the eye and visible forms, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Eye-contact that manifests due to eye-consciousness, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. [page 5] “And whatever kind of feeling that is triggered due to the eye-contact being made, as its condition, whether lovely or painful or neutral, that too, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. 2. “The ear is not yours and never belonged to you! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Audible sounds which the ears hear, are not yours either, and in fact, never belonged to you! So, just give them up and abandon them. For, the moment you give them up and abandon them, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Ear-consciousness, that is the distinction between the ear and audible sounds, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Ear-contact that manifests due to ear-consciousness, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “And whatever kind of feeling that is triggered due to the ear-contact being made, as its condition, whether lovely or painful or neutral, that too, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. 3. “The nose is not yours and never belonged to you! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Odors which the nose smells, are not yours either, and in fact, never belonged to you! So, just give them up and abandon them. For, the moment you give them up and abandon them, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Nose-consciousness, that is the distinction between the nose and odors, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Nose-contact that manifests due to nose-consciousness, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “And whatever kind of feeling that is triggered due to the nose-contact being made, as its condition, whether lovely or painful or neutral, that too, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. [page 6] 4. “The tongue is not yours and never belonged to you! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Flavors which the tongue tastes, are not yours either, and in fact, never belonged to you! So, just give them up and abandon them. For, the moment you give them up and abandon them, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Tongue-consciousness, that is the distinction between the tongue and flavors, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Tongue-contact that manifests due to tongue-consciousness, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “And whatever kind of feeling that is triggered due to the tongue-contact being made, as its condition, whether lovely or painful or neutral, that too, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. 5. “The physical body is not yours and never belonged to you! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Tactile objects which the body touches, are not yours either, and in fact, never belonged to you! So, just give them up and abandon them. For, the moment you give them up and abandon them, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Body-consciousness, that is the distinction between the body and tactile objects, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Body-contact that manifests due to body-consciousness, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “And whatever kind of feeling that is triggered due to the body-contact being made, as its condition, whether lovely or painful or neutral, that too, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. 6. “The mind is not yours and never belonged to you! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Mental objects, such as thoughts, ideas, or concepts which the mind cognizes or thinks about, are not yours either, and in fact, never belonged to you! So, just give them up and abandon them. [page 7] For, the moment you give them up and abandon them, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Mind-consciousness, that is the distinction between the mind and mental objects, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “Mind-contact that manifests due to mind-consciousness, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. “And whatever kind of feeling that is triggered due to the mind-contact being made, as its condition, whether lovely or painful or neutral, that too, is not yours and never belonged to you, either! So, just give it up and abandon it. For, the moment you give it up and abandon it, you will gain much happiness and benefit, as a result. Sādhu Sādhu Sādhu