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SN 22.9PTS SN 3.191 min read

Impermanence in the Three Times

Kālattayaaniccasutta

The aggregates are impermanent in the past and future as in the present.

Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 22.9Linked Discourses 22.9
  • 0.21. Nakulapituvagga1. Nakula’s Father

0.3KālattayaaniccasuttaImpermanence in the Three Times

1.1Sāvatthinidānaṁ.At Sāvatthī.

1.2“Rūpaṁ, bhikkhave, aniccaṁ atītānāgataṁ;“Mendicants, form of the past and future is impermanent,1.3ko pana vādo paccuppannassa.let alone the present.

1.4Evaṁ passaṁ, bhikkhave, sutavā ariyasāvako atītasmiṁ rūpasmiṁ anapekkho hoti;Seeing this, a learned noble disciple is not concerned with past form,1.5anāgataṁ rūpaṁ nābhinandati;doesn’t look forward to enjoying future form,11.6paccuppannassa rūpassa nibbidāya virāgāya nirodhāya paṭipanno hoti.and they practice for disillusionment, dispassion, and cessation regarding present form.

1.7Vedanā aniccā …pe…Feeling …

1.8saññā aniccā …Perception …

1.9saṅkhārā aniccā atītānāgatā;Choices …1.10ko pana vādo paccuppannānaṁ.

1.11Evaṁ passaṁ, bhikkhave, sutavā ariyasāvako atītesu saṅkhāresu anapekkho hoti;1.12anāgate saṅkhāre nābhinandati;1.13paccuppannānaṁ saṅkhārānaṁ nibbidāya virāgāya nirodhāya paṭipanno hoti.1.14Viññāṇaṁ aniccaṁ atītānāgataṁ;Consciousness of the past and future is impermanent,1.15ko pana vādo paccuppannassa.let alone the present.

1.16Evaṁ passaṁ, bhikkhave, sutavā ariyasāvako atītasmiṁ viññāṇasmiṁ anapekkho hoti;Seeing this, a learned noble disciple is not concerned with past consciousness,1.17anāgataṁ viññāṇaṁ nābhinandati;doesn’t look forward to enjoying future consciousness,1.18paccuppannassa viññāṇassa nibbidāya virāgāya nirodhāya paṭipanno hotī”ti.and they practice for disillusionment, dispassion, and cessation regarding present consciousness.”

1.19Navamaṁ.

Translator’s notes

  1. In similar contexts, anapekkha (“concern”) and abhinandati are regularly oriented toward the past and future respectively. Nanda and its variants straddle the meanings of “take pleasure” and “crave”. Here the prefix abhi- conveys the sense of “facing toward” in the sense “look forward to enjoying”.

    ↩ sn22.9:1.5