Liable to Wear Out

SN 35.84 · Palokadhammasutta

Water flowing gently around weathered stones and moss in a mountain stream.

At Sāvatthī.

Then Venerable Ānanda went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him:

“Sir, they speak of this thing called ‘the world’. How is the world defined?”

“Ānanda, that which is liable to wear out is called the world in the training of the Noble One. And what is liable to wear out? The eye is liable to wear out. Sights … eye consciousness … eye contact is liable to wear out. The painful, pleasant, or neutral feeling that arises dependent on eye contact is also liable to wear out.

The ear … nose … tongue … body …. The mind … ideas … mind consciousness … mind contact is liable to wear out. The painful, pleasant, or neutral feeling that arises dependent on mind contact is also liable to wear out.

That which is liable to wear out is called the world in the training of the Noble One.”

Connections

Collection & context

Saṃyutta NikāyaThe collection containing this text
The Pāli canonCanonical collection in which this edition is preserved
Theravāda traditionsTransmission and study context
The early Buddhist communityHistorical and traditional setting

Books

The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Saṃyutta NikāyaBhikkhu Bodhi; Bhikkhu Bodhi (translator) · Complete collection edition

About this edition

Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato · SuttaCentral · CC0

This translation is an expression of an ancient spiritual text that has been passed down by the Buddhist tradition for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is dedicated to the public domain via Creative Commons Zero (CC0). You are encouraged to copy, reproduce, adapt, alter, or otherwise make use of this translation. The translator respectfully requests that any use be in accordance with the values and principles of the Buddhist community. In particular, please do not use this work in AI training datasets, for the development of any AI model or algorithm, or in any AI-derived technologies.

Published source. Translation wording and order are preserved; source headings and notes are retained, with navigation and formatting adapted for this reader.

The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.