The Buddha teaches on brittle, applying the analysis of the five aggregates—form, feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness—to insight and release.

SN 22.32 Brittle

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

“Pabhaṅguñca, bhikkhave, desessāmi appabhaṅguñca. Taṁ suṇātha.

Kiñca, bhikkhave, pabhaṅgu, kiṁ appabhaṅgu? Rūpaṁ, bhikkhave, pabhaṅgu. Yo tassa nirodho vūpasamo atthaṅgamo, idaṁ appabhaṅgu.

Vedanā pabhaṅgu. Yo tassā nirodho vūpasamo atthaṅgamo, idaṁ appabhaṅgu. Saññā pabhaṅgusaṅkhārā pabhaṅgu. Yo tesaṁ nirodho vūpasamo atthaṅgamo, idaṁ appabhaṅgu. Viññāṇaṁ pabhaṅgu. Yo tassa nirodho vūpasamo atthaṅgamo, idaṁ appabhaṅgū”ti.

Ekādasamaṁ.

Bhāravaggo tatiyo.

Tassuddānaṁ

Bhāraṁ pariññaṁ abhijānaṁ,
chandarāgaṁ catutthakaṁ;
Assādā ca tayo vuttā,
abhinandanamaṭṭhamaṁ;
Uppādaṁ aghamūlañca,
ekādasamo pabhaṅgūti.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

At Sāvatthī.

“Pabhaṅguñca, bhikkhave, desessāmi appabhaṅguñca.

“Mendicants, I will teach you what is brittle and what is not brittle.

Taṁ suṇātha.

Listen …

Kiñca, bhikkhave, pabhaṅgu, kiṁ appabhaṅgu?

And what is brittle? What is not brittle?

Rūpaṁ, bhikkhave, pabhaṅgu.

Form is brittle,

Yo tassa nirodho vūpasamo atthaṅgamo, idaṁ appabhaṅgu.

but its cessation, settling, and ending is not brittle.

Vedanā pabhaṅgu.

Feeling …

Yo tassā nirodho vūpasamo atthaṅgamo, idaṁ appabhaṅgu.

Saññā pabhaṅgu

perception …

saṅkhārā pabhaṅgu.

choices …

Yo tesaṁ nirodho vūpasamo atthaṅgamo, idaṁ appabhaṅgu.

Viññāṇaṁ pabhaṅgu.

consciousness is brittle,

Yo tassa nirodho vūpasamo atthaṅgamo, idaṁ appabhaṅgū”ti.

but its cessation, settling, and ending is not brittle.”

Ekādasamaṁ.

Bhāravaggo tatiyo.

Tassuddānaṁ

Bhāraṁ pariññaṁ abhijānaṁ,

chandarāgaṁ catutthakaṁ;

Assādā ca tayo vuttā,

abhinandanamaṭṭhamaṁ;

Uppādaṁ aghamūlañca,

ekādasamo pabhaṅgūti.

Qualities:

Ending

Ending

The complete exhaustion and ending of craving, aversion, and delusion—the three roots of suffering. It refers to both the gradual wearing away of defilements through practice and the final cessation that constitutes Nibbāna.

Also known as: cessation, exhaustion, gradual ending, wearing away
Pāli: khaya, khīṇa, nirodha
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Wisdom

Wisdom

Lived understanding and sound judgment that steers the mind away from suffering, distinct from mere accumulation of facts.

Also known as: (of a person) wise, astute, intelligent, learned, skilled, firm, stable, steadfast, an experiential understanding of the four noble truths
Pāli: paññā, medhā, dhīra, paṇḍita, asammūḷha
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Last updated on July 27, 2026