Sukhavihāri — Book of the Ones · Chapter One (Apaṇṇakavagga) · Poem 10 of 10 (closing the chapter)
Setting
An ascetic, addressed by a king, per the commentarial story
Speaker
The ascetic, addressing the king directly as ‘O king’
Form
One four-line stanza
Length
Under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
This reading guide does not assert a specific matching text for this poem in other Buddhist literatures.
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — one short verse, notable chiefly for its exact match elsewhere on this site
Why this text
This verse's third line is word-for-word identical to a line already complete on this site's own Thag 11.1 (Saṅkicca) — per Sujato's comment, the only difference is that the Theragātha version addresses a mendicant rather than a king. It closes out the Apaṇṇakavagga, this collection's first ten-poem chapter, with the chapter's own traditional summary verse following immediately after.
Reading guide
Freedom found in not guarding, and not being guarded
The verse states its principle plainly: ‘he who is not guarded by others, and who does not guard others, truly sleeps at ease, O king, unconcerned for sensual pleasures.’ Freedom from entanglement runs in both directions — not being watched over, and not watching over others — each a form of attachment given up.
An identical line already on this site, addressed differently
Sujato's own comment notes that this verse's third line is identical to a line already complete on this site at Thag 11.1 (Saṅkicca), except that the Theragātha version is addressed to a mendicant rather than a king — a striking case of the exact same formula being repurposed across two different collections and two different addressees.
A commentarial story of an ascetic who would not rise for a king
Per Sujato's comment, the traditional story concerns an ascetic who, lying in bliss, does not rise to greet a visiting king — the verse standing as this ascetic's own explanation for that apparent breach of courtesy: true ease comes precisely from not being bound by the mutual obligations of guarding and being guarded.
Closing the Apaṇṇakavagga
This poem closes the Apaṇṇakavagga, the first of eight chapters this site's selection draws from within the Ekakanipāta. The source text's own untranslated summary verse (uddāna) immediately follows, naming all ten poems of this chapter in sequence — not presented here as quoted text, since it carries no separate translation, but noted for completeness.
Key terms
na rakkhanti / na rakkhati — “not guarded... does not guard” — the verse's two-directional freedom, from being watched over and from watching over others.
sukhaṁ seti — “truly sleeps at ease” — the verse's image for the resulting freedom, giving this poem its traditional title.
kāmesu anapekkhavā — “unconcerned for sensual pleasures” — the verse's closing description of that ease.
Sukhavihārijātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘Living at Ease’.
Thag 11.1 — Saṅkicca — the already-completed page on this site whose own verse shares this poem's third line word for word, addressed to a mendicant instead of a king.
The text
The text in full: a single verse, whose third line is identical to a verse already complete on this site at Thag 11.1. The chapter's own untranslated closing summary verse (uddāna), which follows immediately in the source text, is not quoted here since it carries no English translation, but its content — the ten poem titles of this chapter in sequence — matches this reading guide's own further reading list below. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1He who is not guarded by others, and who does not guard others, truly sleeps at ease, O king, unconcerned for sensual pleasures.
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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 already-completed page on this site shares this verse's third line word for word?
Correct: B. A striking case of the exact same formula repurposed across two different collections.
Question 2 of 10
What two-directional freedom does the verse describe?
Correct: C. Each direction is treated as its own form of attachment given up.
Question 3 of 10
What does the (non-canonical) commentarial story say about the ascetic who speaks this verse?
Correct: D. The verse stands as his own explanation for this apparent breach of courtesy.
Question 4 of 10
What chapter does this poem close?
Correct: A. The source text's own untranslated summary verse (uddāna) follows immediately after.
Question 5 of 10
Is the chapter's closing summary verse (uddāna) presented as quoted text in this reading guide?
Correct: B. Consistent with this collection's practice of not presenting untranslated material as quoted canonical text.
Question 6 of 10
What does the verse's final line describe?
Correct: C. The closing quality of the ease the verse describes.
Question 7 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: D. The tenth and final poem in the Apaṇṇakavagga.
Question 8 of 10
Who is addressed as 'O king' in this verse?
Correct: A. Distinguishing this version of the shared line from its Theragātha counterpart, addressed to a mendicant instead.
Question 9 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: B. Its closing position is directly confirmed by the chapter's own summary verse following immediately after.
Question 10 of 10
How many chapters does this site's Jātaka selection draw poems from within the Ekakanipāta?
Correct: C. This site's 82-poem selection covers the first 79 of the Ekakanipāta's traditional poems, across eight chapters, plus three later outliers.
