Rukkhadhamma — Book of the Ones · Chapter Eight (Varuṇavagga) · Poem 4 of 9
Setting
No narrative scene in the canonical verse itself
Speaker
Unspecified in the canonical verse itself
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
★☆☆☆☆ — a simple proverb about trees, standing in for a story about something else entirely
Why this text
The verse speaks only of trees, but per Sujato's comment the underlying story is about tree-dwelling deities, advised to cluster together in the forest rather than set up home alone in villages out of greed for offerings — a case where the verse's surface image and its story's real subject diverge, echoing the safety-in-numbers theme already opened at this site's own Ja 31.
Reading guide
A proverb about solitary trees and the wind
The verse states its proverb plainly: it is well for many relatives, even trees born in the forest — the wind sweeps off one standing alone, even the enormous lord of the forest itself. Size alone is no protection against isolation.
Per Sujato's comment, the verse is about trees, but the story is about something else
Sujato's comment notes that while the verse speaks only of trees, the story it illustrates is about the deities who live in trees: they are advised to dwell only in those clustered together in the forest. Some deities, however, greedy for human offerings, set up home instead in trees worshipped as shrines by villages — standing alone, and so exposed. This reading guide notes a resonance, without asserting a direct textual connection, with this site's own Ja 31, which opens its own chapter on the same underlying theme: safety found in clustering together rather than settling alone.
Key terms
Sādhū sambahulā ñātī — “it is well for the many relatives” — the verse's opening statement of its proverb.
Vāto vahati ekaṭṭhaṁ — “the wind sweeps off one standing alone” — the verse's central image of isolated vulnerability.
brahantampi vanappatiṁ — “even the enormous lord of the forest” — the verse's point that size alone offers no protection against standing alone.
Rukkhadhammajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘The Law of Trees’.
Ja 31 — this site's already-completed page, ‘Nests’, opening its own chapter on a resonant theme of safety found in clustering together.
The text
The text in full: a single verse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1It is well for the many relatives, the trees born in the forest. The wind sweeps off one standing alone, even the enormous lord of the forest.
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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 does the verse say is well, even for trees born in the forest?
Correct: B. The verse's opening statement of its own proverb.
Question 2 of 10
What does the wind do to a tree standing alone, per the verse?
Correct: C. Size alone offers no protection against standing alone.
Question 3 of 10
Per Sujato's comment, who is the story actually about, though the verse speaks only of trees?
Correct: D. A case where the verse's surface image and the story's real subject diverge.
Question 4 of 10
What are these tree-dwelling deities advised to do, per the comment?
Correct: A. The same clustering-for-safety principle the verse states about trees.
Question 5 of 10
Why do some deities instead set up home alone in village shrine-trees, per the comment?
Correct: B. A motive that leaves them standing alone, and so exposed.
Question 6 of 10
What already-completed page on this site does this reading guide note a resonance with?
Correct: C. Both open their own chapters on the same underlying theme of safety in numbers.
Question 7 of 10
How does this reading guide frame that resonance?
Correct: D. Consistent with this site's practice of not overclaiming connections the source material doesn't itself assert.
Question 8 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: A. The seventy-fourth poem overall, and the fourth of the Varuṇavagga.
Question 9 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the chapter's structure?
Correct: B. Part of the same nine-poem selection from the Varuṇavagga.
Question 10 of 10
What is the relationship between the verse's surface image and the story's real subject, per this reading guide?
Correct: C. A distinction this reading guide draws out explicitly, per Sujato's own comment.
