Not narrated in this discourse's source text; presumably the same recurring frame as the rest of this vagga
Speakers
Not named explicitly; a question describing a social condition, answered by naming its exception
Form
A two-verse question, answered by a verse naming who escapes the condition it describes
Length
~1 minute to read
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — direct in form, echoing this vagga's earlier imagery closely
An echo of earlier imagery
This discourse's answer names home, child, and cattle almost exactly as SN 1.12 and SN 1.19 do, earlier in this collection
Why this discourse
The question describes a social condition rather than asking a riddle: the affluent and wealthy, even ruling aristocrats, are jealous of one another and insatiable in sensual pleasure. Among people of such an avid nature, flowing along the stream of repeated lives, who has actually given up craving? Who in the world is not avid? The answer names those who gave up their home, their child, their cattle, and everything they loved to go forth — having given up desire, hate, and ignorance, the arahants are the ones, in the whole world, who are not avid.
Reading guide
A social diagnosis, not a riddle
Where several discourses in this vagga open with a puzzle or a paradox, this one opens with a plain observation about wealth and status: even those with the most resources remain jealous and insatiable. The verse takes this as a given, rather than something needing to be proven, before asking who escapes it.
Home, child, and cattle, given up
The answer's list of what is renounced — gharaṁ (home), puttaṁ (child), pasuṁ (cattle) — closely echoes the vocabulary of two earlier discourses in this collection: SN 1.12's list of children and cattle as sources of delight and sorrow, and SN 1.19's coded list of hut, nest, network, and shackle. This discourse names the same objects directly, without the riddle-form of either earlier treatment.
Wealth and renunciation, contrasted directly
Unlike SN 1.13's redirection of worldly superlatives toward inward counterparts, this discourse simply contrasts two groups outright: the affluent, caught in jealousy and insatiability regardless of their resources, and those who have renounced resources entirely, described as alone free of avidity.
Not-avid as a description of arahantship
The final line's claim — that the arahants, having given up desire, hate, and dispelled ignorance, ‘are not avid’ — ties this discourse's social observation to the collection's broader account of liberation: avidity is not corrected by any amount of wealth, but only by the ending of the underlying causes wealth cannot touch.
Key terms
mahaddhana — “affluent, greatly wealthy” — this discourse's title, describing the social class the opening question focuses on.
usuyyanti — “are jealous of each other” — the specific condition the question attributes to the wealthy and the ruling aristocrats alike.
kāmesu atittā — “insatiable in sensual pleasures” — paired with jealousy as the wealthy's defining trait in the opening verse.
gharaṁ puttaṁ pasuṁ — “home, child, and cattle” — the answer's list of what is given up, closely echoing SN 1.12 and SN 1.19 earlier in this collection.
anussukā — “avid, restlessly craving” — the condition the question asks who, if anyone, is free from, answered by naming the arahants.
The text
The discourse in full: a diagnosis of wealth's insatiability, and the naming of its one exception. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“The affluent and the wealthy, even the aristocrats who rule the land, are jealous of each other, insatiable in sensual pleasures. Among those of such an avid nature, flowing along the stream of lives, who here has given up craving? Who in the world is not avid?”
§2“Having given up their home, their child, their cattle, and all that they love, they went forth. Having given up desire and hate, having dispelled ignorance, the perfected ones with defilements ended—they in the world are not avid.”
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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 opening verse observe about the affluent and wealthy?
Correct: A. A social diagnosis presented as given, not as a puzzle to prove.
Question 2 of 10
What question does the verse then ask?
Correct: A. Naming an exception to the condition just described.
Question 3 of 10
What does the answer say was given up by those who are not avid?
Correct: A. Gharaṁ puttaṁ pasuṁ — renunciation named directly.
Question 4 of 10
Which two earlier discourses in this collection does this list closely echo?
Correct: A. Both used closely related vocabulary of children, cattle, and household ties.
Question 5 of 10
How does this discourse's treatment of these images differ from SN 1.12 and SN 1.19?
Correct: A. A direct social contrast, not a coded or single-word-substituted verse.
Question 6 of 10
What three things does the answer say the arahants have given up, beyond home and family?
Correct: A. Chandañca dosañca pahāya, avijjaṁ vinodetvā.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'usuyyanti' mean?
Correct: A. The specific social condition named in the opening verse.
Question 8 of 10
Does wealth, according to this discourse, resolve avidity on its own?
Correct: A. The opening verse explicitly includes ruling aristocrats among the avid.
Question 9 of 10
What is the setting of this discourse?
Correct: A. Like several discourses in this vagga, no setting is given directly.
Question 10 of 10
What does 'kāmesu atittā' mean?
Correct: A. Paired with jealousy as the wealthy's defining trait.
