Not narrated in this discourse's source text; presumably the same recurring frame as the rest of this vagga
Speakers
Not named explicitly; questioners addressing the Buddha directly by physical description, and the Buddha's reply
Form
A six-line description and question, answered by a four-line verse, with two further blank verses left untranslated
Length
~1 minute to read
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — vivid and direct, closing on a compact doctrinal point
Closing this vagga
The tenth and last discourse of the Sattivagga, whose own closing colophon names the vagga as finished
Why this discourse
This discourse opens with some of the most physically vivid language used for the Buddha anywhere in this collection: lean, with antelope calves, not greedy, eating little, a giant wandering alone like a lion, unconcerned for sensual pleasures. Having described him this way, the questioners ask directly: how is one released from all suffering? The answer is compact: the world has five kinds of sensual stimulation, and the mind itself is said to be a sixth; discard desire for these, and you are released from all suffering.
Reading guide
A body described, not merely a teaching
Unlike most discourses in this collection, which move quickly to doctrine or riddle, this one lingers on physical description first: slender legs like an antelope's, leanness, restraint in eating, solitary wandering compared specifically to a lion rather than a herd animal. The Buddha's asceticism is made visible before it is discussed.
Five familiar senses, and a sixth
The answer names the world's pañca kāmaguṇā, five kinds of sensual stimulation — the classic list of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch — and then adds mano, the mind itself, as chaṭṭha, a sixth. Release from suffering is described as discarding desire across all six, not only the five ordinarily associated with the physical senses.
A vagga whose name comes from its opening image
As with SN 1.21, this vagga's opening discourse, the Sattivagga takes its name from an image named at a discourse's start rather than its end — here, however, it is this vagga's closing discourse, not its first, that supplies its own vivid, separate image, one that does not itself name the vagga.
An untranslated close
As with SN 1.10 and SN 1.20, this discourse is followed in the source text by a closing colophon and a mnemonic verse (uddāna) naming the Sattivagga as finished and listing its ten titles in order — left untranslated in this edition, and described here rather than quoted, following this project's established practice.
Named for the opening discourse, closed by the tenth
It is worth noting explicitly that this vagga's name, Sattivagga, comes from SN 1.21's opening image of a sword, not from this closing discourse's own striking image of antelope calves and a lion's solitary gait — a reminder that a vivid closing image does not automatically become a vagga's namesake, unlike what happened with the Naḷavagga before it.
Key terms
eṇijaṅgha — “antelope calves” — this discourse's title and opening physical description, naming the Buddha's slender legs.
sīhaṁvekacaraṁ — “wandering alone like a lion” — the questioners' description of the Buddha's solitary manner, comparing him to a predator rather than a herd animal.
pañca kāmaguṇā — the world's “five kinds of sensual stimulation” — the classic list of pleasing sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch.
mano chaṭṭha — “the mind as a sixth” — the answer's addition to the five senses, extending the scope of what desire must be discarded from.
chandaṁ virājetvā — “having discarded desire” — the specific action the verse names as producing release from all suffering, applied across all six.
The text
The discourse in full, with its untranslated closing colophon and mnemonic verse described rather than quoted, as with SN 1.10 and SN 1.20. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
The Buddha, described
§1“O hero so lean, with antelope calves, not greedy, eating little, a giant, wandering alone like a lion, you’re not concerned for sensual pleasures. We’ve come to ask a question: How is one released from all suffering?”
An answer in six senses
§2“The world has five kinds of sensual stimulation, and the mind is said to be the sixth. When you’ve discarded desire for these, you’re released from all suffering.”
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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
How is the Buddha physically described at the start of this discourse?
Correct: A. Some of the most physically vivid language used for the Buddha in this collection.
Question 2 of 10
What question do the questioners ask after this description?
Correct: A. A direct question following the physical description.
Question 3 of 10
What does the answer name as the world's kinds of sensual stimulation?
Correct: A. Pañca kāmaguṇā — the classic list of five.
Question 4 of 10
What does the answer add as a sixth item, beyond the five senses?
Correct: A. Manochaṭṭhā pavaditā — the mind is said to be a sixth.
Question 5 of 10
What does the verse say produces release from all suffering?
Correct: A. The specific action named as producing release.
Question 6 of 10
What animal is the Buddha compared to in his manner of wandering?
Correct: A. Sīhaṁvekacaraṁ — a predator's solitary gait, not a herd animal's.
Question 7 of 10
Does this vagga's name, Sattivagga, come from this closing discourse's imagery?
Correct: A. Unlike the Naḷavagga, this vagga's namesake image is at its start, not its end.
Question 8 of 10
What follows this discourse in the source text, left untranslated?
Correct: A. The same pattern already seen at SN 1.10 and SN 1.20.
Question 9 of 10
What is this discourse's position within the Sattivagga?
Correct: A. This discourse's own closing colophon marks the Sattivagga as finished.
Question 10 of 10
What does 'chandaṁ virājetvā' mean?
Correct: A. The specific action the verse names as producing release from suffering.
