Not narrated in this discourse's source text; presumably the same recurring frame as the rest of this vagga
Speakers
Not named explicitly; a five-part question, answered point by point
Form
A six-line question, answered by a matching, itemized eight-line reply
Length
~45 seconds to read
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — direct in form, a clean list matched point for point
A ranked answer
The reply doesn't just answer all five parts of the question; it closes by naming a gift that exceeds every other one listed
Why this discourse
The question is structured, asking specifically what produces four distinct benefits — strength, beauty, happiness, and vision — and who, beyond these four, is the giver of everything at once. The answer matches each question point for point: food for strength, clothes for beauty, a vehicle for happiness, a lamp for vision. Then, rather than stopping there, it names one gift — monastic quarters — as the giver of all four benefits together, and a further gift — teaching the Dhamma — as something categorically greater still: freedom from death itself.
Reading guide
A question built for a matched answer
Each of the question's first four lines asks about a single specific benefit, and the reply answers in exactly the same order and structure: food, clothes, a vehicle, and a lamp, each paired with the one benefit it specifically produces. The tight correspondence between question and answer is itself part of this discourse's clarity.
From specific gifts to one gift that gives everything
The question's fifth line asks something structurally different from the first four: not what produces one specific benefit, but who is ‘the giver of all.’ The reply's answer — one who gives monastic quarters — is treated as combining strength, beauty, happiness, and vision into a single act of giving, rather than requiring four separate gifts.
A fifth gift, exceeding the rest categorically
The reply doesn't stop at answering the question as asked. Its final line adds an unrequested fifth category: one who teaches the Dhamma ‘gives the gift of freedom from death’ (amataṁ dadāti) — not a fifth item on the same scale as food, clothing, shelter, and light, but something the verse treats as a different order of gift altogether.
A structural echo of SN 1.33's closing claim
This discourse's closing move — naming the gift of the teaching as surpassing every other kind of giving — closely echoes the Buddha's own closing verse at SN 1.33, which ranked ‘a passage of teaching’ above giving in every other form the deities there had just described.
Key terms
kiṁdada — “giving what?” — the interrogative repeated across the question's first four lines, and this discourse's title.
balaṁ — “strength” — the first benefit named, matched in the reply with the gift of food.
vaṇṇadā — “giver of beauty” — the second benefit, matched with the gift of clothing.
sabbadadaṁ — “the giver of all” — the question's fifth and final part, answered by naming the gift of monastic quarters.
amataṁ dadāti — “gives the gift of freedom from death” — the reply's unrequested final addition, naming the teaching of the Dhamma as exceeding every other gift listed.
The text
The discourse in full: a five-part question, answered point by point, then exceeded by an unrequested final claim. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Giving what do you give strength? Giving what do you give beauty? Giving what do you give happiness? Giving what do you give vision? And who is the giver of all? Please answer my question.”
§2“Giving food you give strength. Giving clothes you give beauty. Giving a vehicle you give happiness. Giving a lamp you give vision. And the giver of all is the one who gives monastic quarters. But one who teaches the Dhamma gives the gift of freedom from death.”
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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 four specific benefits does the opening question ask about?
Correct: A. Each paired in the reply with a specific corresponding gift.
Question 2 of 10
What gift does the reply match with strength?
Correct: A. Annadā balado hoti — the first of four matched pairs.
Question 3 of 10
What gift does the reply match with vision?
Correct: A. The fourth of the four matched pairs.
Question 4 of 10
What does the question's fifth line ask, structurally different from the first four?
Correct: A. A shift from specific benefits to a single comprehensive gift.
Question 5 of 10
What gift does the reply name as 'the giver of all'?
Correct: A. Treated as combining all four benefits into one act of giving.
Question 6 of 10
What unrequested fifth category does the reply add at its close?
Correct: A. Amataṁ dadāti — a different order of gift from the rest.
Question 7 of 10
What earlier discourse in this collection does this discourse's closing move echo?
Correct: A. Both discourses close by ranking the gift of teaching above material giving.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'amataṁ' mean?
Correct: A. What the gift of teaching is said to give, beyond ordinary material benefit.
Question 9 of 10
How closely does the reply's structure match the question's structure?
Correct: A. A tightly matched question-and-answer structure.
Question 10 of 10
What is the setting of this discourse?
Correct: A. Like several discourses elsewhere in this collection, no setting is given directly.
