Not narrated in this discourse's source text; no discourse in this vagga carries a narrative frame at all
Speakers
Not named explicitly; a four-part riddle answered point by point
Form
A four-line question, answered by a matching four-line reply
Length
~30 seconds to read
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — direct in form, a clean four-part match
Opening this vagga
The first discourse of the Jarāvagga (‘the Chapter on Old Age’), whose ten discourses are the most uniformly bare riddle-verses in this collection
Why this discourse
The question asks about durability across four different domains: what's still good in old age, what's good once grounded, what counts as people's true treasure, and what thieves find hardest to take. The answer matches each point exactly: ethics remains good in old age, faith is good once grounded, wisdom is people's treasure, and merit is what thieves cannot take — four qualities chosen specifically because they resist the two things ordinary possessions cannot resist: time and theft.
Reading guide
Four qualities selected for what they resist
Each of the four answers is chosen for a specific kind of durability: ethics doesn't decline with age the way the body does; faith, once truly grounded, doesn't waver; wisdom can't be spent or lost the way ordinary wealth can; merit can't be physically stolen the way possessions can. The verse's four questions and four answers are matched precisely to test each quality against a specific threat.
Opening a vagga of uniformly bare riddles
Every discourse in this vagga, from this one through SN 1.60, presents its riddle with no narrative frame at all — no deity arriving, no setting named, nothing but the question and its answer. This is the most consistently minimal presentation of any vagga in this collection so far.
A companion discourse immediately following
The very next discourse, SN 1.52, asks a nearly identical question — rephrased across all four lines rather than changed in just one — and receives the identical four-part answer. Read together, the two discourses show the same four qualities approached from two closely related angles.
Key terms
sīla — “ethics” — named as what remains good even in old age, unlike physical vigor.
saddhā patiṭṭhitā — “faith, once grounded” — the second quality, specifically praised in its settled, established form rather than as a fleeting feeling.
paññā narānaṁ ratanaṁ — “wisdom is people's treasure” — naming wisdom, rather than material wealth, as what actually deserves the name ‘treasure.’
puññaṁ — “merit” — named as the one thing thieves cannot physically take, unlike any ordinary possession.
dukarahara — “hard for thieves to take” — the question's fourth criterion, testing each candidate quality against theft specifically.
The text
The discourse in full: a four-part question on durability, matched by four precise answers. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“What’s still good in old age? What’s good when grounded? What is people’s treasure? What’s hard for thieves to take?”
§2“Ethics are still good in old age. Faith is good when grounded. Wisdom is people’s treasure. Merit’s hard for thieves to take.”
· · ·
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 things does the opening question ask about?
Correct: A. Four questions, each testing durability against a specific threat.
Question 2 of 10
What does the reply name as good in old age?
Correct: A. Unlike the body, ethics doesn't decline with age.
Question 3 of 10
What does the reply name as people's true treasure?
Correct: A. Distinguished from material wealth.
Question 4 of 10
What does the reply name as hard for thieves to take?
Correct: A. Unlike physical possessions, merit can't be physically stolen.
Question 5 of 10
What does the reply name as good once grounded?
Correct: A. Praised specifically in its settled, established form.
Question 6 of 10
How does this vagga's presentation differ from earlier vaggas in this collection?
Correct: A. The most consistently minimal presentation of any vagga so far.
Question 7 of 10
How does SN 1.52, immediately following, relate to this discourse?
Correct: A. The same four qualities approached from a closely related angle.
Question 8 of 10
Why are these four particular qualities chosen as answers?
Correct: A. A precise match between each question and the quality that resists it.
Question 9 of 10
What is the setting of this discourse?
Correct: A. The most minimal presentation of any vagga in this collection.
Question 10 of 10
What gives this vagga its name?
Correct: A. Following the naming pattern already seen at SN 1.11, 1.21, and 1.41.
