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 six-line reply
Length
~30 seconds to read
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — direct in form, building to a pointed final claim
Four contexts, one escalating point
Each of the first three answers names an ordinary, situational friend before the fourth names something no ordinary friendship can provide
Why this discourse
The question asks about friendship across four different situations: on a journey, at home, in a time of need, and in the next life. The first three answers are entirely ordinary — a caravan while traveling, one's mother at home, a proven ally in need — but the fourth breaks the pattern completely: no other person, however close, can be a friend in the next life. Only the good deeds a person has done themselves can accompany them there.
Reading guide
Three ordinary friendships, named specifically
Each of the first three answers matches its situation precisely: a caravan (satthā) provides safety and company on the road; a mother is named specifically, not simply ‘family,’ as the friend at home; an ally proven reliable ‘time and again’ is named as the friend in need, defined by demonstrated loyalty rather than mere closeness.
A fourth answer that no other person can fill
The verse's structure builds toward its real point: after three answers naming other people, the fourth names something no other person, however devoted, can provide. Not even the mother named in the second line, or the proven ally of the third, can accompany a person into their next life — only their own good deeds can.
An echo of this collection's recurring teaching on merit
This closing claim — that a person's own deeds are their only true companion beyond death — echoes the broader teaching already met across this vagga's opening pair, SN 1.51 and SN 1.52, both naming merit as uniquely resistant to loss. Here the same idea is framed specifically as a question of companionship rather than of durability.
Key terms
satthā — “a caravan” — the answer for a friend while traveling, providing safety in numbers on the road.
mātā — “mother” — named specifically, not simply as ‘family,’ as the friend at home.
sahāyo — “an ally, a companion” — the friend in need, defined by proven reliability across repeated occasions rather than mere acquaintance.
sayaṁkatāni puññāni — “the good deeds you've done yourself” — the verse's final answer, naming what alone accompanies a person into the next life.
mitta — “friend” — this discourse's title, tested across four different situations before the verse's real point emerges.
The text
The discourse in full: three ordinary friendships, and a fourth that only one's own deeds can fill. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Who’s your friend while journeying? Who’s your friend at home? Who’s your friend in need? Who’s your friend in the next life?”
§2“A caravan is your friend while journeying. Mother is your friend at home. An ally in a time of need is a friend time and again. But the good deeds you’ve done yourself—that’s your friend in the next life.”
· · ·
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 situations does the opening question ask about friendship in?
Correct: A. Four distinct situational tests for the same question.
Question 2 of 10
Who is named as the friend while journeying?
Correct: A. Safety and company on the road.
Question 3 of 10
Who is named as the friend at home?
Correct: A. Named specifically rather than simply as 'family.'
Question 4 of 10
What defines the friend named for a time of need?
Correct: A. Demonstrated loyalty across repeated occasions.
Question 5 of 10
What does the verse name as the friend in the next life?
Correct: A. Sayaṁkatāni puññāni — something no other person can provide.
Question 6 of 10
How does the verse's structure build toward its final point?
Correct: A. A deliberate escalation toward the verse's real claim.
Question 7 of 10
What earlier discourses in this vagga does this discourse's closing claim echo?
Correct: A. The same idea about merit, framed here as companionship rather than durability.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'sahāyo' mean?
Correct: A. The term used for the friend proven reliable in times of need.
Question 9 of 10
Can even a devoted mother accompany a person into their next life, according to this discourse?
Correct: A. The verse's central point: no other person, however close, can fill this role.
Question 10 of 10
What is the setting of this discourse?
Correct: A. Like every discourse in this vagga, no setting is given directly.
