Not narrated in this discourse's source text; no discourse in this vagga carries a narrative frame at all
Speakers
Not named explicitly; a three-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
An uninformative title
This discourse's Pali title, Dutiyasutta, means simply ‘the second discourse’ — one of very few titles in this collection that names no content at all
Why this discourse
The question asks about three roles in a person's life: who is their partner, what instructs them, and enjoying what is a mortal released from all suffering? The answer names faith as the partner, wisdom as the instructor, and delighting in extinguishment — not any ordinary pleasure — as what actually releases a mortal from suffering entirely.
Reading guide
Faith named as partner, again
This same image, faith as a person's sahāyā, already opened SN 1.36 earlier in this collection. Here it recurs as the answer to a differently framed question, confirming the image's stability across more than one discourse rather than being unique to either.
Wisdom as instructor, not merely as possession
Where SN 1.51 and SN 1.52 named wisdom as people's ‘treasure,’ this discourse names it instead as what ‘instructs’ (anusāsati) a person — a shift from wisdom as something held to wisdom as something active, actively guiding conduct rather than simply being possessed.
Delight in extinguishment, not delight in general
The verse's closing claim is specific: not merely happiness or contentment releases a mortal from suffering, but delighting specifically in extinguishment (nibbānābhirato) — a pointed distinction between ordinary pleasure and delight directed at the cessation of craving itself.
A title with no descriptive content
Unlike almost every other discourse in this collection, whose Pali title names its central image or theme, this discourse's title simply means ‘the second discourse’ — giving no hint at all of its content. Sujato's English title, ‘A Partner,’ supplies the descriptive content the Pali title itself withholds.
Key terms
sahāyā — “a partner, companion” — the answer for a person's partner, the same image already met at SN 1.36's opening verse.
paññā anusāsati — “wisdom instructs” — the second answer, framing wisdom as an active guide rather than a static possession.
nibbānābhirato — “delighting in extinguishment” — the specific quality the verse's closing line names as what actually releases a mortal from suffering.
sabbadukkhā pamuccati — “released from all suffering” — the outcome the question asks about, matched by the verse's closing answer.
dutiya — “the second” — this discourse's uninformative Pali title, naming its numerical position rather than its content.
The text
The discourse in full: three roles matched to three answers, closing on a specific kind of delight. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“What is a person’s partner? What instructs them? Enjoying what is a mortal released from all suffering?”
§2“Faith is a person’s partner. Wisdom instructs them. Delighting in extinguishment a mortal is released from all suffering.”
· · ·
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 three roles does the opening question ask about?
Correct: A. Three distinct roles, each matched to a specific answer.
Question 2 of 10
What does the reply name as a person's partner?
Correct: A. The same image already met at SN 1.36's opening verse.
Question 3 of 10
What does the reply name as what instructs a person?
Correct: A. Framed as an active guide, distinct from wisdom named as mere 'treasure' at SN 1.51.
Question 4 of 10
What specific quality does the verse name as releasing a mortal from all suffering?
Correct: A. Nibbānābhirato — a pointed distinction from ordinary pleasure.
Question 5 of 10
What does this discourse's Pali title, Dutiyasutta, actually mean?
Correct: A. One of very few titles in this collection with no descriptive content at all.
Question 6 of 10
How does this discourse's treatment of wisdom compare to SN 1.51 and SN 1.52?
Correct: A. A shift from wisdom as possession to wisdom as active guidance.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'sahāyā' mean?
Correct: A. The image already established at SN 1.36 and repeated here.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'nibbānābhirato' mean?
Correct: A. The specific quality named as producing release from all suffering.
Question 9 of 10
What is the setting of this discourse?
Correct: A. Like every discourse in this vagga, no setting is given directly.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this discourse's English title, 'A Partner', come from, given the Pali title's lack of content?
Correct: A. A descriptive title chosen by the translator, not inherited from the Pali.
