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
~20 seconds to read
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — direct in form, introducing a new candidate distinct from mind or craving alone
A near-twin discourse follows
SN 1.65, immediately after, asks a nearly identical question and gives the same answer, framed around bonds rather than fetters
Why this discourse
This discourse asks three related questions: what fetters the world, how does it travel about, and with the giving up of what is extinguishment spoken of? The answer names delight (nandi) as the fetter, thought (vitakka) as the means of the world's traveling about, and the giving up of craving specifically as what extinguishment consists in.
Reading guide
Delight named as the fetter itself
Rather than naming craving directly as the fetter, this discourse names delight (nandi), a closely related but distinct term describing the pleasure taken in something rather than the wanting of it. The two are related closely enough that the verse's closing line shifts back to craving as what must be given up — suggesting delight and craving are treated here as intimately bound together rather than as separate fetters.
Thought as the vehicle of the world's wandering
The verse's second answer, that the world ‘travels about by means of thought,’ names vitakka, discursive or applied thought, as the mechanism by which the mind's restless movement (already named at SN 1.62) actually happens — thought as the vehicle, mind as the traveler.
Extinguishment defined by a specific relinquishment
The verse's closing line answers precisely: extinguishment is spoken of specifically ‘with the giving up of craving,’ not as a vague cessation of all activity but as the direct consequence of relinquishing one identifiable thing.
A discourse paired closely with the one following it
SN 1.65, immediately after this discourse, asks almost the identical question — framed around bandhana, ‘bonds,’ rather than saṃyojana, ‘fetters’ — and answers with the same three terms: delight, thought, and craving given up.
Key terms
saṃyojana — “fetter” — this discourse's title, and the specific term the question asks about.
nandi saṁyojano loko — “delight fetters the world” — the verse's first answer, naming pleasure taken in things rather than craving directly.
vitakkassa vicaraṇaṁ — “it travels about by means of thought” — the second answer, naming the vehicle of the world's restless movement.
taṇhāya vippahānena — “with the giving up of craving” — the specific relinquishment the verse identifies as constituting extinguishment.
nibbāna — “extinguishment” — what the verse's final line names as spoken of precisely when craving is given up.
The text
The discourse in full: delight, thought, and the giving up of craving, in three precise answers. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“What fetters the world? How does it travel about? With the giving up of what is extinguishment spoken of?”
§2“Delight fetters the world. It travels about by means of thought. With the giving up of craving extinguishment is spoken of.”
· · ·
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 questions does this discourse's riddle ask?
Correct: A. Three related but distinct questions, answered precisely.
Question 2 of 10
What does the reply name as what fetters the world?
Correct: A. Pleasure taken in things, distinct from but closely related to craving.
Question 3 of 10
What does the reply name as how the world travels about?
Correct: A. The vehicle of the mind's restless movement already named at SN 1.62.
Question 4 of 10
What does the verse name as what must be given up for extinguishment to be spoken of?
Correct: A. A precise, specific relinquishment rather than a vague cessation.
Question 5 of 10
How are delight and craving related in this discourse?
Correct: A. Two closely related terms treated as intimately connected rather than separate fetters.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'vitakkassa vicaraṇaṁ' mean?
Correct: A. The verse's second answer, naming thought as the mechanism of restless movement.
Question 7 of 10
What discourse immediately follows this one, and how does it relate?
Correct: A. A closely paired discourse sharing the same three-term answer.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'nibbāna' mean?
Correct: A. What the verse's final line describes as spoken of when craving is given up.
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
How does this discourse's answer connect to earlier discourses in this vagga?
Correct: A. Another link in this vagga's connected investigation into what governs the world.
