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, using SN 1.67's exact four claims in a rearranged order
Length
~30 seconds to read
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — direct in form, notable chiefly for its precise structural relationship to SN 1.67
A block-swap, not a full reversal
The third and fourth claims of SN 1.67 become this discourse's first and second, with the original first and second following after
Why this discourse
This discourse asks the identical four questions as SN 1.67, immediately before it, but in a rearranged sequence: what fastens the world shut, what it's grounded on, what ensnares it, and what surrounds it — the third and fourth items from SN 1.67 moved to the front, with the original first and second following. The answers move in exactly the same rearranged order: mortality, suffering, craving, old age.
Reading guide
The same four claims, precisely rearranged
Every one of this discourse's four claims — mortality fastens the world shut, suffering grounds it, craving ensnares it, old age surrounds it — is word for word identical to one of SN 1.67's four claims. Nothing new is introduced; only the sequence changes.
A block swap, described precisely
The rearrangement isn't a simple reversal, which would run the four claims backward one at a time. Instead, the second half of SN 1.67's sequence (mortality, suffering) moves to the front as a unit, followed by the first half (craving, old age) as a second unit — two pairs swapping positions as blocks rather than four items being individually reversed.
What this kind of exact pairing accomplishes
Reading SN 1.67 and this discourse together demonstrates that the four claims themselves don't depend on any particular sequence to make sense — craving, old age, mortality, and suffering are presented as a single interlocking picture of the world's condition, whichever order they're recited in.
A distinct kind of repetition within this collection
This exact reordering — not adding, not substituting, but rearranging identical content — is a new variety of the repetition this collection has used throughout, joining single-word substitution (SN 1.7/1.8), cumulative addition (SN 1.33), and shared questions with different answers (SN 1.62/1.63) as another way two adjacent discourses can closely mirror each other.
Key terms
pihita — “fastened shut” — this discourse's title, and its first answer, identical to SN 1.67's third claim.
maccunā pihito loko — “the world is fastened shut by mortality” — word for word identical to SN 1.67's third answer, now moved to first position.
dukkhe loko patiṭṭhito — “the world is grounded on suffering” — identical to SN 1.67's fourth answer, now moved to second position.
taṇhuḍḍito loko — “craving has ensnared the world” — identical to SN 1.67's first answer, now moved to third position.
jarāya parivārito — “surrounded by old age” — identical to SN 1.67's second answer, now moved to fourth position.
The text
The discourse in full: SN 1.67's exact four claims, with the sequence's two halves swapped. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“By what is the world fastened shut? On what is the world grounded? By what is the world ensnared? By what is it surrounded?”
§2“The world is fastened shut by mortality. The world is grounded on suffering. Craving has ensnared the world. It’s surrounded by old age.”
· · ·
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
How does this discourse's content compare to SN 1.67's?
Correct: A. Every claim is shared; only the sequence changes.
Question 2 of 10
What comes first in this discourse's sequence, unlike SN 1.67's?
Correct: A. SN 1.67's third and fourth claims move to first and second position here.
Question 3 of 10
Is this rearrangement a simple reversal of SN 1.67's order?
Correct: A. A block swap, not an item-by-item reversal.
Question 4 of 10
What does reading SN 1.67 and this discourse together demonstrate?
Correct: A. The content's coherence doesn't depend on any one particular sequence.
Question 5 of 10
What other kinds of close repetition has this collection already used?
Correct: A. This block-swap joins several other varieties already met earlier in this collection.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'pihita' mean?
Correct: A. This discourse's title, matching SN 1.67's third answer moved to first position.
Question 7 of 10
Does this discourse introduce any new content not already present in SN 1.67?
Correct: A. A pure reordering, with nothing new introduced.
Question 8 of 10
What position does 'craving ensnares the world' occupy in this discourse, compared to SN 1.67?
Correct: A. Part of the second block moved to the rear of this discourse's sequence.
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 many of this discourse's four claims are shared exactly with SN 1.67?
Correct: A. A complete overlap in content, differing only in sequence.
