Not named explicitly; a four-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
A cluster of superlatives
Four separate 'best' or 'finest' claims, answered with four distinct spiritual qualities
Why this discourse
The question asks about four different superlatives: a person's best wealth, what brings happiness when well practiced, the sweetest taste of all, and how the one said to have the best life actually lives. The answer names faith as wealth, the teaching as what brings happiness, truth as the sweetest taste, and wisdom as what the best-lived life is built on.
Reading guide
Reframing 'wealth' entirely
Naming faith (saddhā) as a person's ‘best wealth’ extends this collection's recurring move — already met at SN 1.51 and SN 1.52, naming wisdom as ‘treasure’ — of applying economic language to inner qualities rather than material possessions.
The teaching as a practice, not merely information
The verse specifies that the teaching brings happiness ‘when practiced well’ (sucaritaṁ), not simply when known or believed — treating happiness as the fruit of sustained conduct rather than of intellectual assent alone.
Truth named as taste, not merely as fact
Calling truth (sacca) the ‘sweetest taste of all’ is an unusual sensory metaphor for something usually discussed in purely cognitive terms — treating truthfulness as something with its own distinctive, pleasurable quality, comparable to and surpassing literal flavor.
A life defined by how it's lived, not by its length
The question's final line, about the one said to have ‘the best life,’ is answered not with a claim about longevity or circumstance but about method: such a person ‘lives by wisdom’ (paññājīvi) — the best life defined by its governing principle rather than its duration.
Key terms
vitta — “wealth” — this discourse's title, and the first quality the riddle asks about.
saddhīdha vittaṁ purisassa seṭṭhaṁ — “faith here is a person's best wealth” — the verse's first answer, applying economic language to an inner quality.
sucaritaṁ sukhāvahaṁ — “brings happiness when practiced well” — naming the teaching's benefit as contingent on sustained practice, not mere knowledge.
saccaṁ ve amatavācā — “truth is the sweetest taste of all” — a sensory metaphor applied to truthfulness.
paññājīvi — “lives by wisdom” — the answer for who has ‘the best life,’ defined by governing principle rather than circumstance.
The text
The discourse in full: four superlatives, matched to four spiritual qualities. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“What’s a person’s best wealth? What brings happiness when practiced well? What’s the sweetest taste of all? The one they say has the best life: how do they live?”
§2“Faith here is a person’s best wealth. The teaching brings happiness when practiced well. Truth is the sweetest taste of all. The one they say has the best life lives by wisdom.”
· · ·
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 superlatives does the opening question ask about?
Correct: A. Four separate superlative claims, each matched to a spiritual quality.
Question 2 of 10
What does the reply name as a person's best wealth?
Correct: A. Extending this collection's recurring move of applying economic language to inner qualities.
Question 3 of 10
What does the reply name as the sweetest taste of all?
Correct: A. An unusual sensory metaphor for truthfulness.
Question 4 of 10
How does the reply describe how the one with 'the best life' actually lives?
Correct: A. Defined by governing principle rather than by duration or circumstance.
Question 5 of 10
What condition does the reply attach to the teaching bringing happiness?
Correct: A. Happiness as the fruit of sustained conduct, not intellectual assent alone.
Question 6 of 10
What earlier discourses in this collection already applied economic language to inner qualities?
Correct: A. A recurring move this discourse extends with 'faith' as wealth.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'saccaṁ ve amatavācā' mean?
Correct: A. This discourse's third answer, using a sensory metaphor for truthfulness.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'paññājīvi' mean?
Correct: A. The answer given for who has 'the best life.'
Question 9 of 10
What is the setting of this discourse?
Correct: A. No setting is given directly.
Question 10 of 10
What does 'vitta' mean?
Correct: A. This discourse's title, and the first superlative its riddle asks about.
