Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 17.2

A Hook

Baḷisasutta

Setting
Sāvatthī
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the assembled mendicants
Form
SN 17.1's opening claim, now illustrated by a simile with an explicit term-by-term decoding
Length
~2 minutes to read
Northern parallel
A rough counterpart may exist in the Chinese Saṃyukta-āgama (T99), though this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — establishes the pattern of simile plus decoding this vagga will repeat

Why this discourse

This discourse gives SN 17.1's bare claim its first image: an angler casts a baited hook into a deep lake, a fish sees the bait and swallows it, and from that moment the fish's fate belongs entirely to the angler. The Buddha then decodes the simile term by term — the angler is Māra, the hook is possessions, honor, and popularity — and applies the whole picture directly: any mendicant who enjoys and likes arisen possessions, honor, and popularity has, in effect, swallowed Māra's hook, and can now be done with as Māra wishes.

Reading guide

A simile followed by explicit decoding

Unlike SN 17.1's bare statement, this discourse tells a complete short scene and then explicitly assigns meaning to each element — angler, hook — a two-step structure (image, then decoding) this vagga will repeat with new images throughout.

The danger located in enjoyment, not in receiving

The fish's fate isn't sealed by the hook being present in the water; it's sealed by the fish swallowing it. Likewise, the discourse specifies assādeti nikāmeti, "enjoys and likes," as the decisive act — not merely encountering gain and honor, but delighting in them.

Māra named directly as the agent behind the danger

This discourse doesn't leave the source of the danger impersonal; it identifies the angler specifically as Māra the Wicked, giving the abstract danger of possessions and honor a deliberate, personified adversary.

A complete loss of control as the outcome

The fish that swallows the hook becomes yathākāmakaraṇīyo, "to be dealt with as [the angler] wishes" — the discourse's point isn't simply that harm follows, but that agency itself transfers entirely to the one who set the trap.

The refrain returning to close the discourse

After the simile and its decoding, SN 17.1's exact closing formula returns unchanged — the same claim, the same training instruction — confirming that the image serves the refrain, not the other way around.

Key terms

bāḷisiko — “an angler” — the human figure in this discourse's opening image, later decoded as Māra.
āmisagataṁ baḷisaṁ — “a baited hook” — this discourse's title image, decoded as possessions, honor, and popularity.
assādeti nikāmeti — “enjoys and likes” — the specific mental act this discourse identifies as the actual danger, not mere contact with gain or honor.
gilabaḷiso — “one who has swallowed the hook” — the discourse's term for a mendicant who has fallen for this danger.
yathākāmakaraṇīyo — “to be dealt with as [Māra] wishes” — the complete loss of agency this discourse names as the outcome.

The text

The discourse in full. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1At Sāvatthī. “Possessions, honor, and popularity are grim, bitter, and harsh. They’re an obstacle to reaching the supreme sanctuary from the yoke. Suppose an angler was to cast a baited hook into a deep lake. Seeing the bait, a fish would swallow it. And so the fish that swallowed the hook would meet with tragedy and disaster, and the angler can do what he wants with it.

§2‘Angler’ is a term for Māra the Wicked. ‘Hook’ is a term for possessions, honor, and popularity. Whoever enjoys and likes arisen possessions, honor, and popularity is called a mendicant who has swallowed Māra’s hook. They’ve met with tragedy and disaster, and the Wicked One can do with them what he wants. So grim are possessions, honor, and popularity—bitter and harsh, an obstacle to reaching the supreme sanctuary from the yoke. So you should train like this: ‘We will give up arisen possessions, honor, and popularity, and we won’t let them occupy our minds.’ That’s how you should train.”

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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 image does this discourse use to illustrate SN 17.1's claim?
Correct: A. This vagga's first fully developed simile.
Question 2 of 10
How does the discourse decode the angler and the hook?
Correct: A. An explicit, term-by-term assignment of meaning.
Question 3 of 10
What specific act does this discourse identify as the actual danger?
Correct: A. Assādeti nikāmeti — delighting in gain and honor, not merely encountering them.
Question 4 of 10
What happens to the fish once it swallows the hook?
Correct: A. Yathākāmakaraṇīyo, a complete transfer of agency to the one who set the trap.
Question 5 of 10
Who is identified as the angler in this discourse's decoding?
Correct: A. A personified, deliberate adversary behind the abstract danger.
Question 6 of 10
What structural pattern does this discourse establish for the rest of the vagga?
Correct: A. Image, then decoding — repeated with new images throughout this vagga.
Question 7 of 10
What happens to SN 17.1's refrain at the end of this discourse?
Correct: A. The same claim and training instruction, confirming the image serves the refrain.
Question 8 of 10
Where does the Buddha deliver this teaching?
Correct: A. The setting shared with most discourses in this collection.
Question 9 of 10
What numbering tag closes this discourse?
Correct: A. The second discourse of this vagga.
Question 10 of 10
What word does the discourse use for a mendicant who has fallen for this danger?
Correct: A. A term directly built from the hook image itself.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

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