The Buddha alone, opening the vagga's third chapter
Form
A single compact comparative claim, without narrative
Length
under 1 minute 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
★★☆☆☆ — a deliberately provocative comparison opening the vagga
Why this discourse
This discourse opens Tatiyavagga with a striking comparison: even alone with a woman, she might not occupy your mind — but possessions, honor, and popularity would still occupy it. The claim doesn't deny that sexual temptation is real; it ranks a second danger as potentially more consuming than the first, precisely because it can take hold even in the absence of any external object at all.
Reading guide
A comparison, not a denial of the first danger
The discourse doesn't claim that being alone with a woman poses no risk; SN 17.9's narrative already showed exactly that risk in full. What this discourse adds is a ranking — naming a second danger as capable of taking hold even more completely.
Danger without a specific external trigger
Where SN 17.9's fall required an actual encounter, this discourse's danger needs no such occasion; possessions, honor, and popularity can occupy the mind independent of any specific person or moment being present at all.
Opening a new chapter with its sharpest comparison yet
Placed first in Tatiyavagga, this discourse sets a provocative tone for the chapter, using a comparison calculated to unsettle any assumption that sexual temptation is necessarily the mind's most persistent danger.
A claim that will itself be escalated
The discourse immediately following this one repeats the identical structure with an even more extreme figure substituted, escalating the comparison exactly as SN 17.11-12's gold and silver pair was escalated by the merged discourse that followed.
Occupying the mind as the discourse's real concern
cittaṁ pariyādāya tiṭṭhati, “occupies the mind,” is the discourse's precise technical concern — not merely whether a temptation is present, but whether it takes over one's attention entirely.
Key terms
mātugāma — “a woman” (literally “womenfolk”) — this discourse's named point of comparison.
cittaṁ pariyādāya tiṭṭhati — “occupies the mind” — the discourse's precise concern, naming complete mental preoccupation rather than mere presence of temptation.
eko ekassa — “alone with” (literally “one with one”) — specifying total privacy, the condition under which the comparison is made.
dāruṇo … kaṭuko pharuso — “grim … bitter, harsh” — the recurring vocabulary this saṃyutta applies to possessions, honor, and popularity throughout.
paṭhamaṁ — “the first” — this discourse's closing numbering tag, opening Tatiyavagga's own count.
The text
The discourse in full. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. “Possessions, honor, and popularity are grim … Even if you’re alone with a lady she might not occupy your mind, but possessions, honor and popularity would still occupy your mind. So grim are possessions, honor, and popularity. …”
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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 comparison does this discourse make?
Correct: A. A ranking of two dangers, not a denial of either.
Question 2 of 10
Does this discourse deny that sexual temptation, as described in SN 17.9, is a real danger?
Correct: A. A comparison built on top of, not against, the earlier warning.
Question 3 of 10
What condition does this discourse specify for its comparison?
Correct: A. Eko ekassa, "alone with," specifying complete privacy.
Question 4 of 10
What technical phrase does the discourse use for its real concern?
Correct: A. Complete mental preoccupation, not merely the presence of temptation.
Question 5 of 10
How does this discourse's danger differ from SN 17.9's, in terms of what triggers it?
Correct: A. Possessions, honor, and popularity can occupy the mind independent of any specific occasion.
Question 6 of 10
What role does this discourse play in opening Tatiyavagga?
Correct: A. A comparison calculated to unsettle assumptions about which danger is most persistent.
Question 7 of 10
What happens to this discourse's comparison in the discourse immediately following it?
Correct: A. An escalation mirroring the earlier gold-and-silver pairing pattern.
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
Who is the sole speaker in this discourse?
Correct: A. No interlocutor appears in this discourse.
