Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 17.29

A Rope

Rajjusutta

Setting
Sāvatthī
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the assembled mendicants
Form
SN 17.28's cutting claim restated, now framed by an explicit simile
Length
~1.5 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
★★★☆☆ — SN 17.28's image given its concrete scenario

Why this discourse

This discourse takes SN 17.28's bare claim — that possessions, honor, and popularity cut through skin, flesh, sinew, and bone to the marrow — and gives it a concrete scenario: suppose a strong man twisted a strong horse-hair rope around your shin and tightened it. That rope, the discourse says, would cut through exactly the same sequence of layers, in exactly the same order, reaching the marrow and pressing on. Only after establishing this simile does the discourse restate the original claim, now anchored to something physically imaginable.

Reading guide

A simile supplied after the fact, not before

Unlike most similes in this collection, which introduce the comparison before applying it, this discourse opens with the same bare claim as SN 17.28 and only then supplies the rope scenario, reversing the usual order of image and application.

The same sequence, repeated identically for image and application

The rope's cutting sequence — outer skin, inner skin, flesh, sinew, bone, marrow — is stated in exactly the same words used for the claim itself, making the parallel between simile and reality as exact as the language allows.

A specific material chosen for the rope

Vāḷarajju, a rope made specifically of horse hair, is named rather than a generic cord — a material coarse and abrasive enough to plausibly saw through flesh when pulled taut, rather than simply binding.

Tightening as the operative action

The image doesn't describe a single cut but a rope being progressively tightened, ghaṁseyya, suggesting sustained pressure over time rather than a single sharp wound — matching this saṃyutta's recurring interest in gradual rather than instantaneous harm.

Completing a pair that moves from claim to concrete image

Read together, SN 17.28 and this discourse move from bare assertion to fully realized scenario, mirroring the pattern already seen in this vagga's other matched pairs, where a first statement is followed by a second that grounds or extends it.

Key terms

balavā puriso — “a strong man” — the agent introduced in this discourse's simile, absent from SN 17.28's bare claim.
daḷhāya vāḷarajjuyā — “a strong horse-hair rope” — the specific material named, chosen for its capacity to abrade rather than merely bind.
jaṅghaṁ veṭhetvā ghaṁseyya — “twist it around your shin and tighten it” — the action described, emphasizing sustained pressure over a single cut.
evameva kho — “in the same way” — the discourse's explicit marker connecting the rope simile back to the original claim about possessions, honor, and popularity.
navamaṁ — “the ninth” — this discourse's closing numbering tag.

The text

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

§1At Sāvatthī. “Possessions, honor, and popularity are grim …

§2Suppose a strong man was to twist a strong horse-hair rope around your shin and tighten it. It would cut through the outer skin, the inner skin, the flesh, sinews, and bones, until it reached the marrow and kept pressing. In the same way, possessions, honor, and popularity cut through the outer skin, the inner skin, the flesh, sinews, and bones, until they reach the marrow and keep pressing. 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 scenario does this discourse add to SN 17.28's bare claim?
Correct: A. A concrete, physically imaginable image supplied for SN 17.28's claim.
Question 2 of 10
In what order does the discourse present the claim and the simile?
Correct: A. An unusual sequence compared to most other similes in this saṃyutta.
Question 3 of 10
What specific material is the rope made of?
Correct: A. Chosen for its capacity to abrade rather than merely bind.
Question 4 of 10
What action does the simile describe, rather than a single decisive cut?
Correct: A. Ghaṁseyya, tightening, matching this saṃyutta's interest in gradual rather than instantaneous harm.
Question 5 of 10
How closely does the rope's cutting sequence match SN 17.28's original claim?
Correct: A. An exact parallel between simile and reality, down to the wording.
Question 6 of 10
What phrase explicitly connects the rope simile back to possessions, honor, and popularity?
Correct: A. A clear marker linking the concrete image back to the original claim.
Question 7 of 10
How does this discourse relate to SN 17.28, read as a pair?
Correct: A. A pattern already seen in this vagga's other pairs, where a second discourse grounds or extends the first.
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.
Question 10 of 10
What numbering tag closes this discourse?
Correct: A. The ninth discourse of Tatiyavagga.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

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