The Buddha alone, addressing the assembled mendicants
Form
A single compact image applied directly, with no separate term-by-term decoding
Length
~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
★☆☆☆☆ — the briefest discourse in this vagga so far, needing no separate decoding
Why this discourse
After SN 17.3's extended fable, this discourse returns to brevity: a fleecy sheep enters a briar patch and gets caught, snagged, and trapped at every single turn, coming to ruin. The application follows immediately, with no separate decoding step — a mendicant whose mind is overcome by possessions, honor, and popularity heads out for alms and, in exactly the same way, gets caught, snagged, and trapped at every turn. Where SN 17.2 and 17.3 needed a hunter, a hook, a cord each individually assigned meaning, this discourse's parallel is direct enough that the mapping barely needs spelling out.
Reading guide
No separate decoding required
Unlike SN 17.2 and 17.3, this discourse moves straight from image to application without pausing to assign meaning to individual elements — the sheep's long, tangling wool and the briar patch map onto the mendicant's situation clearly enough on their own.
Repeated entanglement, not a single decisive moment
The sheep doesn't get caught once; the phrase “at every turn” (tatra tatra) repeats three times — sajjeyya, gayheyya, bajjheyya, snagged, caught, trapped — emphasizing repeated, compounding entanglement rather than one clean snare.
The exact same repeated phrase applied to the mendicant
The discourse doesn't merely gesture at a resemblance; it repeats the identical three-verb sequence, tatra tatra sajjati, gayhati, bajjhati, word for word, for the mendicant heading into the village for alms.
Ordinary almsgoing as the setting for the danger
The danger isn't placed in some unusual or extreme situation; it's placed in the most routine act a mendicant performs daily — simply going out for food — suggesting the entanglement this vagga warns about is an everyday risk, not a rare one.
A vagga alternating length and intensity
Following SN 17.3's extended narrative with this compact image establishes a rhythm this vagga will continue — longer, dialogue-driven discourses alternating with brief, single-image ones.
Key terms
dīghalomikā eḷakā — “a fleecy sheep,” literally a “long-wool sheep” — this discourse's title image, whose wool makes entanglement in a briar patch especially easy.
kaṇṭakagahanaṁ — “a briar patch” — the thicket the sheep enters, standing in for the everyday situations a mendicant might walk into.
sajjeyya, gayheyya, bajjheyya — “get caught, snagged, and trapped” — the threefold verb sequence repeated identically for both the sheep and the mendicant.
tatra tatra — “at every turn” — the phrase marking repeated, compounding entanglement rather than a single decisive snare.
lābhasakkārasilokena abhibhūto pariyādiṇṇacitto — “whose mind is overcome and overwhelmed by possessions, honor, and popularity” — the standard description of the vulnerable mendicant this vagga returns to repeatedly.
The text
The discourse in full. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. “Possessions, honor, and popularity are grim … Suppose a fleecy sheep was to enter a briar patch. She’d get caught, snagged, and trapped at every turn, coming to ruin. In the same way, take a certain mendicant whose mind is overcome and overwhelmed by possessions, honor, and popularity. They robe up in the morning and, taking their bowl and robe, enter the village or town for alms. They get caught, snagged, and trapped at every turn, coming to ruin. 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 image does this discourse use?
Correct: A. A brief, direct image following SN 17.3's extended fable.
Question 2 of 10
How does this discourse's structure differ from SN 17.2 and 17.3?
Correct: A. The mapping is clear enough on its own, without individually assigned meanings.
Question 3 of 10
What threefold sequence describes the sheep's entanglement?
Correct: A. Sajjeyya, gayheyya, bajjheyya, repeated identically for the mendicant.
Question 4 of 10
How many times does this entanglement happen to the sheep, according to the text?
Correct: A. Tatra tatra, emphasizing compounding rather than singular entanglement.
Question 5 of 10
In what ordinary situation does this discourse place the mendicant's danger?
Correct: A. Suggesting the entanglement is an everyday risk, not a rare occurrence.
Question 6 of 10
What rhythm does this discourse establish, following SN 17.3?
Correct: A. A pattern this vagga will continue across its remaining discourses.
Question 7 of 10
What does the sheep's long wool specifically contribute to this discourse's image?
Correct: A. A physical detail making the comparison vivid and specific.
Question 8 of 10
Who is the sole speaker in this discourse?
Correct: A. No interlocutor or visitor appears.
Question 9 of 10
Where does the Buddha deliver this teaching?
Correct: A. The setting shared with most discourses in this collection.
