The Buddha alone, addressing the assembled mendicants
Form
A single striking rhetorical equation, nearly identical in shape to the discourse before it
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 near-repeat of SN 17.6 with the image swapped
Why this discourse
This discourse repeats SN 17.6's exact question-and-answer shape almost word for word, substituting a poisoned arrow for forked lightning: “Let whom be pierced by a poisoned arrow?” the Buddha asks, then answers — let possessions, honor, and popularity come to a trainee who hasn't yet achieved their heart's desire. The decoding is again a single line: ‘arrow’ is a term for possessions, honor, and popularity. Read alongside SN 17.6, the pairing makes a point through repetition itself — the danger is serious enough to be stated twice, in nearly identical terms, with only the weapon changed.
Reading guide
A deliberate near-repeat, not a new structure
This discourse doesn't introduce a new form; it reuses SN 17.6's rhetorical question almost verbatim, changing only the specific violent image — lightning becomes a poisoned arrow, and the decoding sentence keeps the same shape.
Why an arrow, alongside lightning
Where lightning strikes from outside without warning, an arrow implies a shooter and a wound that festers — diddhagatena visallena, “by a poisoned arrow,” suggesting harm that doesn't end at the moment of impact but continues to spread.
Still aimed specifically at the trainee
As in SN 17.6, the target named is sekha, a trainee who has not yet achieved their heart's desire — the danger is framed as most acute for someone close to the goal but not yet secure in it, not for everyone equally.
Repetition as its own kind of emphasis
Two discourses in a row built on the identical rhetorical shape isn't redundancy for its own sake; placed back to back, they let the warning land twice in quick succession, reinforcing rather than repeating.
A pivot point before the vagga's remaining discourses
After two of the vagga's most compact discourses, the collection returns to longer narrative forms in the three discourses that follow, closing the vagga on a different register entirely.
Key terms
diddhagatena visallena sallena — “by a poisoned arrow” — this discourse's title image, decoded directly as possessions, honor, and popularity.
sallanti … adhivacanaṁ — “'arrow' is a term for…” — the discourse's single-line decoding, mirroring SN 17.6's structure exactly.
sekha — “a trainee” — someone still practicing toward awakening, the specific target named in both this discourse and the one before it.
appattamānasa — “who has not achieved their heart's desire” — describing a trainee not yet secure in the goal they're working toward.
kaṁ … vijjhatu — “let whom be pierced?” — the rhetorical question structuring this entire discourse, echoing SN 17.6's “let it fall on whom?”
The text
The discourse in full. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. “Possessions, honor, and popularity are grim … Let whom be pierced by a poisoned arrow? Let possessions, honor, and popularity come to a trainee who has not achieved their heart’s desire.
§2‘Arrow’ is a term for possessions, honor, and popularity. 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 rhetorical question opens this discourse?
Correct: A. Nearly identical in shape to SN 17.6's opening question.
Question 2 of 10
How does this discourse's structure relate to SN 17.6?
Correct: A. A deliberate near-repeat, changing only the specific violent image.
Question 3 of 10
What is decoded as the "poisoned arrow" in this discourse?
Correct: A. The same decoding pattern as SN 17.6, just with a new image.
Question 4 of 10
Who specifically does this discourse say possessions, honor, and popularity should come to?
Correct: A. The same specific target as SN 17.6 — sekha, someone still in training.
Question 5 of 10
What might an arrow suggest that lightning does not?
Correct: A. An arrow implies ongoing harm, unlike lightning's single instant.
Question 6 of 10
What does this discourse's placement right after SN 17.6 suggest?
Correct: A. Two discourses built on an identical shape, reinforcing rather than merely repeating.
Question 7 of 10
What form do the three discourses following this one take?
Correct: A. The vagga shifts back to extended narrative for its closing discourses.
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.
