A verse of celebration, met with a verse naming the condition for escaping Death
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
★★☆☆☆ — straightforward in content, notable chiefly for its speaker's name
Why this discourse
Veṇhu — the Pali spelling of Sanskrit Viṣṇu, a rare appearance of a deity of this name in the early Buddhist texts — celebrates those who pay homage to the Buddha and apply themselves diligently to his instructions. The Buddha affirms the point in his own terms: those who practice absorption in accord with the training, diligent while there is still time, will not fall under the sway of Death.
Reading guide
A rare name in the early texts
Veṇhu is not a common figure across the early Buddhist canon; this discourse is noted specifically for being one of the few places a deity bearing this name (recognizable as the Pali form of Viṣṇu) appears at all.
Celebration met with reaffirmation
Unlike discourses where the Buddha corrects or redirects a godling's claim, here he simply confirms it in his own vocabulary — homage and diligent training become ‘practicing absorption in accord with the training’.
While there is still time
The phrase ‘diligent while there is still time’ introduces urgency absent from Veṇhu's own verse, framing diligence not as a general virtue but as something time-bound and pressing.
Escaping the sway of Death
The verse's closing claim — that such practitioners will not fall under Death's sway — uses a phrase this book returns to in different forms across several discourses, treating Death as an active force to be evaded rather than merely an event to be accepted.
A short discourse without narrative elaboration
As with several discourses in this vagga, the scene is bare — no departure formula, no further exchange — letting the two verses carry the entire discourse.
Key terms
Veṇhu — “Veṇhu” — the Pali spelling of Sanskrit Viṣṇu, this discourse's speaker and a rare figure of this name in the early texts.
Gotamasāsana — “Gotama's instructions” — what Veṇhu's verse says those he celebrates apply themselves to.
appamāda — “diligence” — named in both verses as the quality that marks genuine training.
kālena — “while there is still time” — the urgency the Buddha's verse adds to Veṇhu's celebration.
maccuvasa — “the sway of Death” — what diligent practitioners are said to escape falling under.
The text
The discourse in full: Veṇhu's verse of celebration and the Buddha's confirming reply. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Standing to one side, the godling Vishnu spoke this verse in the Buddha’s presence:
§2“Happy are the men who pay homage to the Holy One! They apply themselves to Gotama’s instructions, diligently training.”
§3“Those who practice absorption in accord with the training”, said the Buddha to Vishnu, “in the way of teaching I’ve proclaimed, diligent while there is still time; they won’t fall under the sway of Death.”
· · ·
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
Who is Veṇhu, according to this discourse's introduction?
Correct: A. Noted in this discourse's glance summary as a rare early-text appearance of this deity's name.
Question 2 of 10
What does Veṇhu's verse celebrate?
Correct: A. The verse's central content, met by the Buddha's confirming reply.
Question 3 of 10
How does the Buddha respond to Veṇhu's celebration?
Correct: A. Unlike discourses where a claim is corrected, here it is simply reaffirmed.
Question 4 of 10
What phrase does the Buddha's verse add that is absent from Veṇhu's?
Correct: A. Introducing urgency absent from Veṇhu's own celebration.
Question 5 of 10
What does the Buddha's verse say diligent practitioners will escape?
Correct: A. The verse's closing claim, treating Death as an active force to be evaded.
Question 6 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. A bare setting note, consistent with several discourses in this vagga.
Question 7 of 10
Does this discourse record a closing departure formula?
Correct: A. Like several discourses in this vagga, it closes without narrative elaboration.
Question 8 of 10
What does the Buddha's phrase “practice absorption in accord with the training” restate from Veṇhu's verse?
Correct: A. The Buddha reframes Veṇhu's devotional language in his own practice-focused terms.
Question 9 of 10
What figure does Veṇhu correspond to outside the Buddhist tradition?
Correct: A. Veṇhu is the Pali phonetic rendering of the Sanskrit name Viṣṇu.
Question 10 of 10
How does this discourse's structure compare to most others in this vagga so far?
Correct: A. Two verses carry the entire discourse, without further scene-setting.
