The godling Kassapa, speaking in the Buddha's presence
Form
A single four-line verse, with no prose frame beyond one sentence of setting
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
★☆☆☆☆ — the shortest and plainest discourse in the book so far
Why this discourse
Where SN 2.1 built its point out of a prose exchange, its paired sequel dispenses with dialogue entirely: Kassapa simply speaks one verse in the Buddha's presence, unprompted, and the discourse ends. The verse names the reward of the freed mind directly — having known the arising and passing of the world, good-hearted and independent, that is the reward — without narrative elaboration of any kind.
Reading guide
No question, no answer, no departure formula
Unlike SN 2.1 and most of this book's other discourses, this one has no Buddha's reply, no approval formula, and no closing departure scene. Kassapa speaks and the text simply stops.
Freed in mind, desiring the heart's fulfillment
The verse opens with two conditions — being a meditator freed in mind, and desiring the heart's fulfillment — before naming what follows from them: knowledge of the world's arising and passing.
The arising and passing of the world
“Having known the arising and passing of the world” compresses, into a single line, a theme this collection returns to repeatedly under fuller treatment: the impermanence of all conditioned things, viewed here from the single vantage of one meditator's realization.
Good-hearted, independent: the reward named
The verse's final line states the reward outright — ‘good-hearted, independent, that is their reward’ — rather than describing a path toward it, a difference in register from discourses elsewhere in this book that dwell on the difficulty of the path itself.
A minimal companion to a fuller opening
Read against SN 2.1's prose exchange and explicit training list, this discourse's bareness reads as deliberate: the same godling, the same book, but the answer given in the fewest possible words.
Key terms
jhāyī vimutto — “a meditator, freed in mind” — the verse's opening description of its subject.
hadayassa santi — “the heart's fulfillment” (literally, the heart's peace or contentment) — what such a meditator desires.
lokassa udayabbayaṁ — “the arising and passing of the world” — the knowledge the verse identifies as central to its subject's freedom.
suvimutta — “good-hearted” (literally well-freed) — describing the meditator alongside independence, in the verse's final line.
nirūpadhi — “independent” (literally without attachment) — the verse's last descriptive term before naming the reward.
The text
The discourse in full: one setting sentence and a single four-line verse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. Standing to one side, the godling Kassapa spoke this verse in the Buddha’s presence:
§2“If a mendicant is a meditator, freed in mind, and if they desire the heart’s fulfillment— having known the arising and passing of the world, good-hearted, independent, that is their reward.”
· · ·
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
How does this discourse differ structurally from SN 2.1?
Correct: A. Kassapa speaks one verse and the text simply ends.
Question 2 of 10
What two conditions does the verse's opening name?
Correct: A. The verse's first two lines set up what follows.
Question 3 of 10
What knowledge does the verse identify as central?
Correct: A. “Having known the arising and passing of the world” is the verse's pivotal line.
Question 4 of 10
What is named as the reward in the verse's final line?
Correct: A. “Good-hearted, independent, that is their reward.”
Question 5 of 10
Who speaks in this discourse?
Correct: A. The same Kassapa returns for this paired sequel.
Question 6 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. “At Sāvatthī” is the discourse's only setting note.
Question 7 of 10
How does this discourse's length compare to others in the book so far?
Correct: A. A single setting sentence plus a four-line verse, nothing more.
Question 8 of 10
What does the verse's bareness suggest when read against SN 2.1?
Correct: A. The reading guide treats the minimalism as a deliberate companion to the fuller SN 2.1.
Question 9 of 10
Does the Buddha reply to Kassapa's verse in this discourse?
Correct: A. The text ends immediately after the verse, without any recorded response.
Question 10 of 10
What does ‘nirūpadhi’ literally mean?
Correct: A. Rendered ‘independent’ in the verse's final line.
