Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 2.25

With Jantu

Jantusutta

Setting
In a wilderness hut on the slopes of the Himalayas, in the Kosalan lands, on the fifteenth day sabbath
Speakers
The godling Jantu, addressing a group of mendicants directly
Form
Four verses of admonishment, with no reply recorded from the mendicants addressed
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
★★★☆☆ — plain in content, notable chiefly for who is being addressed and why

Why this discourse

Unlike every other discourse in this book, this one is not addressed to the Buddha at all: Jantu approaches a group of mendicants who have grown restless, insolent, and undisciplined, and admonishes them directly, contrasting how disciples of Gotama used to live — desireless, seeking alms without attachment — with how these particular mendicants now live, eating their fill and passing out in others' homes.

Reading guide

A discourse without the Buddha as its addressee

Every other discourse in this book stages an exchange between a godling and the Buddha; this one breaks that pattern entirely, with Jantu speaking directly to a group of negligent mendicants and no reply from either the mendicants or the Buddha recorded in the text.

A specific setting for a specific problem

The setting note itself describes the mendicants' faults at length — restless, insolent, fickle, scurrilous, loose-tongued, unmindful, lacking situational awareness and immersion — before Jantu even speaks, framing his admonishment as a direct response to an observed, named failure rather than a general teaching.

A before-and-after contrast

Jantu's first two stanzas draw a clear line between how ‘the mendicants used to live’ — happily, desireless, seeking alms and lodging without attachment — and how they behave now, eating their fill and passing out in others' homes like village chiefs rather than renunciants.

Cupped palms raised to the Saṅgha, not to these mendicants

Jantu's third stanza makes an important distinction explicit: his reverence is raised to the Saṅgha as a whole, while his criticism is aimed only at ‘certain people’ within it, avoiding a blanket condemnation of the monastic community.

A closing that separates diligence from negligence cleanly

The final stanza's structure is deliberately symmetrical: criticism for those who live negligently, homage for those who live diligently, closing the admonishment on a distinction rather than a wholesale judgment.

Key terms

uposatha — “sabbath” — the fifteenth-day observance day on which Jantu approaches the mendicants.
pamatta — “negligent” — the quality Jantu's closing stanza names as the target of his criticism.
appamatta — “diligent” — the contrasting quality he pays homage to in the same closing stanza.
anālaya piṇḍa — “desireless alms” — how Jantu says the mendicants used to seek their food.
Saṅgha — “the Saṅgha” — the monastic community as a whole, to which Jantu's reverence is explicitly directed, distinct from the specific individuals he criticizes.

The text

The discourse in full: the setting describing the mendicants' faults, and Jantu's four stanzas of direct admonishment. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1So I have heard. At one time several mendicants were staying in the Kosalan lands, in a wilderness hut on the slopes of the Himalayas. They were restless, insolent, fickle, scurrilous, loose-tongued, unmindful, lacking situational awareness and immersion, with straying minds and undisciplined faculties. Then on the fifteenth day sabbath the godling Jantu went up to those mendicants and addressed them in verse:

§2“The mendicants used to live happily, as disciples of Gotama. Desireless they sought alms; desireless they used their lodgings. Knowing that the world was impermanent they made an end of suffering.

§3But now they’ve made themselves hard to look after, like chiefs in a village. They eat and eat and then lie down, passed out in the homes of others.

§4Having raised my cupped palms to the Saṅgha, I speak here only about certain people. They’re dregs, with no protector, just like those who have passed away.

§5I’m speaking about those who live negligently. To those who live diligently I pay homage.”

· · ·

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 does Jantu address in this discourse?
Correct: A. Breaking this book's usual pattern of godling-to-Buddha exchange.
Question 2 of 10
How does the setting note describe the mendicants before Jantu speaks?
Correct: A. Framing Jantu's admonishment as a response to an observed, named failure.
Question 3 of 10
What contrast does Jantu's first two stanzas draw?
Correct: A. A before-and-after contrast in behavior and attitude.
Question 4 of 10
According to Jantu, how do these mendicants now behave, unlike before?
Correct: A. Contrasted with their earlier desireless, unattached seeking of alms and lodging.
Question 5 of 10
To whom does Jantu raise his cupped palms in reverence?
Correct: A. An explicit distinction avoiding a blanket condemnation of the monastic community.
Question 6 of 10
How does the final stanza structure its closing judgment?
Correct: A. A distinction rather than a wholesale judgment.
Question 7 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. A setting distinct from every other discourse in this vagga so far.
Question 8 of 10
On what occasion does Jantu approach the mendicants?
Correct: A. A specific observance day named directly in the discourse's setting.
Question 9 of 10
Is any reply from the mendicants or the Buddha recorded in this discourse?
Correct: A. Unlike most discourses in this book, no reply closes this exchange.
Question 10 of 10
What does this discourse's break from the usual godling-Buddha pattern suggest about this book's exchanges?
Correct: A. A structural variation worth noting against this book's otherwise consistent pattern.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

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