A four-line verse on impermanence, matched by the Buddha's reply with its final line changed
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
★★★☆☆ — brief, but best read directly against SN 2.19 for what is shared and what is not
Why this discourse
Nanda's verse opens with its own distinct image of impermanence — time flies, nights pass by, the stages of life leave one by one — before closing on a line already heard from a different godling: ‘seeing this peril in death, do good deeds that bring you joy.’ The Buddha's reply again substitutes only the final line, exactly as he did at SN 2.19, producing a verse whose closing couplet is now word for word identical to that earlier discourse's own reply, though its opening differs entirely.
Reading guide
A new opening, a familiar closing
This discourse's first two lines are entirely different from SN 2.19's Uttarasutta — time flying and nights passing, rather than life's shortness and old age's lack of shelter — but its second couplet, ‘seeing this peril in death, do good deeds that bring you joy,’ is identical word for word.
A fourth mode of repetition in this collection
This book has already shown verses repeated whole across unrelated discourses (SN 2.13), and single lines substituted within a reply (SN 2.16, SN 2.19); this discourse adds a new variant — two different godlings independently arriving at the identical closing couplet while opening their verses differently.
The Buddha's identical substitution
The Buddha's own reply here is, in turn, word for word identical to his reply at SN 2.19: ‘a seeker of peace would drop the world's bait’, replacing ‘do good deeds that bring you joy’ exactly as before, regardless of which godling's opening lines precede it.
What the shared couplet suggests
That both this discourse and SN 2.19 converge on the same closing couplet, met by the same substituted reply, suggests this specific pairing — merit for a happy rebirth, redirected toward renunciation — functioned as something like a fixed formula the compilers could attach to more than one opening.
Two names, one lesson repeated for emphasis
Whether or not this repetition was deliberate on the compilers' part, its effect within the collection is to underscore the lesson through recurrence: readers encountering both discourses meet the same redirection from merit-making to renunciation twice, framed by two different godlings' distinct circumstances.
Key terms
accayanti ahorattā — “time flies, nights pass by” — this discourse's own distinct opening image, absent from SN 2.19.
jīvitassa vayoguṇā — “the stages of life leave us one by one” — the second line, likewise unique to this discourse's opening.
maraṇabhaya — “peril in death” — the phrase shared word for word with SN 2.19's closing couplet.
puññāni kayirātha — “do good deeds” — Nanda's original conclusion, identical to Uttara's at SN 2.19.
lokāmisa — “the world's bait” — the Buddha's substituted image, identical word for word to his reply at SN 2.19.
The text
The discourse in full: Nanda's verse and the Buddha's reply with its final line substituted. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Standing to one side, the godling Nanda spoke this verse in the Buddha’s presence:
§2“Time flies, nights pass by, the stages of life leave us one by one. Seeing this peril in death, do good deeds that bring you joy.”
§3“Time flies, nights pass by, the stages of life leave us one by one. Seeing this peril in death, a seeker of peace would drop the world’s bait.”
· · ·
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 opens Nanda's verse?
Correct: A. Entirely different from SN 2.19's own opening image.
Question 2 of 10
What does Nanda's verse share word for word with SN 2.19?
Correct: A. Two different godlings arriving at an identical closing couplet with different openings.
Question 3 of 10
How does the Buddha's reply here compare to his reply at SN 2.19?
Correct: A. The same substituted final line, regardless of which godling's opening precedes it.
Question 4 of 10
What new mode of repetition does this discourse add to this collection?
Correct: A. Distinct from the whole-verse repetition at SN 2.13 and the elided repeats at SN 2.8/2.20.
Question 5 of 10
What does the reading guide suggest about this shared couplet's function?
Correct: A. A cautious inference about how such formulaic couplets may have circulated.
Question 6 of 10
What effect does this repetition have within the collection, according to the guide?
Correct: A. Readers meet the same redirection from merit-making to renunciation twice.
Question 7 of 10
What word replaces “do good deeds that bring you joy” in the Buddha's reply?
Correct: A. Identical to the Buddha's substitution at SN 2.19.
Question 8 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. A bare setting note, consistent with several discourses in this collection.
Question 9 of 10
Does Nanda's verse deny that good deeds have value, on its own terms?
Correct: A. Its own conclusion is merit-focused, before the Buddha's reply redirects it.
Question 10 of 10
How many discourses in this book now use the single-line-substitution technique, counting this one?
Correct: A. A recurring compositional pattern across this book's second and third vaggas.
