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Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 2.6

With Kāmada

Kāmadasutta

Setting
At Sāvatthī; no further narrative detail given
Speakers
The Buddha and the godling Kāmada
Form
Four rounds of lament and refrain, each shorter than a full verse exchange
Length
~2 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
★★★☆☆ — simple individually, but the four-round structure is worth tracking as a whole

Why this discourse

Kāmada complains four times that the practice is too hard — first ethics and immersion in general, then contentment, then immersing the mind in samādhi, then the path itself, called rough and hard to travel. Each time the Buddha answers with the same refrain: they do it, they find it, they become immersed, even though it's hard — closing with the observation that the noble ones are smooth amid the rough, while the ignoble fall headfirst on the same path.

Reading guide

A godling named for desire, lamenting its renunciation

Kāmada's name shares its root with kāma, sensual desire; a deity named after desire itself voicing the difficulty of renouncing it is a detail this reading guide flags without asserting the text intends the pun deliberately.

Four rounds, narrowing in focus

Each round narrows the target of Kāmada's complaint: general ethics and immersion, then specifically contentment, then specifically immersing the mind, then the path as a whole — a structure that moves from the broad to the specific and back to the broad again.

The same refrain, varied to fit

The Buddha's answer changes its verb each time — ‘they do it’, ‘they find it’, ‘they become immersed’ — while keeping the same underlying claim: difficulty does not stop those who love the practice from succeeding at it.

Cutting through the net of Death

The third round's refrain adds an image not present in the first two: those who love calming the faculties, having cut through the net of Death, go on their way — escalating the stakes from personal difficulty to a struggle against Death's own snare.

Smooth amid the rough: the closing image

The final round abandons the paired lament-and-refrain pattern for a direct statement: the ignoble fall headfirst on a rough path, but the noble ones' path is smooth, for the noble ones are smooth amid the rough — the difficulty belongs to the path, not to those who have mastered walking it.

Key terms

dukkara — “hard to do” — Kāmada's recurring complaint, repeated in some form across all four rounds.
santuṭṭhi — “contentment” — the second round's specific target, said to bring happiness to one who has gone forth.
samādhi — “immersion” — the third round's target, immersing the mind despite the difficulty Kāmada names.
maccupāsa — “the net of Death” — what those who love calming the faculties are said to cut through in the third refrain.
visama — “rough, uneven” — the path's own quality in the final round, contrasted with the noble ones who are smooth amid it.

The text

The discourse in full: four rounds of lament and refrain. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1At Sāvatthī. Standing to one side, the godling Kāmada said to the Buddha, “It’s too hard, Blessed One! It’s just too hard!”

§2“They do it even though it’s hard,” said the Buddha to Kāmada, “the stable trainees with ethics, and immersion. For one who has entered the homeless life, contentment brings happiness.”

§3“Such contentment, Blessed One, is hard to find.”

§4“They find it even though it’s hard,” said the Buddha to Kāmada, “those who love peace of mind; whose minds love to meditate day and night.”

§5“But it’s hard, Blessed One, to immerse this mind in samādhi.”

§6“They become immersed in samādhi even though it’s hard,” said the Buddha to Kāmada, “those who love calming the faculties. Having cut through the net of Death, the noble ones, Kāmada, go on their way.”

§7“But this path, Blessed One, is rough and hard to travel.”

§8“Though it’s rough, hard to travel, the noble ones, Kāmada, go on their way. The ignoble fall headfirst on a rough path. But the path of the noble ones is smooth, for the noble ones are smooth amid the rough.”

· · ·

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 many rounds of lament and refrain structure this discourse?
Correct: A. General ethics and immersion, then contentment, then samādhi, then the path itself.
Question 2 of 10
What does Kāmada complain about in the first round?
Correct: A. “It's too hard, Blessed One! It's just too hard!”
Question 3 of 10
What is the Buddha's recurring refrain across the rounds?
Correct: A. Varied by verb each round but consistent in claim: difficulty does not stop the noble ones.
Question 4 of 10
What image appears in the third round's refrain that is new to the discourse?
Correct: A. Escalating from personal difficulty to a struggle against Death's own snare.
Question 5 of 10
What does the final round say about the ignoble on a rough path?
Correct: A. Contrasted directly with the noble ones, who are smooth amid the rough.
Question 6 of 10
What does Kāmada's name share a root with?
Correct: A. The reading guide notes this without asserting the text intends the pun deliberately.
Question 7 of 10
According to the second round, what brings happiness to one who has gone forth?
Correct: A. “For one who has entered the homeless life, contentment brings happiness.”
Question 8 of 10
How does the Buddha's refrain change across the rounds?
Correct: A. “They do it,” “they find it,” “they become immersed” — varied to fit, same claim underneath.
Question 9 of 10
What does the final round say makes the noble ones' path smooth?
Correct: A. The roughness belongs to the path; smoothness belongs to how the noble ones walk it.
Question 10 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. A bare setting note, consistent with several discourses in this vagga.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

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