The Buddha alone, addressing the assembled mendicants
Form
A single architectural image applied directly to a doctrinal claim
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
★★☆☆☆ — opens a saṃyutta organized entirely around varied similes rather than a single recurring refrain
Why this discourse
This discourse opens Opammasaṃyutta, a collection organized not around a single repeated topic but around the shared method of teaching through simile. A bungalow's rafters all lean toward and converge at the roof peak; when the peak is demolished, every rafter falls with it. In the same way, the Buddha says, every unskillful quality is rooted in ignorance and converges in ignorance — demolish ignorance, and every unskillful quality is demolished along with it.
Reading guide
A saṃyutta unified by method, not by subject matter
Unlike most saṃyuttas organized around a single recurring topic (elements, aggregates, a particular danger), Opammasaṃyutta's twelve discourses share only their teaching method — each builds its point around a distinct image — while ranging freely across ignorance, rebirth, loving-kindness, diligence, and monastic conduct.
A single structural point, not a load-bearing metaphor
The roof-peak image isolates one specific architectural fact — that a structure's parts converge on and depend upon a single point — without elaborating further architectural detail, keeping the comparison precise rather than decorative.
Ignorance as a genuine root, not merely a contributing factor
Avijjāmūlakā, “rooted in ignorance,” makes a strong causal claim: every unskillful quality traces back to this single source, not merely one among several possible causes, mirroring how every rafter genuinely depends on the one peak rather than several independent points.
A single practical instruction closing an ambitious claim
Despite the sweeping claim about ignorance's role underlying every unskillful quality, the discourse's actual instruction is modest and immediately actionable: simply stay diligent, appamatta, rather than prescribing a specific technique for uprooting ignorance directly.
An economical opening for a saṃyutta of similes
At barely more than a single image and a single instruction, this discourse establishes the collection's characteristic brevity — most of Opammasaṃyutta's discourses will share this same compact shape, an image stated once and applied directly.
Key terms
kūṭāgārassa … gopānasiyo — “a bungalow's rafters” — this discourse's title image, all converging on the same structural peak.
kūṭaṅgamā kūṭasamosaraṇā kūṭasamugghātā — “lean to the peak, meet at the peak, [and when the peak is] demolished [they're] demolished too” — the threefold structural claim mirrored directly onto ignorance's role.
avijjāmūlakā — “rooted in ignorance” — the discourse's central doctrinal claim, naming ignorance as every unskillful quality's genuine source.
akusalā dhammā — “unskillful qualities” — the general category the roof-peak image is applied to, not any single specific unwholesome state.
appamattā viharissāma — “we will stay diligent” — the discourse's closing instruction, modest in scope compared to its sweeping opening claim.
The text
The discourse in full. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. There the Buddha … said: “Mendicants, the rafters of a bungalow all lean to the peak and meet at the peak, and when the peak is demolished they’re all demolished too. In the same way all unskillful qualities are rooted in ignorance and meet in ignorance, and when ignorance is demolished they’re all demolished too. So you should train like this: ‘We will stay diligent.’ That’s how you should train.”
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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 architectural fact does this discourse's simile isolate?
Correct: A. A precise structural fact, not elaborated architectural detail.
Question 2 of 10
What does the discourse claim is true of every unskillful quality?
Correct: A. A strong causal claim mirroring the rafters' genuine dependence on one peak.
Question 3 of 10
How does Opammasaṃyutta differ from most other saṃyuttas in this collection?
Correct: A. Ranging freely across ignorance, rebirth, loving-kindness, diligence, and monastic conduct.
Question 4 of 10
What practical instruction closes this discourse?
Correct: A. A modest, immediately actionable instruction, not a specific technique for uprooting ignorance directly.
Question 5 of 10
How does this discourse's length compare to what becomes typical for this saṃyutta?
Correct: A. An image stated once and applied directly, a shape most later discourses will share.
Question 6 of 10
What happens to the rafters when the roof peak is demolished, according to the simile?
Correct: A. The structural dependency the discourse maps directly onto ignorance and unskillful qualities.
Question 7 of 10
Is ignorance presented as one cause among several, or as a singular root?
Correct: A. A strong causal claim, matching the rafters' single point of convergence.
Question 8 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. A setting given briefly, typical of this saṃyutta's compact style.
Question 9 of 10
Who is the sole speaker in this discourse?
Correct: A. No interlocutor appears.
Question 10 of 10
What numbering tag closes this discourse?
Correct: A. The first discourse of this saṃyutta's single vagga, Opammavagga.
