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Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 21.6

With Bhaddiya the Dwarf

Lakuṇḍakabhaddiyasutta

Setting
Sāvatthī
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the assembled mendicants as Bhaddiya approaches
Form
The exact reverse pairing of SN 21.5, unattractive appearance alongside genuine attainment
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
★★★☆☆ — the deliberate reverse image of the discourse immediately before it

Why this discourse

This discourse deliberately reverses SN 21.5's pairing: rather than beauty and attainment appearing together, the Buddha points to Venerable Bhaddiya the Dwarf — described bluntly as ugly, unsightly, deformed, and despised by the other mendicants — and declares that this same monk is very mighty and powerful, with almost no attainment left for him to reach. The closing verse compares this to how all creatures, regardless of relative size, fear the lion, and how a small but wise person is the truly great one, not a large fool.

Reading guide

A deliberate structural mirror of the discourse before it

Placed immediately after SN 21.5's beautiful and accomplished Sujāta, this discourse pairs the opposite physical description with the identical spiritual conclusion, making the point that physical appearance carries no predictive value in either direction, attractive or unattractive.

The despised status named as fact, not softened

The description of Bhaddiya isn't limited to physical unattractiveness; it specifically adds paribhūtarūpaṁ, “despised,” naming the social contempt other mendicants actually direct at him, not merely an unflattering appearance in the abstract.

Animals of varying size unified by a single shared fear

The verse's opening list — geese, herons, peacocks, elephants, spotted deer — spans a wide range of sizes and kinds, yet all are said to fear the lion equally, establishing that raw physical scale doesn't determine actual standing before something genuinely formidable.

A comparison extended directly from animals to humans

The verse doesn't leave the lion simile as a standalone observation about animals; it explicitly draws the parallel to humans in its very next line, naming a wise small person as truly great regardless of physical stature.

This saṃyutta's clearest statement of its recurring theme

Read together, SN 21.4 through 21.6 form this saṃyutta's most concentrated sequence on the unreliability of outward appearance — misleading laziness, aligned beauty, and now despised ugliness, each tested against genuine inner attainment in turn.

Key terms

dubbaṇṇaṁ duddasikaṁ okoṭimakaṁ — “ugly, unsightly, deformed” — the blunt physical description this discourse opens with, naming Bhaddiya's appearance without euphemism.
bhikkhūnaṁ paribhūtarūpaṁ — “despised by the mendicants” — the specific social contempt named, not merely an unflattering appearance in the abstract.
mahiddhiko mahānubhāvo — “very mighty and powerful” — the Buddha's declaration about Bhaddiya's actual attainment, directly contradicting how he's treated by his peers.
sīhassa bhāyanti — “fear the lion” — the shared response of animals of vastly different sizes, establishing that scale doesn't determine standing before genuine power.
daharo cepi paññavā — “if a little person is wise” — the verse's direct extension of the lion simile from animals to humans, naming wisdom rather than stature as what makes someone truly great.

The text

The discourse in full. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1At Sāvatthī. Then Venerable Bhaddiya the Dwarf went to see the Buddha. The Buddha saw him coming off in the distance, and addressed the mendicants: “Mendicants, do you see this monk coming—ugly, unsightly, deformed, and despised by the mendicants?” “Yes, sir.” “That mendicant is very mighty and powerful. It’s not easy to find an attainment that he has not already attained. And he has realized the supreme end of the spiritual path in this very life. He lives having achieved with his own insight the goal for which gentlemen rightly go forth from the lay life to homelessness.” That is what the Buddha said. Then the Holy One, the Teacher, went on to say:

§2“Geese, herons, and peacocks, elephants and spotted deer—though their bodies are not equal, they all fear the lion.

§3So it is for humans—if a little person is wise, they’re the truly great one, not the fool with a good body.”

· · ·

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 describe Venerable Bhaddiya's physical appearance?
Correct: A. A blunt description, including specific social contempt, not merely an unflattering physical trait.
Question 2 of 10
How does this discourse relate structurally to SN 21.5?
Correct: A. Showing that appearance, whether attractive or unattractive, carries no predictive value about attainment.
Question 3 of 10
What does the Buddha declare about Bhaddiya despite his appearance?
Correct: A. Directly contradicting how he's treated by his peers.
Question 4 of 10
What do the animals named in the closing verse have in common, despite their different sizes?
Correct: A. Establishing that raw physical scale doesn't determine standing before something genuinely formidable.
Question 5 of 10
How does the verse extend this animal comparison to humans?
Correct: A. Naming wisdom rather than stature as what makes someone genuinely great.
Question 6 of 10
What sequence do SN 21.4 through 21.6 form together, according to this reading guide?
Correct: A. Misleading laziness, aligned beauty, and despised ugliness, each tested in turn.
Question 7 of 10
What specific term names the social contempt Bhaddiya faces from other mendicants?
Correct: A. Naming actual social contempt, not merely describing an unflattering appearance in the abstract.
Question 8 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. The setting shared with several discourses in this saṃyutta.
Question 9 of 10
Who is the sole speaker in this discourse?
Correct: A. No interlocutor appears; Bhaddiya himself never speaks in this discourse.
Question 10 of 10
What numbering tag closes this discourse?
Correct: A. The sixth discourse of this saṃyutta.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 21.5 · With Sujāta