Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 46.46

Poor

Daliddasutta — Cakkavattivagga

Setting
Continuing directly from SN 46.45
Speakers
An unnamed mendicant, questioning the Buddha directly
Form
The same question-and-answer structure already met at SN 46.44-45, opening a second matched pair
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, opening this vagga's own second matched pair

Why this discourse

“Poor” (dalidda) — ordinarily an economic term for material lack — is redefined entirely in spiritual terms: not having developed and cultivated the seven awakening factors, applying the witless/wise definitional device from SN 46.44-45 to an economic rather than intellectual register.

Reading guide

A second matched pair, a different register

Where SN 46.44-45 redefined intellectual vocabulary (witless/wise), this pair redefines economic vocabulary (poor/prosperous) — confirmed by direct comparison to use the identical structural device across two distinct ordinary-language registers, both reframed in terms of the seven awakening factors rather than their own conventional meanings.

Key terms

dalidda — “poor” — ordinarily an economic term for material lack, here redefined entirely in spiritual terms
satta bojjhaṅge abhāvitattā abahulīkatattā — “because they haven't developed and cultivated the seven awakening factors” — the identical negative formula already met at SN 46.44
sati... upekkhā — the seven awakening factors, named in brief succession as the discourse's own reference point
dalidoti vuccati — “they're called poor” — the discourse's own formal labeling convention
chaṭṭhaṁ — “the sixth” — the Pāli root's own closing numeral for this discourse

The text

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

§1“Sir, they speak of someone who is ‘poor’. How is a poor person defined?” “Mendicant, they’re called poor because they haven’t developed and cultivated the seven awakening factors. What seven? The awakening factors of mindfulness, investigation of principles, energy, rapture, tranquility, immersion, and equanimity. They’re called poor because they haven’t developed and cultivated these seven awakening factors.”

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Self-check quiz

3 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 3
How does this discourse redefine "poor" (dalidda)?
Correct: A. Applying the witless/wise definitional device to an economic rather than intellectual register.
Question 2 of 3
What earlier matched pair does this discourse's own structure most closely resemble?
Correct: A. The same definitional device applied to a different ordinary-language register.
Question 3 of 3
What is the discourse's own formal closing label for this term?
Correct: A. A repeated formal convention mirroring the structure of SN 46.44's own closing label.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 46.45 · Wise