Reading guide
A correction aimed at abandoning something praiseworthy
Unlike every other discourse in this saṃyutta, the deity's concern here isn't about a monk doing something wrong; it's about a monk who has stopped doing something that sounds entirely good — reciting the teaching — making this the collection's most ambiguous case of correction.
A history of excess, then a swing to silence
The discourse specifies that the monk previously recited ‘too much’, then later became passive and silent — a described swing between two extremes rather than a simple, single lapse.
Recitation valued for confidence and reputation, by the deity's own account
The deity's stated case for recitation is specific: hearing the teaching brings confidence, and doing so earns praise in this very life — practical, communal benefits rather than an abstract claim about recitation's inherent necessity.
An answer that neither defends nor apologizes
The monk doesn't argue that recitation was wrong, nor does he express regret for having stopped; he simply narrates a sequence — zealous devotion to the teaching's passages, until encountering dispassion — treating the change as a natural progression rather than a fault requiring justification.
A closing formula treating practice as something laid down, not lost
The verse's final line — that whatever is seen, heard, or thought is ‘laid down by complete understanding’ — frames the end of active recitation not as neglect but as the natural conclusion of a practice that has already accomplished what it set out to do.
Key terms
The text
§1At one time one of the mendicants was staying in the land of the Kosalans in a certain forest grove. Now at that time that mendicant had previously been spending too much time rehearsing. But some time later they adhered to passivity and silence. Not hearing the teaching, the deity haunting that forest approached that mendicant, and addressed them in verse:
§2“Mendicant, why don’t you recite passages of the teaching, living together with other mendicants? Hearing the teaching, one garners confidence; and in this very life, one garners praise.”
§3“I used to be zealous for passages of the teaching, until I encountered dispassion. When I encountered dispassion, whatever was seen, heard, and thought, this, good people say, is the laying down by complete understanding.”
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