Suhemanta — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Eleven · Poem 6 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; a wisdom teaching contrasting two kinds of perception
Speaker
An unnamed voice giving general instruction
Form
One four-line verse, building to a numeric contrast
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
This reading guide does not assert a specific matching text for this poem in other Buddhist literatures.
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — plain vocabulary, a clean numeric structure
Why this text
This verse builds toward a stark contrast: though a single meaning has ‘a hundred facets’ and ‘a hundred characteristics’, the simpleton (ekaṅgadassin) sees only one factor, while the sage (satadassin) sees all hundred.
Reading guide
One facet versus a hundred
Sata (‘hundred’) appears three times in this compact verse — sataliṅga, satalakkhaṇa, satadassin — building up to its final, sharpest contrast: ekaṅgadassī dummedho, satadassī ca paṇḍito, ‘the simpleton sees only one factor, while the sage sees a hundred’. The numeric repetition itself does the argument's work — three hundreds building toward the one line where the number actually matters.
Two more words for 'seeing', in one verse
Both ekaṅgadassin and satadassin end in dassin, ‘one who sees’ — the same word root already noted opening or appearing near several earlier chapters (Thag 1.61, Thag 1.71, Thag 1.75). This verse packs two instances of the root into a single line, its own densest concentration of this recurring vocabulary found anywhere in the collection so far.
A third appearance of the same word for 'fool'
Dummedho, ‘simpleton’, is the exact word Thag 1.84 (Nīta) used for the same kind of figure. This chapter's own opener, Thag 1.101, used a related but different word, mando (‘dullard’), for a similar figure. Across the collection, a recognizable type — someone lacking the wisdom the verses praise — keeps recurring under closely related vocabulary.
Key terms
liṅga — “facet, mark” — here counted as a hundred, describing the richness of a single meaning.
lakkhaṇa — “characteristic, feature” — paired with liṅga in this verse's build-up.
ekaṅgadassin — “seeing only one factor” — eka (‘one’) plus aṅga (‘factor’) plus dassin (‘one who sees’).
satadassin — “seeing a hundred” — sata (‘hundred’) plus dassin, describing the sage's perception.
paṇḍita — “sage, wise person” — the verse's closing contrast to dummedha, ‘simpleton’.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Though the meaning has a hundred facets, and bears a hundred characteristics, the simpleton sees only one factor, while the sage sees a hundred.
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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
How many times does 'sata' ('hundred') appear in this compact verse?
Correct: C. Sataliṅga, satalakkhaṇa, and satadassin.
Question 2 of 10
What does the verse say the simpleton sees, compared to the sage?
Correct: B. Ekaṅgadassī dummedho, satadassī ca paṇḍito, the verse's closing contrast.
Question 3 of 10
What root do both 'ekaṅgadassin' and 'satadassin' share?
Correct: A. The densest concentration of this recurring root found anywhere in the collection so far.
Question 4 of 10
What earlier poem uses the exact same word, 'dummedha', for a similar figure?
Correct: C. The same word, not merely a related concept.
Question 5 of 10
What word does this chapter's own opener, Thag 1.101, use for a similar figure?
Correct: D. A closely related but distinct term for the same general figure.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'liṅga' mean, as used in this verse?
Correct: A. Describing the richness of a single meaning.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'paṇḍita' mean?
Correct: D. The verse's closing contrast to dummedha.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'lakkhaṇa' mean?
Correct: A. Paired with liṅga in this verse's build-up.
Question 9 of 10
What structural device does the verse use to build toward its final contrast?
Correct: D. The repetition itself does the argument's work.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Eleven?
Correct: B. Immediately after Malitavambha's verse.
