Dhammasava — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Eleven · Poem 7 of 10
Setting
A retrospective account of a carefully considered decision to go forth
Speaker
Dhammasava, in the first person
Form
One four-line verse, closing on a formula shared with several earlier poems
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, one well-established formula
Why this text
Dhammasava says he went forth ‘after investigating’ — a deliberate, considered choice rather than an impulsive one — and closes with a formula, ‘I've attained the three knowledges and fulfilled the Buddha's instructions’, that has now appeared more times than any other closing line found in this collection.
Reading guide
Investigated, then went forth
Tulayitvāna, ‘having weighed’ or ‘having investigated’, comes from tulā, ‘a balance, a scale’ — the same image underlying the English ‘weighing up’ a decision. The verse frames Dhammasava's going forth as a considered act, deliberately measured, rather than a sudden or impulsive departure from lay life.
The collection's most-repeated closing formula
Tisso vijjā anuppattā, kataṁ buddhassa sāsanan, ‘I've attained the three knowledges and fulfilled the Buddha's instructions’, now appears five times across this collection: Thag 1.24, Thag 1.55, Thag 1.66, this verse, and (identically) the poem immediately after it, Thag 1.108. That makes it the single most-repeated exact formula found in this collection so far, surpassing even the three appearances of ‘Vikkhīṇo jātisaṁsāro, natthi dāni punabbhavo’ found earlier (Thag 1.67, Thag 1.87, Thag 1.90).
A name that may fit its own verse
Dhammasava reads as dhamma plus sava, related to suṇāti (‘hears’) — ‘hearer of the Dhamma’. Set against a verse whose opening word is about carefully weighing something before acting, this reading guide notes the name as a plausible fit, without asserting the connection was deliberate.
Key terms
tulayati — “weighs, considers, investigates” — from tulā (‘a balance, a scale’).
agārasmā anagāriyaṁ — “from the household to homelessness” — a standard phrase for going forth.
tisso vijjā — “the three knowledges” — the standard set traditionally comprising recollection of past lives, knowledge of beings' rebirth, and knowledge of the ending of defilements.
anuppatta — “attained, reached” — describing the three knowledges as accomplished.
Dhammasava — “hearer of the Dhamma” — dhamma plus sava, related to suṇāti (‘hears’).
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1After investigating, I went forth from the lay life to homelessness. I’ve attained the three knowledges and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.
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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 does the verse say Dhammasava did before going forth?
Correct: A. Tulayitvāna, 'having weighed', from tulā, 'a balance'.
Question 2 of 10
How many times has this verse's closing formula ('Tisso vijjā anuppattā, kataṁ buddhassa sāsanan') now appeared in this collection?
Correct: C. Thag 1.24, 1.55, 1.66, this verse, and Thag 1.108.
Question 3 of 10
How does this count compare to the 'Vikkhīṇo jātisaṁsāro' formula found in Thag 1.67, 1.87, and 1.90?
Correct: C. Five appearances versus three.
Question 4 of 10
What does 'tulayati' literally relate to?
Correct: A. The image underlying 'weighing up' a decision.
Question 5 of 10
What does 'tisso vijjā' mean?
Correct: D. Recollection of past lives, knowledge of beings' rebirth, and knowledge of the ending of defilements.
Question 6 of 10
What does the name Dhammasava possibly mean?
Correct: D. Dhamma plus sava, related to suṇāti ('hears').
Question 7 of 10
How does this reading guide characterize the fit between this name and this verse?
Correct: B. The same cautious treatment given to other possible name/verse connections in this collection.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'agārasmā anagāriyaṁ' mean?
Correct: A. A standard phrase for going forth.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'anuppatta' mean?
Correct: D. Describing the three knowledges as accomplished.
