Belaṭṭhasīsa — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Two · Poem 6 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; a short verse comparing time itself to a running horse
Speaker
Belaṭṭhasīsa, describing his own days and nights
Form
One six-line verse
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
★☆☆☆☆ — a horse simile applied not to a person but to the passage of time itself
Why this text
Belaṭṭhasīsa compares his days and nights to a fine thoroughbred running with ease, tail and mane flying in the wind — not himself directly, but the passage of time itself, moving easily and full of ‘joy not of the flesh’.
Reading guide
A horse simile applied to time, not to a person
Most similes comparing someone to a fine horse describe the person's own bearing or conduct. Here the comparison lands somewhere less expected: ‘so my days and nights proceed with ease’ — the thoroughbred image applied to the passage of time itself, rather than to Belaṭṭhasīsa's own posture or movement.
A joy specifically 'not of the flesh'
The verse's closing phrase names a recognized distinction in early Buddhist vocabulary: pleasure that is āmisa, ‘of the flesh’ or worldly, versus pleasure that is nirāmisa, arising instead from meditation and renunciation — and it is this second kind the verse claims fills his days.
Joy returning at the chapter's midpoint
This chapter opened with Cūḷavaccha's verse naming joy as the condition for peace. Here, roughly at its midpoint, another poem returns to joy directly — this time specified precisely as joy that is not sensory, echoing rather than repeating the chapter's opening theme.
Key terms
ājañña — “thoroughbred” — the fine, well-bred horse at the center of this verse's simile.
appakasirena — “with ease” or “without difficulty” — describing how both the horse and Belaṭṭhasīsa's own days and nights proceed.
rattindivā — “days and nights” — what this verse compares directly to a running horse.
pīti — “joy” or “rapture” — the quality filling Belaṭṭhasīsa's days, according to this verse's closing line.
nirāmisa — “not of the flesh”, non-material or spiritual — distinguished in early Buddhist vocabulary from āmisa, worldly or sensory pleasure.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Just as a fine thoroughbred proceeds with ease, tail and mane flying in the wind; so my days and nights proceed with ease, full of joy not of the flesh.
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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 this verse compare to a fine thoroughbred?
Correct: B. An unusual application of a common horse simile.
Question 2 of 10
How does the thoroughbred proceed, according to this verse?
Correct: C. The verse's opening image.
Question 3 of 10
What kind of joy does the verse's closing line name?
Correct: A. A distinction between worldly and spiritual pleasure.
Question 4 of 10
What does 'nirāmisa' mean?
Correct: D. Distinguished from āmisa, worldly or sensory pleasure.
Question 5 of 10
How does this verse echo the chapter's opening poem, Cūḷavaccha's verse?
Correct: A. A thematic echo at roughly the chapter's midpoint.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'rattindivā' mean?
Correct: B. What this verse compares directly to a running horse.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'appakasirena' describe?
Correct: D. How both the horse and Belaṭṭhasīsa's days are said to proceed.
Question 8 of 10
How many lines does this verse have?
Correct: C. Slightly longer than this chapter's shortest verses.
Question 9 of 10
Is this simile applied to a person's conduct or to something else?
Correct: C. An unusual twist on a familiar comparison.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Two?
Correct: B. Continuing the chapter's sequence of ten poems.
