Mahākoṭṭhita — The Book of the Ones · Chapter One · Poem 2 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; a short verse with a closing attribution
Speaker
An unnamed voice describing Mahākoṭṭhita in the third person
Form
One four-line verse, with a closing attribution note
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
★☆☆☆☆ — four lines of description and a single simile
Why this text
Unlike Subhūti's first-person hut verse just before it, this poem describes Mahākoṭṭhita from the outside: calm, unrestless, thoughtful in counsel, shedding bad qualities the way a gale shakes leaves off a tree — a portrait rather than a declaration.
Reading guide
Third-person praise, not first-person declaration
Where Subhūti's verse spoke as ‘my hut’ and ‘my mind’, this poem describes Mahākoṭṭhita entirely in the third person — ‘he shakes off bad qualities’ — the first instance in this chapter of a verse praising its subject rather than letting him speak about himself directly.
An image of natural, effortless shedding
The verse's single simile compares removing bad qualities to a gale shaking leaves off a tree — not a struggle or a battle, but something that happens naturally and thoroughly once the conditions (here, a calm and unrestless mind) are in place.
Four qualities, front-loaded before the simile
The verse packs four descriptive qualities — calm, still, thoughtful in counsel, not restless — into its first three lines, saving the entire fourth line for the single image that ties them together.
Key terms
upasanto — “calm” or “peaceful” — the first quality named in this verse.
uparato — “stilled” or “at rest” — paired directly with upasanto to open the verse.
mantabhāṇī — “thoughtful in speech” or “wise in counsel” — describing how Mahākoṭṭhita speaks, not only how he sits.
anuddhato — “not restless” or “not agitated” — completing the verse's four-part portrait.
dhunāti — “shakes off” — the verb behind this verse's central image, echoed in the simile of a gale shaking leaves from a tree.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with its closing attribution. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Calm and still, thoughtful in counsel, not restless—he shakes off bad qualities as the gale shakes leaves off a tree.
§2That is how this verse was recited by the senior venerable Mahākoṭṭhita.
· · ·
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 does this poem describe Mahākoṭṭhita, compared to Subhūti's verse just before it?
Correct: A. A portrait rather than a self-declaration.
Question 2 of 10
What simile closes this verse?
Correct: B. An image of natural, thorough removal.
Question 3 of 10
What does the simile describe Mahākoṭṭhita doing?
Correct: C. The verse's central action, named directly before the simile.
Question 4 of 10
How many distinct qualities does the verse name before its closing simile?
Correct: C. Calm, still, thoughtful in counsel, and not restless.
Question 5 of 10
Is Mahākoṭṭhita's struggle to remove bad qualities described as violent or effortful?
Correct: D. A gale shaking leaves, not a fight.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'anuddhato' describe in this verse?
Correct: B. One of the verse's four opening qualities.
Question 7 of 10
What does the verse say about how Mahākoṭṭhita speaks?
Correct: C. Named directly among his four qualities.
Question 8 of 10
What closes this verse, as with other poems in this chapter?
Correct: B. The same closing formula used across the collection.
Question 9 of 10
How long is this poem?
Correct: A. One of this chapter's shortest entries.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter One of the Book of the Ones?
Correct: D. Following directly on the collection's opening poem.
