Uttiya — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Three · Poem 10 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; a short verse closing Chapter Three, reflecting on illness past and present
Speaker
Uttiya, reflecting on his own experience of illness
Form
One four-line verse, followed in the Pali by an untranslated chapter colophon and mnemonic summary 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 quiet, undramatic reflection closing a chapter of louder images
Why this text
Uttiya's verse closes Chapter Three quietly: illness in the past once brought mindfulness; illness now, once again, brings a renewed recognition — ‘it's time for me to be heedful’. After Nandiya's confrontation with Māra, Abhaya's precision simile, and Hārita's imperative self-command, this chapter ends on something modest: sickness noticed as a recurring teacher.
Reading guide
Illness recognized as a pattern, not a single event
The verse does not describe illness once, but twice: ‘when I was ill in the past, mindfulness arose in me’, and now, ‘I am ill once more’ — a pattern noticed across time, not a single isolated occasion.
A quiet close to a chapter of louder images
This chapter has moved through a Māra confrontation, an arrow-precision simile, and a named self-command. Its final poem instead closes on something undramatic: ordinary sickness, recognized honestly as an occasion for renewed attention rather than transformed into a grand image.
Heedfulness as the verse's own conclusion
‘It's time for me to be heedful’ names appamāda, heedfulness or diligence — a quality described elsewhere across the early canon as foundational to every other wholesome quality, here arrived at simply through paying attention to a recurring bodily condition.
A chapter's own close, left untranslated
As at Thag 1.10 and Thag 1.20, the Pali text here carries vaggo tatiyo, ‘the third chapter is finished’, followed by an uddāna naming all ten monks of this chapter in sequence: Nigrodha, Cittaka, Gosāla, Sugandha, Nandiya, Abhaya, Lomasakaṅgiya, Jambugāmikaputta, Hārita, and Uttiya. Sujato's translation leaves both untranslated, and neither appears in this page's text below.
Key terms
ābādha — “illness” or “affliction” — named twice in this verse, past and present.
sati — “mindfulness” — what arose in Uttiya during his past illness.
kāla — “time” — as in this verse's closing phrase, kālo me nappamajjituṁ, ‘it's time for me not to be heedless’.
appamāda — “heedfulness” or “diligence” — the quality this verse arrives at, described elsewhere in the canon as foundational to every other wholesome quality.
vaggo tatiyo — “the third chapter is finished” — the untranslated Pali colophon closing this chapter.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1When I was ill in the past, mindfulness arose in me. Now I am ill once more—it’s time for me to be heedful.
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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 happened during Uttiya's past illness?
Correct: C. The verse's first stated occasion of illness.
Question 2 of 10
What does the verse say is happening to Uttiya now?
Correct: A. A second illness, prompting the verse's closing reflection.
Question 3 of 10
How does this verse's tone compare to Nandiya's Māra confrontation earlier in this chapter?
Correct: B. A modest close after several louder poems.
Question 4 of 10
What does the verse conclude, given Uttiya's present illness?
Correct: A. The verse's closing resolution.
Question 5 of 10
What does the Pali text carry immediately after this poem, left untranslated by Sujato?
Correct: B. The same untranslated colophon pattern seen at the end of Chapters One and Two.
Question 6 of 10
Does this page's text include that closing uddāna?
Correct: D. Consistent with how this site handles untranslated structural material.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'appamāda' mean?
Correct: B. The quality this verse arrives at through reflecting on illness.
Question 8 of 10
How many monks' verses make up Chapter Three in total?
Correct: C. Nigrodha through Uttiya, named in sequence in the untranslated uddāna.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'ābādha' mean?
Correct: A. Named twice in this verse, past and present.
Question 10 of 10
How many more chapters remain in the Book of the Ones after this one?
Correct: D. Twelve chapters in total make up the Book of the Ones.
