Tissa — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Four · Poem 9 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; two similes of extreme urgency
Speaker
An unnamed voice prescribing mindful wandering
Form
One four-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
★☆☆☆☆ — two escalating emergency similes framing a specific practice
Why this text
‘Like they're struck by a sword, like their head was on fire’ — two images of extreme emergency open this verse, before it names exactly what response they demand: a mendicant should wander mindful, specifically to give up sensual desire.
Reading guide
Two escalating similes, not one
Being struck by a sword and having one's head on fire are not simply two versions of the same idea; the second image intensifies the first, moving from a sudden blow to an ongoing, all-consuming emergency — urgency compounded rather than merely repeated.
A precisely named target
The verse's urgency is not directed at defilement in general but at one specific thing: kāmarāga, sensual desire — a precise target rather than a vague call to effort.
Urgency paired directly with mindfulness, not panic
The verse's prescribed response to these emergency images is not frantic action but sato, ‘mindful’ wandering — crisis-level motivation channeled into a steady, attentive practice rather than chaotic urgency.
Key terms
satti — “sword” or “spear” — the verse's first image of sudden emergency.
omaṭṭha — “struck” or “touched” — describing the impact of that sword.
ḍayhamāna — “burning” — the verse's second, intensifying image.
matthaka — “head” — where this verse's fire is said to burn.
kāmarāga — “sensual desire” — the precise target this verse's urgency is directed at.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Like they’re struck by a sword, like their head was on fire, a mendicant should wander mindful to give up sensual desire.
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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 two similes open this verse?
Correct: B. Two escalating images of extreme emergency.
Question 2 of 10
How do these two similes relate to each other?
Correct: A. A sudden blow followed by an ongoing, all-consuming emergency.
Question 3 of 10
What specific target does this urgency address?
Correct: C. A precise target, not a vague call to effort.
Question 4 of 10
What response does the verse prescribe to this urgency?
Correct: C. Crisis-level motivation channeled into steady, attentive practice.
Question 5 of 10
What does 'kāmarāga' mean?
Correct: B. The precise target this verse's urgency addresses.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'satti' mean?
Correct: A. The verse's opening image of sudden emergency.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'ḍayhamāna' mean?
Correct: A. The verse's second, intensifying image.
Question 8 of 10
Where does the verse say this burning takes place?
Correct: D. Matthaka, 'head', named directly.
Question 9 of 10
Does this verse's urgency lead to chaotic panic, or steady practice?
Correct: B. Crisis-level motivation, channeled rather than chaotic.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Four?
Correct: D. Second to last in the chapter's sequence of ten poems.
