Ujjaya — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Five · Poem 7 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; a direct address of homage to the Buddha
Speaker
Ujjaya, addressing the Buddha in the second person
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
★☆☆☆☆ — direct homage, framing personal attainment as derivative of the Buddha's own
Why this text
‘Homage to you, O Buddha, O hero, freed in every way!’ — unlike verses declaring a monk's own attainment or describing him from outside, this one speaks directly to the Buddha, framing Ujjaya's freedom from defilements as walking a path the Buddha himself already left behind.
Reading guide
Direct address, not third-person praise or self-declaration
Most verses in this collection either describe a monk from outside or have him declare his own attainment. This one does neither — it speaks in the second person, directly to the Buddha, in a register of worship and gratitude rather than description.
An unqualified liberation, named directly
‘Freed in every way’, vippamutto sabbadhi, leaves no qualification or partial measure — total liberation, attributed specifically to the one being addressed.
Ujjaya's own attainment framed as following the Buddha's footsteps
Apadāna, translated ‘the fruits of your practice’, literally suggests a footstep or track — Ujjaya describes himself as dwelling within that track, his own freedom from defilements presented as directly derivative of the path the Buddha already walked.
Key terms
namo — “homage” — the verse's opening word, addressed directly to the Buddha.
vīra — “hero” — an epithet for the Buddha, sharing its root with Vīra's own name earlier in this book.
vippamutta — “freed” or “liberated” — paired with sabbadhi, ‘in every way’, for a total, unqualified liberation.
apadāna — “footstep” or “track” — the image behind ‘the fruits of your practice’, framing Ujjaya's own path as following the Buddha's.
anāsava — “without defilements” or “without effluents” — describing Ujjaya's own attained state, closing the verse.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Homage to you, O Buddha, O hero, freed in every way! Meditating in the fruits of your practice, I live without defilements.
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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
Who does this verse address directly?
Correct: C. A register of worship and gratitude, not description.
Question 2 of 10
How does this verse's address compare to most other poems in this collection?
Correct: B. A distinct register among this collection's poems.
Question 3 of 10
How is the Buddha's liberation described in this verse?
Correct: C. An unqualified, total liberation.
Question 4 of 10
What does 'apadāna' literally suggest?
Correct: A. The image behind 'the fruits of your practice'.
Question 5 of 10
How does Ujjaya frame his own attainment in this verse?
Correct: D. His own freedom presented as derivative of the Buddha's path.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'vīra' mean?
Correct: A. An epithet for the Buddha, sharing a root with Vīra's own name earlier in this book.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'anāsava' mean?
Correct: A. Describing Ujjaya's own attained state, closing the verse.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'namo' mean?
Correct: B. The verse's opening word, addressed to the Buddha.
Question 9 of 10
Does this verse describe Ujjaya's attainment as separate from the Buddha's, or connected to it?
Correct: B. A path explicitly framed as shared, not independently discovered.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Five?
Correct: D. Continuing the chapter's sequence of ten poems.
