Rāmaṇeyyaka — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Five · Poem 9 of 10
Setting
A place filled with chirping, cheeping birds
Speaker
Rāmaṇeyyaka, reporting his own unwavering mind
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
★☆☆☆☆ — vivid onomatopoeic sound tested against one-pointed stillness
Why this text
This verse opens with sound itself, rendered almost as onomatopoeia — the chirping and cheeping of birds — before declaring that none of it moves his mind at all, ‘for I'm devoted to oneness’. The noisiest possible opening sets up the strongest possible contrast with total stillness.
Reading guide
Sound rendered almost as its own noise
Cihacihābhinadite echoes the very chirping it names, an onomatopoeic word giving this verse's opening a vivid, almost playful auditory texture rare among this collection's more austere imagery.
Maximum noise, tested against total stillness
By naming specifically the chirping and cheeping of birds — not a vague ‘disturbance’ — the verse sets up the strongest possible contrast with ‘my mind doesn't waver’, proving stability against a concrete, lively distraction rather than an abstract one.
A name that may echo the poem just five poems earlier
Rāmaṇeyyaka shares its root, ramaṇīya (‘delightful’), with Ramaṇīyavihārin, ‘one who dwells delightfully’, the speaker of Thag 1.45 earlier in this chapter — an etymological echo worth noting, without asserting any further connection between the two names.
Key terms
cihacihābhinadita — an onomatopoeic word for chirping — the verse's opening burst of bird sound.
sippikābhiruta — “cheeping” or warbling — paired with the chirping in the verse's first line.
phandati — “wavers” or “trembles” — negated in this verse to describe an unmoved mind.
ekattanirata — “devoted to oneness” — the specific one-pointed quality this verse credits with its stability.
citta — “mind” — the subject of this verse's central claim.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Even with all the sounds, the chirping and cheeping of the birds, my mind doesn’t waver, for I’m devoted to oneness.
· · ·
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's opening describe?
Correct: C. Vivid, almost onomatopoeic bird sound.
Question 2 of 10
What does the verse say about Rāmaṇeyyaka's mind amid this sound?
Correct: B. Total stability, tested against a concrete distraction.
Question 3 of 10
Why does the verse's mind stay unmoved, according to its own closing line?
Correct: B. Ekattanirata, a specific one-pointed quality.
Question 4 of 10
How does naming specific bird sounds, rather than a vague 'disturbance', affect this verse's contrast?
Correct: C. A concrete distraction, not an abstract one.
Question 5 of 10
What earlier poem's speaker shares a root with Rāmaṇeyyaka's own name?
Correct: B. An etymological echo, noted without asserting a further connection.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'phandati' mean?
Correct: A. Negated in this verse to describe an unmoved mind.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'ekattanirata' mean?
Correct: D. The specific quality this verse credits with its stability.
Question 8 of 10
What kind of word is 'cihacihābhinadita'?
Correct: A. A rare instance of sound-mimicking vocabulary in this collection.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'citta' mean?
Correct: A. The subject of this verse's central claim.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Five?
Correct: D. Second to last in the chapter's sequence of ten poems.
