Kuṭivihārin — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Six · Poem 6 of 10
Setting
A hut, addressed from outside
Speaker
An exchange framed as a question and an answer; the text does not specify how many voices are involved
Form
One four-line verse, structured as dialogue
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
★☆☆☆☆☆ — brief, but its voicing is genuinely ambiguous
Why this text
Kuṭivihārin's name means, plainly, ‘hut-dweller’ — a name drawn directly from his verse's own subject, not from clan or birthplace. The verse itself is built as a small exchange: ‘Who is in this hut?’ is asked and answered, and someone then tells the monk inside that his hut ‘wasn't built in vain’.
Reading guide
A name taken from the poem's own subject
Unlike the clan names (Vaccha), place names (Sītavaniya, Añjanavaniya), and kinship names (Siṅgālapitā) already seen in this book, Kuṭivihārin's name is simply an epithet describing what the verse itself is about: a monk who dwells in a hut.
A question, an answer, and a voice that isn't identified
The verse opens with ‘Who is in this hut?’ answered by ‘A monk is in this hut, free of lust, his mind serene’, then closes with a direct address — ‘you should know this, friend: your hut wasn't built in vain’. The text does not say whether the asker and the one who delivers this closing praise are the same speaker, or whether the monk is describing himself in the third person before being addressed by someone else. This reading guide does not resolve that ambiguity, only notes that it is genuinely there.
A precedent for quoted speech in this book
This is not the first verse in the collection built around directly quoted words: the novice Sīvaka's poem in Chapter Two opens by quoting his preceptor's own speech. Kuṭivihārin's verse pushes the device further, quoting an entire exchange rather than a single line.
A pair, about to diverge
The next poem, spoken by a second monk also called Kuṭivihārin, shares this poem's hut theme and its address to ‘monk’ — but carries the opposite message, warning against wanting a new hut rather than praising the one already built.
Key terms
kuṭivihārin — “hut-dweller” — the epithet this monk is named for, drawn from the verse's own subject rather than clan, place, or kin.
vītarāga — “free of lust” — part of the answer describing the monk inside the hut.
susamāhitacitto — “his mind serene” — completing that description, echoing this chapter's recurring vocabulary of calm.
āvuso — “friend” or “reverend” — the direct address opening this verse's final two lines.
amoghā — “not in vain” — the verse's closing judgment on the hut itself.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Who is in this hut?” “A monk is in this hut, free of lust, his mind serene. Reverend, you should know this: your hut wasn’t built in vain.”
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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 name Kuṭivihārin mean?
Correct: D. Different from the clan, place, and kinship names seen so far in this book.
Question 2 of 10
How does the verse open?
Correct: A. A small dialogue frames the whole verse.
Question 3 of 10
How does the answer describe the monk in the hut?
Correct: B. A brief description completing the opening question.
Question 4 of 10
According to this reading guide, does the text specify who delivers the closing line, 'your hut wasn't built in vain'?
Correct: B. A genuine ambiguity this reading guide does not resolve.
Question 5 of 10
What earlier poem in this book also builds its verse around directly quoted speech?
Correct: C. Sīvaka quotes his preceptor; this verse quotes a whole exchange.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'āvuso' mean?
Correct: D. The direct address opening this verse's final two lines.
Question 7 of 10
What does the verse conclude about the hut?
Correct: B. Amoghā, 'not in vain' — the verse's closing judgment.
Question 8 of 10
How does the next poem in this chapter relate to this one, according to this reading guide?
Correct: A. A matched pair with contrasting messages.
Question 9 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Six?
Correct: C. Poem 6 of 10.
Question 10 of 10
What does 'vītarāga' mean?
Correct: A. Part of the description answering 'who is in this hut?'
