Kuṭivihārin — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Six · Poem 7 of 10
Setting
A hut, old and already lived in
Speaker
An unnamed voice addressing the monk called Kuṭivihārin directly, in the second person throughout
Form
One four-line verse, entirely direct address
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 direct rebuke, reversing the poem just before it
Why this text
A second monk sharing the name Kuṭivihārin gives his name to this verse, yet every line addresses him in the second person: ‘this was your old hut, but you still want a new hut’. Where the first Kuṭivihārin's poem praised a hut as not built in vain, this one warns against the very wish for a new one.
Reading guide
An entire verse of quoted rebuke
Unlike the first Kuṭivihārin's poem, where only part of the verse was framed as an exchange, this entire four-line poem is a direct address to ‘monk’ — the whole verse reads as words spoken to Kuṭivihārin, which he then preserves as his own Theragātha entry, continuing this chapter's device of quoted speech seen already with the novice Sīvaka and the first Kuṭivihārin.
A matched pair with opposite messages
Both poems share a monk named Kuṭivihārin and the word ‘monk’ addressed directly, and both close on a judgment about a hut. But the first poem's judgment is approval — ‘not built in vain’ — while this one is a warning: wanting a new hut, the verse says plainly, ‘will only bring more suffering’.
Contentment against craving, within the same theme
Read together, the two Kuṭivihārin poems frame this chapter's hut theme from both sides: contentment with what one already has, and the suffering that follows from wanting more of the same kind of thing, even something as modest as a second hut.
Key terms
purāṇiyā — “old” — describing the hut Kuṭivihārin already has, in contrast to the new one he wants.
patthayase — “you long for” or “you want” — naming the craving this verse warns against.
āsaṁ...virājaya — “let go of hope” — the verse's direct instruction to Kuṭivihārin.
dukkhā — “suffering” — the consequence this verse attaches to craving a new hut.
kuṭivihārin — “hut-dweller” — the epithet shared with the monk of the poem just before this one, here marked ‘(2nd)’ to distinguish them.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1This was your old hut, but you still want a new hut. Let go of hope for a hut, monk! A new hut will only bring more suffering.
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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, throughout all four lines?
Correct: A. An entire verse of direct address.
Question 2 of 10
What does the verse say Kuṭivihārin wants, despite already having an old hut?
Correct: B. The craving this verse warns against.
Question 3 of 10
How does this poem compare to the one immediately before it, also about a monk named Kuṭivihārin?
Correct: C. A matched pair with opposite judgments.
Question 4 of 10
What consequence does the verse attach to wanting a new hut?
Correct: D. Dukkhā, 'suffering' — stated plainly as the closing line.
Question 5 of 10
According to this reading guide, what device does this verse continue from Sīvaka's poem and the first Kuṭivihārin's poem?
Correct: A. The whole verse reads as words spoken to Kuṭivihārin.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'purāṇiyā' mean?
Correct: B. Describing the hut Kuṭivihārin already has.
Question 7 of 10
What instruction does the verse give Kuṭivihārin directly?
Correct: C. Āsaṁ kuṭiyā virājaya — a direct command.
Question 8 of 10
Read together, what do the two Kuṭivihārin poems frame, according to this reading guide?
Correct: D. The chapter's hut theme viewed from both sides.
Question 9 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Six?
Correct: A. Poem 7 of 10.
Question 10 of 10
What does 'dukkhā' mean?
Correct: B. The word closing this verse's warning.
