Pakkha — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Seven · Poem 3 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; a compact, two-part contrast
Speaker
Pakkha, contrasting those who fall and return with his own completed happiness
Form
One four-line verse, split into two matched halves
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
★★☆☆☆ — compact and somewhat riddle-like, without narrative support
Why this text
This verse's first half describes those who ‘fall, collapsed and fallen’, then ‘greedy, return’ — language that suggests falling away from an attainment and being drawn back by craving. Its second half turns to Pakkha's own condition: the work finished, the joyful enjoyed, happiness reached through happiness itself.
Reading guide
Two halves, left to face each other
The verse never states outright that its two halves contrast — it simply places ‘they fall’ beside ‘the work is done’ and lets the reader draw the comparison between falling back into craving and reaching a settled happiness.
A compact verse this reading guide does not over-resolve
Exactly who ‘they’ are in the first half, and precisely what ‘happiness found through happiness’ means in the technical sense, are left genuinely underspecified by the verse itself, with no comment from Sujato to anchor a single reading. This guide presents the verse as the compact, riddle-like statement it is rather than forcing one paraphrase onto it.
A third puzzle-like verse to open this chapter
Pakkha's verse joins Vappa's seeing-and-not-seeing riddle and Vajjiputta's reversed simile as this chapter's third compact, structurally built poem in a row — a cluster of unusually dense, short verses opening Chapter Seven before the chapter's tone shifts with the poems that follow.
Key terms
cutā — “fallen away” or “departed” — opening this verse's first half.
giddhā — “greedy” — describing those who ‘return’ in this verse's first half.
kataṁ kiccaṁ — “the work is done” — a standard phrase for completed practice, opening this verse's second half.
sukhena anvāgataṁ sukhaṁ — “happiness found through happiness” — the verse's closing phrase, left without further explanation.
Pakkha — this monk's own name, meaning “wing” or “side” — not explained or played on within the verse itself.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1They fall, collapsed and fallen; greedy, they return. The work is done, the joyful is enjoyed, happiness is found through happiness.
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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 this verse's first half describe?
Correct: A. Language suggesting falling away from attainment and being drawn back by craving.
Question 2 of 10
What does this verse's second half describe?
Correct: B. Pakkha's own contrasting condition.
Question 3 of 10
According to this reading guide, does the verse explicitly state that its two halves contrast?
Correct: D. The contrast is implied by structure, not stated outright.
Question 4 of 10
According to this reading guide, does a Sujato comment clarify the precise meaning of 'happiness found through happiness'?
Correct: C. A genuinely compact, underspecified phrase, presented honestly as such.
Question 5 of 10
What does 'giddhā' mean?
Correct: D. Describing those who 'return' in this verse's first half.
Question 6 of 10
What two earlier poems in this chapter does this reading guide group this verse with, as compact and structurally built?
Correct: B. A cluster of three unusually dense, short verses opening Chapter Seven.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'kataṁ kiccaṁ' mean?
Correct: A. A standard phrase for completed practice.
Question 8 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Seven?
Correct: C. Poem 3 of 10.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'cutā' mean?
Correct: A. Opening this verse's first half.
Question 10 of 10
What does the name Pakkha mean?
Correct: B. Not explained or played on within the verse itself.
