Puṇṇa — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Seven · Poem 10 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; a closing statement ranking two qualities
Speaker
Puṇṇa (distinguished from another elder sharing his name earlier in this book), stating a principle about virtue and wisdom
Form
One four-line verse, followed in the Pali by an untranslated chapter colophon and mnemonic summary 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
★☆☆☆☆ — a plain ranking, closing the chapter
Why this text
Puṇṇa's verse closes Chapter Seven with a ranking: ethical conduct is best, but wisdom is supreme, and the one who holds both is victorious among men and gods. Unlike several same-named elders elsewhere in this chapter, this Puṇṇa's identity is directly confirmed by a Sujato comment, which names the exact discourse where he next appears.
Reading guide
A confirmed identity, unlike this chapter's other shared names
Godhika, Meghiya, and Channa earlier in this chapter all share their names with figures elsewhere in the canon without confirmation from any surviving comment. Puṇṇa is different: Sujato's own comment on this verse states outright that ‘this Puṇṇa departs for the distant land of Sunāparanta’ in MN 145, ‘Advice to Puṇṇa’, already covered on this site — a direct, sourced identification rather than a shared-name resemblance this guide leaves open.
A second Puṇṇa in this same collection
The ordinal ‘(2nd)’ distinguishes this monk from Puṇṇa (1st), Thag 1.4 earlier in this book, whose verse gives direct advice to associate only with the virtuous — two different elders sharing one name within the Theragātha itself, confirmed by this collection's own numbering rather than an external source.
A famous test of equanimity, waiting past this verse
MN 145 records the Buddha asking Puṇṇa, before he leaves for Sunāparanta, what he would think if its people abused him, struck him, or even killed him — a graduated series of questions Puṇṇa answers with escalating equanimity at each step. None of that exchange appears in this verse itself, which states only a general principle about virtue and wisdom.
A chapter's own close, left untranslated
As at the end of Chapters One through Six, the Pali text here carries vaggo sattamo, ‘the seventh chapter is finished’, followed by an uddāna naming all ten monks of this chapter in sequence: Vappa, Vajjiputta, Pakkha, Vimalakoṇḍañña, Ukkhepakatavaccha, Meghiya, Ekadhammasavanīya, Ekudāniya and Channa joined into one compound, and Puṇṇa, called ‘of great strength’ in this closing line. Sujato's translation leaves both untranslated, and neither appears in this page's text below.
Key terms
sīla — “ethical conduct” — named ‘best in this life’ in this verse's opening line.
paññavā — “one with wisdom” — named ‘supreme’, ranked above ethical conduct alone.
sīlapaññāṇato — “through virtue and wisdom” — the combined quality this verse says brings victory.
Sunāparanta — the distant region Puṇṇa asks permission to live in at MN 145, described there as home to a wild and rough people.
Puṇṇa — this monk's own name, shared with another elder, Puṇṇa (1st), at Thag 1.4 earlier in this collection.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Ethical conduct is best in this life, but one with wisdom is supreme. Someone with both virtue and wisdom is victorious among men and gods.
· · ·
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 call 'best in this life'?
Correct: D. The verse's opening ranking.
Question 2 of 10
What does this verse call 'supreme', ranked above ethical conduct alone?
Correct: A. Paññavā pana uttamo — wisdom ranked higher still.
Question 3 of 10
Unlike Godhika, Meghiya, and Channa earlier in this chapter, how is this Puṇṇa's identity treated by this reading guide?
Correct: D. A sourced identification, not a shared-name resemblance.
Question 4 of 10
According to Sujato's comment, where does this Puṇṇa depart for?
Correct: C. Named directly in MN 145, 'Advice to Puṇṇa'.
Question 5 of 10
What earlier poem in this collection features a different elder also named Puṇṇa?
Correct: A. Two different elders sharing one name within this same collection.
Question 6 of 10
What famous exchange does MN 145 record, according to this reading guide?
Correct: B. Not included in this verse itself, which states only a general principle.
Question 7 of 10
What does the Pali text carry immediately after this poem, left untranslated by Sujato?
Correct: B. The same untranslated colophon pattern seen at the end of Chapters One through Six.
Question 8 of 10
Does this page's text include that closing uddāna?
Correct: B. Consistent with how this site handles untranslated structural material.
Question 9 of 10
How many monks' verses make up Chapter Seven in total?
Correct: A. Vappa through Puṇṇa, named in sequence in the untranslated uddāna.
Question 10 of 10
How many more chapters remain in the Book of the Ones after this one?
Correct: C. Twelve chapters in total make up the Book of the Ones.
