Nīta — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Nine · Poem 4 of 10
Setting
No narrative frame; a rhetorical question about an unnamed 'simpleton'
Speaker
Unnamed; this reading guide does not resolve whether the question is self-directed or a general critique
Form
One four-line verse, building to a rhetorical question
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
★★☆☆☆ — plain vocabulary, a pointed question
Why this text
For the third poem in a row, this verse doesn't declare the speaker's own attainment. Where Thag 1.82 addressed a child and Thag 1.83 addressed Sīha directly, this one asks a rhetorical question about ‘the simpleton’ who sleeps all night and happily socializes all day: ‘when will he make an end of suffering?’
Reading guide
A rhetorical question, aimed where?
The verse describes a pattern — sleeping through the night, then happily ‘socializing’ (saṅgaṇike rato) through the day — and asks when someone living this way will ever end suffering. This reading guide does not resolve whether ‘the simpleton’ is a self-directed reproach, perhaps recalling Nīta's own habits before he took practice seriously, or a general observation aimed outward. The verse's own wording supports either reading.
A third non-testimonial voice in a row
This is the third consecutive poem in Chapter Nine that isn't first-person declaration of the speaker's own state: Thag 1.82 addressed a child, Thag 1.83 addressed Sīha by name, and this one poses a rhetorical question about an unnamed figure. Three poems running without a first-person testimony is an unusual concentration for this collection, though this reading guide does not claim the pattern was deliberately arranged.
A related warning, earlier in the collection
Thag 1.17 (Dāsaka), much earlier in this collection, used a different image — a stuffed hog rolling in its pen — to warn against sloth and overeating leading back to rebirth. This verse's target is the same general failing, sleep and idle sociability standing in for the hog's gluttony, though the two verses are not otherwise connected.
Key terms
supati — “sleeps” — the first half of the pattern this verse describes.
saṅgaṇika — “fond of company, socializing” — the second half of the pattern, filling the daytime hours.
dummedha — “fool, simpleton” — du (‘bad’) plus medhā (‘wisdom, intelligence’).
dukkhassanta — “end of suffering” — dukkha (‘suffering’) plus anta (‘end’), what the simpleton is asked when he will reach.
Nīta — “led, guided” — the past participle of neti, ‘to lead’.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Sleeping all night, happily socializing by day, when will the simpleton make an end of 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
What pattern of behavior does this verse describe?
Correct: A. The pattern the verse's rhetorical question is aimed at.
Question 2 of 10
What question does the verse ask about this pattern?
Correct: B. Kudāssu nāma dummedho, dukkhassantaṁ karissatī, the verse's closing question.
Question 3 of 10
Does this reading guide resolve whether 'the simpleton' refers to the speaker himself or someone else?
Correct: C. A genuine ambiguity the text does not settle.
Question 4 of 10
How many consecutive poems in Chapter Nine, including this one, are not first-person declarations of the speaker's own state?
Correct: D. An unusual concentration of non-testimonial verses.
Question 5 of 10
What does 'saṅgaṇika' mean?
Correct: A. Filling the daytime half of the pattern the verse describes.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'dummedha' mean?
Correct: C. Du ('bad') plus medhā ('wisdom').
Question 7 of 10
What earlier poem in this collection does this reading guide compare to this verse, as a related warning against sloth?
Correct: A. A different image aimed at the same general failing.
Question 8 of 10
What does the name Nīta literally mean?
Correct: B. The past participle of neti, 'to lead'.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'dukkhassanta' mean?
Correct: D. Dukkha ('suffering') plus anta ('end').
