Sunāga — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Nine · Poem 5 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; a general, hypothetical teaching about a type of practitioner
Speaker
An unnamed voice describing, in the third person, what such a person would realize
Form
One four-line verse, listing qualities that lead to a stated outcome
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, one doctrinal category
Why this text
This verse describes, in the third person, a person skilled in the mind's patterns, who understands the relish of seclusion and practices absorption, mindful and alert — such a person, it says, would realize ‘pleasure not of the flesh’. It is the fourth poem in a row in this chapter that isn't first-person testimony, though of a different kind than the three before it.
Reading guide
Four qualities, one outcome
The verse names four qualities in sequence — skilled in the mind's patterns (cittanimittassa kovido), understanding the relish of seclusion (pavivekarasaṁ vijāniya), practicing absorption, and being both prudent and mindful (nipako patissato) — before concluding that such a person would realize ‘pleasure not of the flesh’ (sukhaṁ nirāmisaṁ). The whole verse is a single hypothetical: a description of the kind of person who reaches this outcome, not a first-person report that the speaker has reached it himself.
A fourth non-testimonial poem, but a different kind
Thag 1.82 addressed a child, Thag 1.83 addressed Sīha by name, and Thag 1.84 posed a rhetorical question about an unnamed ‘simpleton’ — none of them first-person declarations. This verse extends that run to four poems, but shifts register again: rather than address or rhetorical question, it is a general, hypothetical teaching in the third person, closer in kind to Thag 1.71 and Thag 1.74 from the chapter before this one.
'Pleasure not of the flesh', a standard category
Nirāmisa sukha (‘pleasure not of the flesh’) is a well-known doctrinal category throughout the wider canon, distinguished from sāmisa sukha, ordinary pleasure tied to sense experience and material things. This verse doesn't unpack the distinction — it simply names the outcome — in the same unglossed way earlier verses in this collection have relied on standard categories like the five hindrances (Thag 1.74) without spelling them out.
A name sharing a root with the poem that follows
Sunāga reads as su (‘good’) plus nāga, which can mean either ‘elephant’ or ‘serpent, dragon’ in Pali. The very next poem in this chapter, Thag 1.86, belongs to an elder named Nāgita — sharing the same root. This reading guide notes the adjacency without asserting it reflects any deliberate arrangement.
Key terms
nimitta — “sign, pattern, feature” — here, the patterns of the mind this verse says a skilled person reads.
paviveka — “seclusion, solitude” — whose ‘relish’ (rasa) this verse says such a person comes to understand.
rasa — “taste, flavor, nectar” — used here metaphorically for what seclusion offers to one who understands it.
nirāmisa — “not of the flesh” — a (negation) plus āmisa (‘flesh, material things’), describing a pleasure not tied to sense experience.
Sunāga — “good elephant” or “good serpent” — su (‘good’) plus nāga, a word carrying both senses in Pali.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Skilled in the patterns of the mind, understanding the nectar of seclusion, practicing absorption, alert, mindful: such a person would realize pleasure not of the flesh.
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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 four qualities does this verse say lead to 'pleasure not of the flesh'?
Correct: D. The verse's own four-part list.
Question 2 of 10
What does 'nirāmisa' mean?
Correct: A. A (negation) plus āmisa ('flesh, material things').
Question 3 of 10
What grammatical form does the verse's concluding verb, 'adhigaccheyya', take?
Correct: B. A hypothetical description, not a first-person report.
Question 4 of 10
How many consecutive poems in Chapter Nine, including this one, are not first-person testimony?
Correct: C. An unusual run extending across most of the chapter's first half.
Question 5 of 10
How does this poem's kind of non-testimonial voice differ from the three poems before it?
Correct: D. Closer in kind to Thag 1.71 and Thag 1.74 from the previous chapter.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'nimitta' mean?
Correct: A. Here, the patterns of the mind a skilled person reads.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'paviveka' mean?
Correct: B. Whose 'relish' this verse says such a person comes to understand.
Question 8 of 10
What does the name Sunāga mean?
Correct: C. Su ('good') plus nāga, a word meaning either animal in Pali.
Question 9 of 10
What does this reading guide note about the name of the poem immediately following this one, Thag 1.86?
Correct: D. Noted as an adjacency, without asserting deliberate design.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Nine?
Correct: A. Midway through the chapter's ten poems.
