Paripuṇṇaka — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Ten · Poem 1 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; a single comparison between food and the Dhamma
Speaker
Paripuṇṇaka, in the first person
Form
One four-line verse, built on a food metaphor
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 clear comparison
Why this text
Chapter Ten opens with a simple comparison: what Paripuṇṇaka ‘consumed today’ — the Dhamma taught by the Buddha — is better than ‘delicious grain of a hundred flavors’. The verse treats the teaching itself as a kind of food, more satisfying than any meal.
Reading guide
Better than a feast
The verse's whole force rests on the comparison: sudhanna, ‘delicious grain’, described as having a hundred flavors, set against what was actually ‘consumed’ (paribhutta) that day — not food at all, but the Dhamma. The verb paribhutta, normally used for eating or partaking of something, is applied here to hearing or absorbing the teaching, extending the food image through the whole verse rather than stating the comparison and dropping it.
Another epithet built on 'seeing'
Aparimitadassin, ‘of unlimited vision’, describes the Buddha in this verse's third line — another word built from the same root as dassin (Thag 1.71), dassana (Thag 1.75), and passati (Thag 1.61). Three of this collection's last four chapters have now opened, or opened near, a poem reaching for this root; Chapter Nine's opener did not. This reading guide notes the recurrence without claiming it reflects deliberate arrangement.
A name that matches its own theme
Paripuṇṇaka reads as pari (‘completely’) plus puṇṇa (‘full’) — ‘completely full, fulfilled’. Read against a verse entirely about being satisfied by what was ‘consumed’ rather than by food, the name and the verse's own content point in the same direction.
Key terms
sudhanna — “delicious grain” — the verse's image for fine food, set against the Dhamma.
paribhutta — “consumed, partaken of” — normally used for eating, applied here to receiving the teaching.
aparimitadassin — “of unlimited vision” — an epithet for the Buddha, sharing its root with dassin (Thag 1.71) and passati (Thag 1.61).
desita — “taught, expounded” — describing how the Dhamma was delivered.
Paripuṇṇaka — “completely full, fulfilled” — pari (‘completely’) plus puṇṇa (‘full’).
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1What I consumed today is considered better than delicious grain of a hundred flavors—the Dhamma taught by the Buddha, Gotama of infinite vision.
· · ·
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 comparison does this verse make?
Correct: D. The verse's central comparison, sustained through a food metaphor.
Question 2 of 10
What does 'paribhutta' normally describe, and how is it used here?
Correct: A. Extending the food image through the whole verse.
Question 3 of 10
What does 'aparimitadassin' mean?
Correct: B. An epithet for the Buddha, sharing its root with dassin and passati.
Question 4 of 10
What earlier chapter-opening poems does this reading guide connect 'aparimitadassin' to?
Correct: A. Both build their opening poem around the same 'seeing' root.
Question 5 of 10
According to this reading guide, did Chapter Nine's opening poem also use this 'seeing' root?
Correct: B. The recurrence is noted across three of the last four chapters, not all four.
Question 6 of 10
What does the name Paripuṇṇaka mean?
Correct: C. Pari ('completely') plus puṇṇa ('full').
Question 7 of 10
How does this reading guide relate Paripuṇṇaka's name to this verse's content?
Correct: C. A thematic match between the name's meaning and the verse's content.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'sudhanna' mean?
Correct: A. The verse's image of fine food, set against the Dhamma.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'desita' mean?
Correct: D. Describing how the Dhamma was delivered.
Question 10 of 10
What chapter does this poem open?
Correct: D. The first of ten poems in this new chapter.
