Mahācunda — The Book of the Twos · Chapter Two · Poem 1 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; two four-line verses, without a translated attribution, opening Chapter Two
Speaker
Mahācunda, teaching in general rather than declaring his own attainment
Form
Two four-line verses — a causal chain, then practical instruction with a built-in fallback
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 tight, almost syllogistic chain of clauses
Why this text
Mahācunda opens Chapter Two with a five-step causal chain — eagerness to learn, growing learning, growing wisdom, knowing the goal, and happiness — then gives practical instruction: seek remote lodgings, and if that doesn't bring enjoyment, fall back on living in the Saṅgha instead.
Reading guide
A causal chain, link by link
The first verse builds a five-term chain with no gaps: eagerness to learn (sussūsā) makes learning grow; learning makes wisdom grow; wisdom lets you know the goal; knowing the goal brings happiness. Each clause hands off directly to the next, an almost syllogistic structure unlike the imagistic verses common elsewhere in this collection.
Instruction with a built-in fallback
The second verse gives direct advice — frequent remote lodgings, practice release from the fetters — but doesn't stop there: it explicitly plans for failure. ‘If you don't find enjoyment there, live in the Saṅgha, self-protected and mindful’ is a named fallback option, rather than presenting solitary practice as the only path.
A didactic opener, not a personal declaration
Chapter One opened with Uttara's own first-person declaration of impermanence and release (Thag 2.1). This chapter opens differently: Mahācunda's verse teaches in general terms, without a first-person claim of his own attainment anywhere in either verse.
A common name, without a confirmed identity here
‘Mahācunda’ is a fairly common name in early Buddhist texts. Nothing in this poem or in bilara-data's comments identifies which Mahācunda this is, and this site does not yet have a page confirming any particular identification — this guide leaves the question open rather than asserting a match.
Key terms
sussūsā — “eagerness to learn” — the chain's starting point, opening the first verse.
paññā — “wisdom” — the chain's middle term, grown from learning and leading to knowing the goal.
pantāni senāsanani — “remote lodgings” — the first practical instruction of the second verse.
saṁyojanavippamokkhaṁ — “release from the fetters” — what the second verse says to practice for, alongside remote lodgings.
rakkhitatto satimā — “self-protected and mindful” — the manner in which the poem's fallback option, living in the Saṅgha, should be undertaken.
The text
The text in full: two verses, without a translated attribution. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1It’s from eagerness to learn that learning grows; when you’re learned, wisdom grows; by wisdom, you know the goal; knowing the goal brings happiness.
§2You should frequent remote lodgings and practice to be released from fetters. If you don’t find enjoyment there, live in the Saṅgha, self-protected and mindful.
· · ·
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 the first verse's five-term chain begin with?
Correct: A. Sussūsā, the chain's starting point.
Question 2 of 10
According to the chain, what does learning lead to?
Correct: B. Each term hands off directly to the next.
Question 3 of 10
What does the second verse instruct first?
Correct: C. Direct, practical advice opens the second verse.
Question 4 of 10
What fallback does the poem name if remote lodgings don't bring enjoyment?
Correct: C. An explicit alternative, not just one prescribed path.
Question 5 of 10
How does this poem's opening compare to Thag 2.1, the previous chapter's own opener?
Correct: B. Two different ways of opening a chapter.
Question 6 of 10
Does this guide confirm which historical Mahācunda spoke this verse?
Correct: D. An honest gap, left open rather than asserted.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'saṁyojanavippamokkhaṁ' mean?
Correct: D. What the second verse says to practice for.
Question 8 of 10
What kind of structure does the first verse use?
Correct: C. A tightly linked five-term chain, distinct from the imagistic style common elsewhere.
Question 9 of 10
What does knowing the goal bring, according to the chain's final link?
Correct: A. Ñāto attho sukhāvaho — the chain's closing term.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in the Book of the Twos?
Correct: B. Opening the book's second chapter, following Chapter One's ten poems.
