Gotama — The Book of the Twos · Chapter One · Poem 9 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; two four-line verses, without a translated attribution
Speaker
Gotama, shifting from a general statement to a collective declaration
Form
Two four-line verses, the second addressed directly to sensual pleasure itself
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
★★☆☆☆ — vivid, combative imagery in its second half
Why this text
Gotama's first verse states that sages sleep at ease when not bound to women, since truth is hard to find among them and vigilance is always needed; the second verse turns to address sensual pleasure directly — ‘you've been slain’, no longer owed anything, extinguishment now reached — in a voice that shifts from singular to a collective ‘we’.
Reading guide
A stated view on entanglement with women
The first verse states, without elaboration, that sages sleep at ease when ‘not bound to women’, framing them as a source of difficulty to be guarded against. This is the poem's own claim, part of a wider current in this ascetic literature that frames romantic or sexual entanglement as an obstacle to practice; this guide summarizes what the verse says without treating it as this site's own endorsement or as a claim about women in general.
Sensual pleasure, slain — a debt repaid
The second verse turns from statement to direct address: ‘sensual pleasure, you've been slain’, pairing a violent image (vadha, a slaying) with an economic one (anaṇā, free of debt) in the same breath — kāma treated as both a defeated enemy and a creditor whose claim has finally been settled.
A shift to a collective 'we'
Where the first verse speaks generally and the surrounding chapter's declarations are typically singular, this poem's second verse shifts into a collective voice — ‘we're not in your debt any more’, ‘we go now to extinguishment’ — a plural not used by any other poem so far in this chapter.
A name shared with the Buddha's own clan, marked '(1st)'
Gotama carries the ordinal ‘(1st)’, signaling a second monk of the same name later in the collection (Gotama (2nd), in the Book of the Threes). The name itself is also the Buddha's own clan name — a coincidence of a fairly common name within that lineage's region, not a claim this guide makes about any family relationship.
Key terms
sukhaṁ supanti — “sleep at ease” — the state this verse attributes to sages unbound to women.
rakkhitabbāsu — “must be guarded” — the vigilance this verse says is always needed.
vadhaṁ — “a slaying” — the violent image opening this poem's address to sensual pleasure.
aṇaṇā — “free of debt” — the economic image paired with the slaying, both applied to the same settled account.
nibbānaṁ — “extinguishment” — the destination this verse's collective ‘we’ says it now goes to.
The text
The text in full: two verses, without a translated attribution. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Sages sleep at ease when they’re not bound to women. For the truth is hard to find among them and one must always be guarded.
§2Sensual pleasure, you’ve been slain! We’re not in your debt any more. Now we go to extinguishment, where there is no sorrow.
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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 does the first verse say about sages who are not bound to women?
Correct: C. The verse's opening claim.
Question 2 of 10
What two images does the second verse combine when addressing sensual pleasure?
Correct: A. Kāma treated as both a defeated enemy and a settled creditor.
Question 3 of 10
How does the poem's voice shift between the two verses?
Correct: B. A plural voice not used by any other poem so far in this chapter.
Question 4 of 10
Does this guide treat the first verse's claim about women as this site's own view?
Correct: C. A neutral summary, consistent with this project's handling of similar content elsewhere.
Question 5 of 10
What does the ordinal '(1st)' attached to Gotama's name signal?
Correct: D. A convention already established across this collection.
Question 6 of 10
What does Gotama's name have in common with the Buddha?
Correct: D. A coincidence of a fairly common regional name, not a relationship this guide asserts.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'anaṇā' mean?
Correct: A. The economic image paired with the slaying of sensual pleasure.
Question 8 of 10
Where does the collective 'we' in the second verse say it is now going?
Correct: B. Nibbāna, the poem's closing destination.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'sukhaṁ supanti' mean?
Correct: A. The state attributed to sages unbound to women, opening the poem.
Question 10 of 10
What kind of poem is Thag 2.9, overall?
Correct: B. General claim, then personified confrontation and collective release.
