Vassika — The Book of the Threes · Chapter One · Poem 8 of 16
Setting
A family's fate, recalled by the one who corrected them, without a translated attribution
Speaker
Vassika, the only one of faith and wisdom in his family
Form
Three four-line verses — a family's lack of faith, its correction, and the family's rebirth in heaven
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, an unusual subject
Why this text
Vassika was the only one in his family with faith and wisdom; out of sympathy he corrected his relatives, who performed a service for the monks, passed away, and were reborn together in the Third Heaven, enjoying every pleasure they desire — a poem that never once reports the speaker's own attainment.
Reading guide
A poem about someone else's fate
Every poem in this collection so far has, at minimum, gestured toward the speaker's own path, even the teaching-genre poems that speak in general terms. This one is different: from its first line to its last, it describes what happened to Vassika's family, not to Vassika himself. No claim of his own liberation appears anywhere in the poem.
Correction, framed as love
The second verse is careful about the tone of the correction: ‘I corrected my family out of sympathy, telling them off out of love for my family and relatives’. The scolding is not presented as harsh discipline but as an act of care, one that leads directly to the family performing ‘a service for the monks’.
A family, reunited in heaven
The third verse reports the outcome without ambiguity: the family passed away and was reborn together ‘in the Third Heaven’, where ‘my brothers and mother enjoy all the pleasures they desire’. The poem closes on their contentment, not on any further comment from Vassika about his own practice or state.
Key terms
saddho medhāvī — “faith and wisdom” — the two qualities Vassika alone held in his family.
niggayha anukampāya — “corrected out of sympathy” — how the poem frames the scolding that follows.
ñātibandhavapemena — “out of love for my family and relatives” — the stated motive for the correction.
kāraṁ katvāna bhikkhusu — “performed a service for the monks” — what the corrected family went on to do.
tidivaṁ — “the Third Heaven” — where the family was reborn, enjoying every pleasure they desire.
The text
The text in full: three verses, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1I was the only one in my family who had faith and wisdom. It’s good for my relatives that I’m firm in principle, and ethical.
§2I corrected my family out of sympathy, telling them off out of love for my family and relatives. They performed a service for the monks
§3and then they passed away, finding happiness in the Third Heaven. There, my brothers and mother enjoy all the pleasures they desire.
· · ·
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 makes this poem unusual compared to every other poem in this collection so far?
Correct: A. From first line to last, the subject is the family's fate.
Question 2 of 10
What two qualities did Vassika alone hold in his family, according to the first verse?
Correct: B. Saddho medhāvī — the only one of his relatives with either.
Question 3 of 10
How does the second verse frame Vassika's correction of his family?
Correct: C. Niggayha anukampāya, ñātibandhavapemena.
Question 4 of 10
What did the corrected family go on to do?
Correct: D. Kāraṁ katvāna bhikkhusu.
Question 5 of 10
Where was the family reborn, according to the third verse?
Correct: B. Pattā te tidivaṁ sukhaṁ.
Question 6 of 10
Who specifically is named as enjoying pleasures in that heaven?
Correct: A. Bhātaro mayhaṁ mātā ca, modanti kāmakāmino.
Question 7 of 10
Does this poem make any claim about Vassika's own liberation?
Correct: B. The poem's entire attention stays on the family's fate.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'tidivaṁ' mean?
Correct: C. Where the family was reborn together.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'niggayha anukampāya' mean?
Correct: A. How the poem frames Vassika's scolding of his relatives.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in the Book of the Threes?
Correct: D. Following Aṅgaṇikabhāradvāja, Paccaya, Bākula, Dhaniya, Mātaṅgaputta, Khujjasobhita, and Vāraṇa.
