No narrative setting; a short verse with a closing attribution naming both speaker and occasion
Speaker
The Buddha, addressing the trainee nun Muttā by name
Form
One four-line verse, with a closing attribution note
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 short exhortation built on a play on the name Muttā
Why this text
This poem plays directly on its subject's name: Muttā means ‘released’, and the verse addressed to her opens with exactly that word as an instruction — ‘Muttā, be released from your yokes’. Unlike Thig 1.1's self-address, this poem's own attribution names its speaker directly: the Buddha, giving Muttā this exhortation ‘regularly’, not as a single occasion.
Reading guide
A name and its meaning, used as instruction
‘Muttā’ is itself the Pali word for ‘released’ or ‘freed’. The verse opens by addressing her with her own name used as a direct command — be what your name already names.
An image of gradual, natural release
The comparison offered is astronomical and cyclical rather than violent: ‘like the moon released from the eclipse’. An eclipse passes; the moon was never actually damaged, only temporarily obscured — a gentler image for release than a struggle or a battle.
A practical, not just philosophical, close
The verse ends on something concretely monastic: once the mind is released, ‘enjoy your alms free of debt’ — framing spiritual freedom in terms a nun's daily life of receiving alms food would make immediately, practically meaningful.
An attribution naming a habit, not a single moment
Unlike Thig 1.1's anonymous, one-time attribution, this poem's closing note says the Buddha ‘regularly advised’ Muttā with these words — suggesting an ongoing relationship of teaching and encouragement, not a single remembered exchange.
Key terms
Muttā — a nun's name, also the Pali word for ‘released’ or ‘freed’ — the verse plays directly on this double meaning.
yoga — “yoke” — the ties Muttā is instructed to be released from, the same image opening several poems in this book.
sekha — a “trainee” — the stage of practice this poem's attribution describes Muttā as being in when addressed.
piṇḍapāta — “almsfood” — named directly in the verse's closing line, the daily practical context the instruction is grounded in.
cariyā — not used in this text, but worth noting by contrast: unlike the Cariyapitaka's stories, this poem needs no such word — its occasion is ordinary training life, not a dramatic past-life episode.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with its closing attribution. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Muttā, be released from your yokes, like the moon released from the eclipse. When your mind is released, enjoy your alms free of debt.
§2That is how the Buddha regularly advised the trainee nun Muttā with these verses.
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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 name 'Muttā' mean, and how does the verse use this?
Correct: B. A play on the name opening the verse itself.
Question 2 of 10
What image does the verse use for Muttā's release?
Correct: B. A gentle, cyclical image — the moon was never actually damaged, only obscured.
Question 3 of 10
What practical instruction closes the verse?
Correct: B. Framing spiritual freedom in terms of a nun's daily alms round.
Question 4 of 10
Who does the closing attribution name as the speaker of this verse?
Correct: B. Unlike Thig 1.1's anonymous attribution.
Question 5 of 10
How does this poem's attribution differ from Thig 1.1's?
Correct: B. An ongoing pattern of teaching, not one remembered exchange.
Question 6 of 10
What stage of practice does the attribution describe Muttā as being in?
Correct: B. Addressed while still in training, unlike some later poems spoken after awakening.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'yoga' mean, as used in this poem and elsewhere in this book?
Correct: A. The same image recurring across several of this book's poems.
Question 8 of 10
What position does this poem hold in the Book of the Ones?
Correct: B. Following directly after Thig 1.1's anonymous verse.
Question 9 of 10
How long is this poem?
Correct: A. One of the shortest forms in this collection, typical of the Book of the Ones.
Question 10 of 10
What term names 'almsfood', used in this verse's closing line?
Correct: A. Grounding the instruction in ordinary monastic practice.
