Happy is birth of the Awakened Ones. Happy is teaching of the True Dharma.
Happy is unity of the Sangha. Happy is meditation of those in unity.

sukho    buddhānam uppādo    sukhā    sad+dhamma+desanā
|                    |               |             |          |           |           |
Adj.m.       N.m.         N.m.     Adj.f.   Adj.      N.m.    N.f.
Nom.Sg.  Gen.Pl.     Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.   |______|     Nom.Sg.
|                    |________|              |               |__________|
|_______________|                      |_____________|

sukhā    saṅghassa  sāmaggī samaggānaṃ tapo     sukho
|                  |               |               |              |            |
Adj.f.       N.m.        N.f.        Adj.m.      N.m.     Adj.m.
Nom.Sg. Gen.Sg.  Nom.Sg.    Gen.Pl.   Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|                  |________|                |________|            |
|______________|                               |___________|

sukho: sukha-, Adj.: pleasant, agreeable, good. Nom.Sg.m. = sukho.

buddhānam: buddha-, Adj.: awakened. It is a p.p. of the verb root budh- (to awaken). As an N.m.: Awakened One, Enlightened One, a being who has attained the Nirvana. Gen.Pl. = buddhānaṃ.

uppādo: uppāda-, N.m.: appearance, birth, coming into existence. It is derived from the verb root pad- (to come) with the prefix ud- (up). Nom.Sg. = uppādo.

sukhā: sukha-, Adj.: pleasant, agreeable, good. Nom.Sg.f. = sukhā.

saddhammadesanā: saddhammadesanā-, N.f.: teaching of the True Dharma. It is a compound of:
    saddhamma-, N.m.: true Dharma.
        sad-, Adj.: good, true. Original meaning: existing. The full form (sant-) is an a.pr.p. of the verb as- (to be). The compound form of sant- = sat-.
        dhamma-, N.m.: Dharma, Buddha's teaching.
Euphonic combination: sat- + dhamma- = saddhamma-.
    desanā-, N.f.: teaching. It is derived from the verb root dis-, to teach.
Nom.Sg. = saddhammadesanā.

List of Abbreviations

sukhā: see above.

saṅghassa: saṅgha-, N.m.: community, the community of the Buddha's followers. It is of two kinds: the saṅgha of lay followers and the saṅgha of monks and nuns. Gen.Sg. = saṅghassa.

sāmaggī: sāmaggī-, N.f.: concord, unity, harmony, unanimity. Nom.Sg. = sāmaggī.

samaggānaṃ: samagga-, Adj.: being in unity, harmonious, in concord. Gen.Pl.m. = samaggānaṃ.

tapo: tapo-, N.n.: ascetic practice, religious practice, meditation. Nom.Sg. = tapo.

sukho: see above.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of four syntactically separate sentences. They are:
    1) sukho buddhānam uppādo (happy is birth of the Awakened Ones). The subject is the noun uppādo (appearance, birth; nominative singular). It has an attribute, the noun buddhānam (of the Awakened Ones, genitive plural). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective sukho (happy, nominative singular).
    2) sukhā saddhammadesanā (happy is teaching of the True Dharma). The subject is the noun saddhammadesanā (teaching of the True Dharma, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective sukhā (happy, nominative singular).
    3) sukhā saṅghassa sāmaggī (happy is unity of the Sangha). The subject is the noun sāmaggī (unity, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the noun saṅghassa (of the Sangha, genitive singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective sukhā (happy, nominative singular).
    4) samaggānaṃ tapo sukho (happy is meditation of those in unity). The subject is the noun tapo (meditation, religious practice; nominative singular). It has an attribute, the adjective samaggānaṃ (of the united ones, genitive plural). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective sukho (happy, nominative singular).

    Some monks were discussing what is the true happiness. Everybody defined the word in different way and so they realized that happiness could mean completely dissimilar things to different people. For some, money and fame were happiness, for some sensual pleasures, for some good food…
    They asked the Buddha what the true happiness really was. He replied them with this verse, saying that only these things constitute real happiness: arising of a Buddha in this world, opportunity to hear the Dharma, unity and harmony amongst monks.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

sukho
buddhānam
uppādo
sukhā
saddhammadesanā
sad
dhamma
desanā
saṅghassa
sāmaggī
samaggānaṃ
tapo