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Aṅguttara Nikāya · Discourse 10.113

Bad Principles (1st)

Paṭhamaadhammasutta — Paccorohaṇivagga — the twelfth chapter of the Tens, the Chapter on the Ceremony of Descent

Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A brief instruction, then the familiar ten-factor path in two lists
Length
under 1 minute to read
Chapter's namesake, deferred
This chapter is named for its own ceremony of descent, a subject this discourse does not yet raise — that namesake discourse waits until AN 10.119, seventh in the chapter
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — brief, opening a chapter that will develop this same content gradually

Why this discourse

Opening a new chapter with the plainest possible statement, the Buddha names the now-familiar ten-factor path once more — not as a causal chain or a fulfillment formula this time, but simply as principles to be known, distinguished, and acted on.

Reading guide

The teaching in one sentence

Mendicants should know bad principles with bad results — the ten wrong factors from wrong view to wrong freedom — and good principles with good results — the ten right factors — and, knowing this, practice should follow the good.

The simplest framing yet of familiar content

After ch.11's eight discourses dressing the same ten-factor content in seed, medical, and washing images, this discourse opens a new chapter with perhaps the plainest framing the content has received anywhere in this nipāta: simply “know the bad, know the good, practice the good” — no simile, no narrative, no elaborate causal mechanism.

Principles paired with results, a new vocabulary

Though the underlying ten factors are unchanged, this discourse introduces new terminology not used in chapter 11's run: dhamma, principle, paired with vipāka, result — language this chapter's next two discourses will develop much further, specifying exactly what those results consist of.

The first of a three-discourse opening trio

AN 10.113 through 10.115 form a matched, escalating set: this discourse states the bare principle, AN 10.114 expands it factor by factor, and AN 10.115 dramatizes the very same content through a narrative about the Buddha's own brief teaching style and Ānanda's role in explaining it.

Key terms

pāpakā dhammā vipākavantā — “bad principles with bad results” — the discourse's own paired terminology for the ten wrong factors.
kalyāṇā dhammā vipākavantā — “good principles with good results” — the mirrored term for the ten right factors.
iti kho panetaṁ vuttaṁ, kiñcetaṁ paṭicca vuttaṁ — “that's what I said, and this is why I said it” — the Buddha's own recurring self-explanatory formula closing this discourse.
micchādiṭṭhi — “wrong view” — the first of the ten bad principles, opening the familiar list once more.
sammāvimutti — “right freedom” — the tenth and final good principle, closing the list.

The text

The discourse in full: the instruction to know and follow good principles, and the two ten-item lists. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

Know the bad, know the good

§1“Mendicants, you should know bad principles with bad results. And you should know good principles with good results. Knowing these things, your practice should follow the good principles with good results.

Ten bad principles, ten good principles

§2And what are bad principles with bad results? Wrong view, wrong purpose, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, wrong immersion, wrong knowledge, and wrong freedom. These are called bad principles with bad results. And what are good principles with good results? Right view, right purpose, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right immersion, right knowledge, and right freedom. These are called good principles with good results. ‘You should know bad principles with bad results. And you should know good principles with good results. Knowing these things, your practice should follow the good principles with good results.’ That’s what I said, and this is why I said it.”

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Self-check quiz

5 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 5
What instruction opens this discourse?
Correct: B. The plainest possible framing of the familiar ten-factor path.
Question 2 of 5
According to the guide, how does this discourse's framing compare to chapter 11's eight-discourse run?
Correct: B. A bare statement opening a new chapter.
Question 3 of 5
What new vocabulary does this discourse introduce, according to the guide?
Correct: B. Terminology the next two discourses will develop further.
Question 4 of 5
According to the guide, what role does this discourse play in relation to AN 10.114 and 10.115?
Correct: B. The first of three discourses building on the same content.
Question 5 of 5
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: D. No location is given for this discourse.
Answered 0 of 5 · Correct 0

Further reading

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