Dutiyapaccorohaṇīsutta — Paccorohaṇivagga — the twelfth chapter of the Tens, the Chapter on the Ceremony of Descent
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
The identical noble-descent teaching from AN 10.119, without the ritual narrative
Length
~1 minute to read
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — familiar content once AN 10.119 is known
Why this discourse
As with AN 10.117 and 10.118's paired treatment of the two shores, this discourse takes the noble descent just taught to a brahmin and offers it again, unprompted, directly to the mendicants — the same content, now without any ritual to contrast it against.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
The noble descent is when a noble disciple reflects that each wrong factor, from view to freedom, has a bad result in this life and the next, and so gives it up, descending from it — the identical content already taught to Jānussoṇi at AN 10.119, offered here to the mendicants directly.
A ritual contrast no longer needed
Where AN 10.119 built its entire teaching around a contrast with the brahmins' fire-worship ceremony, this discourse assumes no such contrast: addressed to the mendicants, who have presumably never performed the brahmanical ritual, the noble descent stands on its own, without needing anything to be measured against.
This chapter's own pairing pattern, repeated a third time
AN 10.117/10.118 and now AN 10.119/10.120 both follow the identical structure: a named, individual interlocutor occasions a teaching, which is then repeated to the mendicants directly — establishing a clear, recurring pattern for how this chapter handles its major images.
Descent as the chapter's own governing image
With this second telling, paccorohaṇī, descent, is confirmed as more than a one-off reinterpretation of a brahmin's ritual: it is presented as a teaching in its own right, worth stating to the ordained community without any outsider present to prompt it.
Key terms
ariyā paccorohaṇī — “the noble descent” — this discourse's own name for the same teaching given to Jānussoṇi at AN 10.119.
diṭṭhadhammikopi samparāyikopi vipāko — “a bad result in both this life and the next” — the identical reflection prompting descent from each wrong factor.
micchāsaṅkappaṁ pajahati — “they give up wrong purpose” — the second factor abandoned in the descent, following wrong view.
micchāvimuttiyā paccorohati — “they descend from wrong freedom” — the tenth and final descent, closing the sequence exactly as it closed at AN 10.119.
ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, ariyā paccorohaṇī — “this is called the noble descent” — the discourse's own closing summary.
The text
The discourse in full: the noble descent, identical to AN 10.119 but addressed directly to the mendicants. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
The noble descent
§1“Mendicants, I will teach you the noble descent. Listen and apply your mind well, I will speak. … And what is the noble descent? It’s when a noble disciple reflects: ‘Wrong view has a bad result in both this life and the next.’ Reflecting like this, they give up wrong view, they descend from wrong view. ‘Wrong purpose has a bad result …’ … ‘Wrong speech …’ … ‘Wrong action …’ … ‘Wrong livelihood …’ … ‘Wrong effort …’ … ‘Wrong mindfulness …’ … ‘Wrong immersion …’ … ‘Wrong knowledge …’ … ‘Wrong freedom has a bad result in both this life and the next.’ Reflecting like this, they give up wrong freedom, they descend from wrong freedom. This is called the noble descent.”
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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
How does this discourse's content compare to AN 10.119's noble descent teaching?
Correct: B. The same teaching, addressed directly rather than in answer to a brahmin's question.
Question 2 of 5
According to the guide, why doesn't this discourse need a ritual contrast?
Correct: B. A different audience, needing no contrasting practice.
Question 3 of 5
According to the guide, what pattern does this discourse repeat for a third time in this chapter?
Correct: B. A recurring structural device for this chapter's major images.
Question 4 of 5
What does this second telling confirm about "descent" as an image, according to the guide?
Correct: B. The chapter's own governing image, independent of the ritual that first occasioned it.
Question 5 of 5
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: D. No location is given for this discourse.
