Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Aṅguttara Nikāya · Discourse 10.136

Unskillful

Akusalasutta — Sādhuvagga — the fourteenth chapter of the Tens, the Chapter on Good

Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
The identical template, with a new word-pair
Length
under 1 minute to read
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — the third of this chapter's eleven near-identical variations

Why this discourse

Of all this chapter's eleven word-pairs, this one applies the template to the vocabulary this project has used more than any other throughout its entire length: skillful and unskillful, the qualities named as arising or being abandoned in discourse after discourse across all ten nipātas so far.

Reading guide

The teaching in one sentence

The unskillful is the ten wrong factors from wrong view to wrong freedom; the skillful is the ten right factors from right view to right freedom.

The project's own most common vocabulary, finally anchored

Kusala and akusala, skillful and unskillful, are arguably the single most frequently used evaluative terms in this entire translation project, appearing in discourse after discourse describing qualities to develop or abandon; this discourse is notable simply for finally, explicitly anchoring that constant background vocabulary to one specific, named ten-factor content.

A pairing that could have opened the whole nipāta

Given how central skillful and unskillful have been throughout every prior nipāta in this project, it is worth noting this discourse does not appear first in this chapter, or anywhere near the start of this entire project — the terminology was already doing constant work long before this discourse finally states, explicitly, exactly what it refers to.

Same compression, same content

As with AN 10.135, this discourse elides the Buddha's full preparatory address, moving directly into the definition — confirming the compressed form, not AN 10.134's fuller opening, as this chapter's normal register.

Key terms

akusala — “unskillful” — this discourse's own title and one of this entire project's most frequently used evaluative terms, here anchored explicitly to the ten wrong factors.
kusala — “skillful” — the mirrored term, anchored to the ten right factors.
micchāvāyāmo — “wrong effort” — the sixth factor, unchanged from every earlier list across chapters 11 through 14.
sammākammanto — “right action” — the fourth factor, likewise identical throughout.
sammāñāṇaṁ — “right knowledge” — the ninth factor, one of the two extending the classical eightfold path.

The text

The discourse in full: the ten-factor path defined as unskillful and skillful. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

The unskillful, and the skillful

§1“I will teach you the skillful and the unskillful … And what is the unskillful? Wrong view, wrong purpose, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, wrong immersion, wrong knowledge, and wrong freedom. This is called the unskillful. And what is the skillful? Right view, right purpose, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right immersion, right knowledge, and right freedom. This is called the skillful.”

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Self-check quiz

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

Question 1 of 6
What pairing does this discourse apply the chapter's template to?
Correct: B. One of this entire project's most frequently used evaluative pairings.
Question 2 of 6
According to the guide, why is this discourse particularly notable within this project?
Correct: B. A term used constantly throughout the project, here given explicit content for the first time.
Question 3 of 6
According to the guide, where does this discourse appear relative to the project's overall use of "skillful" and "unskillful"?
Correct: B. A late, explicit anchoring of very early and constant vocabulary.
Question 4 of 6
How does this discourse's opening compare to AN 10.134's?
Correct: B. The same compression already seen at AN 10.135.
Question 5 of 6
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: D. No location is given for this discourse.
Question 6 of 6
What is the tenth and final factor in the list of ten right factors, common to every discourse in this chapter?
Correct: B. The classical eightfold path extended by right knowledge and right freedom to make ten.
Answered 0 of 6 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousAN 10.135 · The Teaching of the Noble Ones