Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
The blameworthy principle is the ten wrong factors from wrong view to wrong freedom; the blameless principle is the ten right factors from right view to right freedom.
A social, not merely private, standard
Vajja, “fault” or blame, carries an inherently interpersonal sense distinct from this chapter's more purely evaluative terms: to be “blameworthy” is to be a legitimate target of criticism from others, not merely to fall short of an abstract standard held in isolation.
An echo of the seven awakening factors' own vocabulary
This project has already met a closely related term at AN 10.90's tenfold powers of one who has ended defilements, and throughout this nipāta's many discourses on ethical conduct, where avoiding blame from “sensible spiritual companions” recurs as a recognizable social mechanism, not an abstract ideal.
Compression fully established
By this seventh variation, the chapter's compressed template — brief announcement, elided address, immediate definitions — is thoroughly familiar; this discourse offers no further structural surprise, only the next word-pair slotted into an already well-worn form.
Key terms
The text
The blameworthy, and the blameless
§1“I will teach you the blameworthy principle and the blameless principle. … And what is the blameworthy principle? 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 blameworthy principle. And what is the blameless principle? 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 blameless principle.”
Self-check quiz
6 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.