Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
The principle not to cultivate is the ten wrong factors from wrong view to wrong freedom; the principle to cultivate is the ten right factors from right view to right freedom.
From arousal to repetition
Where AN 10.149's uppādetabba named a single originating act, āsevitabba, “should be cultivated,” shifts to ongoing, habitual engagement — the same root familiar from sevati, to frequent or associate with, suggesting return visits rather than a one-time beginning.
The second of five practice-verbs
This discourse continues the progression flagged at AN 10.149: having been aroused, the right factors must next be repeatedly resorted to, not merely brought into being once and left alone.
A verb echoing this project's own vocabulary of association
Āsevitabba's root recalls this project's frequent discussions of choosing the right associates and environments to frequent; here the same verb of habitual resort is applied not to people or places but to the ten right factors themselves, treated as company worth keeping.
Key terms
The text
Not to be cultivated, and to be cultivated
§1“I will teach you the principle to cultivate and the principle not to cultivate. … And what is the principle not to cultivate? 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 principle not to cultivate. And what is the principle to cultivate? 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 principle to cultivate.”
Self-check quiz
6 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.