Aṅguttara Nikāya · Discourse 10.152

Should Be Made Much Of

Bahulīkātabbasutta — Ariyavagga — the fifteenth chapter of the Tens, the Chapter on the Noble, closing the Third Fifty

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

Why this discourse

As anticipated at AN 10.151, this discourse supplies bahulīkātabba, “should be made much of,” the term most commonly paired with bhāveti throughout this project, here delivered as its own separate discourse rather than half of a compound phrase.

Reading guide

The teaching in one sentence

The principle not to make much of is the ten wrong factors from wrong view to wrong freedom; the principle to make much of is the ten right factors from right view to right freedom.

The compound's second half, delivered separately

Where most of this project's discourses say “developed and cultivated” (bhāvitā bahulīkatā) as a single fused phrase, this chapter's structure splits the pairing across two consecutive discourses — AN 10.151 taking bhāveti alone, this discourse taking bahulīkaroti alone, each given the full ten-factor treatment independently.

Literally, making much or plentiful

Bahulīkātabba derives from bahula, abundant or plentiful — the verb suggests not merely growing the right factors once but making them abundant, a frequency and thoroughness of practice beyond a single act of development.

Four verbs down, one to go

With this discourse, the chapter has now supplied four of its five closing practice-verbs (activate, cultivate, develop, make much of); only anussaritabba, “should be recollected,” remains before the chapter turns to its final, tenth discourse.

Key terms

bahulīkātabba — “should be made much of” or made abundant — this discourse's own title, deriving from bahula, plentiful.
na bahulīkātabba — “should not be made much of” — the negation applied to the ten wrong factors.
bhāvitā bahulīkatā — “developed and cultivated” — the fused compound phrase this discourse and AN 10.151 together split across two separate discourses.
micchāvācā — “wrong speech” — the third factor, unchanged from every earlier list in this chapter.
sammāvimutti — “right freedom” — the tenth and final factor, closing this discourse's list.

The text

The discourse in full: the ten-factor path defined as the principle to make much of and not to make much of. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

Not to be made much of, and to be made much of

§1“I will teach you the principle to make much of and the principle not to make much of. … And what is the principle not to make much of? 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 make much of. And what is the principle to make much of? 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 make much of.”

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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. The term most commonly paired with bhāveti throughout this project, here given its own discourse.
Question 2 of 6
According to the guide, what fused compound phrase do AN 10.151 and this discourse together split across two discourses?
Correct: B. A phrase usually delivered as one fused unit elsewhere, here given to two separate discourses.
Question 3 of 6
What root does "bahulīkātabba" derive from, according to the guide?
Correct: B. A sense of frequency and abundance beyond a single act of development.
Question 4 of 6
According to the guide, how many of the chapter's five closing practice-verbs has this discourse now supplied, counting itself?
Correct: C. Activate, cultivate, develop, and make much of — only recollect remains before the chapter's final discourse.
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 second of the ten factors, common to every discourse in this chapter?
Correct: A. The second position in the ten-factor list, unchanged across this chapter.
Answered 0 of 6 · Correct 0