Tapanīyasutta — Sādhuvagga — the eighteenth chapter of the Tens, the third chapter of the Fourth Fifty, echoing chapter 14's own eleven word-pairs
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
The identical compressed template, with a new content base
Length
under 1 minute to read
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — the eighth of this chapter's eleven near-identical variations
Why this discourse
This discourse reruns chapter 14's AN 10.141 exactly by title (Tapanīya), applying the same burning-rooted vocabulary of inner self-torment to concrete conduct rather than the ten-factor path.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
The mortifying principle is the ten courses of unskillful action; the unmortifying principle is avoiding all ten and cultivating their opposites.
An exact title match, breaking this chapter's own small pattern
Unlike AN 10.183 and 10.184, which each showed a small noun-versus-adjective shift from their chapter 14 counterparts, this discourse's title matches AN 10.141's exactly, Tapanīya for Tapanīya — this chapter's naming pattern is not consistent in either direction, sometimes matching exactly, sometimes shifting.
The same inward-burning image, now for outward acts
As at AN 10.141, this vocabulary shares its root with tapas, ascetic self-mortification, here applied instead to an inner burning of conscience or guilt; grounding that inner burning in concrete unskillful acts — rather than in holding a wrong view or wrong livelihood — gives the image a sharper, more visceral edge: killing or stealing as things that scorch the one who does them, not merely factors held.
Key terms
tapanīya — “mortifying,” sharing its root with tapas, ascetic self-mortification — this discourse's own title, matching chapter 14's AN 10.141 exactly.
atapanīya — “unmortifying” — the mirrored term, applied here to avoiding the ten courses of unskillful action.
adinnādānā veramaṇī — “avoiding stealing” — one of the ten items in this discourse's list.
abhijjhā — “covetousness” — the first of the three mental courses of action in this discourse's list.
micchādiṭṭhi — “wrong view” — the tenth and final item, closing the list.
The text
The discourse in full: the ten courses of action defined as mortifying and unmortifying. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
The mortifying, and the unmortifying
§1“I will teach you the mortifying principle and the unmortifying. … And what is the mortifying principle? Killing living creatures … wrong view. This is called the mortifying principle. And what is the unmortifying principle? Not killing living creatures … right view. This is called the unmortifying principle.”
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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 to the ten courses of action?
Correct: A. The same pairing already met at chapter 14's AN 10.141, this time with an exactly matching title.
Question 2 of 6
According to the guide, how does this discourse's title compare to AN 10.183's and 10.184's own naming pattern?
Correct: B. Sometimes this chapter's titles shift from chapter 14's, sometimes they match exactly.
Question 3 of 6
According to the guide, what does grounding "mortifying" in concrete conduct add to the image?
Correct: B. The same inward-burning image, now applied to outward acts rather than held factors.
Question 4 of 6
What root does "tapanīya" share, according to the guide?
Correct: B. The same shared root already noted at AN 10.141 in chapter 14.
Question 5 of 6
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: D. No location is given for this discourse.
Question 6 of 6
How many total discourses does this chapter, Sādhuvagga (the second of this name), contain?
Correct: C. AN 10.178 through AN 10.188, matching chapter 14's own length.
