Saddhammasutta — Ariyamaggavagga — the nineteenth chapter of the Tens, the fourth chapter of the Fourth Fifty, echoing chapter 15's own ten 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 third of this chapter's ten near-identical variations
Why this discourse
This is the fourth time this project has tested what counts as “the teaching” (after AN 10.138, 10.147, and 10.182), each time against a different content — this discourse reruns AN 10.147's intensified saddhamma form, now for the ten courses of action.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
What is not the true teaching is the ten courses of unskillful action; the true teaching is avoiding all ten and cultivating their opposites.
A fourth variation on a running question
AN 10.138 (chapter 14) first asked what counts as dhamma against the ten-factor path; AN 10.147 (chapter 15) intensified it to saddhamma, still against the ten-factor path; AN 10.182 (chapter 18) returned to plain dhamma, now against the ten courses of action; this discourse completes the set, pairing the intensified saddhamma form with the ten courses of action — the fourth and final combination of {dhamma, saddhamma} × {ten-factor path, ten courses of action}.
A grid now fully filled in
Read together, these four discourses form a complete two-by-two grid testing this project's recurring “what counts as the teaching” question against every combination of intensified/plain vocabulary and path/conduct content — a pattern only visible by tracking all four discourses together across three separate chapters.
Key terms
saddhamma — “the true teaching,” with the intensifying prefix sad- — this discourse's own title, identical to chapter 15's AN 10.147, now applied to the ten courses of action.
asaddhamma — “what is not the true teaching” — the negation, applied to the ten courses of unskillful action.
dhamma — “the teaching,” the plain, unintensified form already met at AN 10.138 (ten-factor path) and AN 10.182 (ten courses of action).
adinnādānā veramaṇī — “avoiding stealing” — one of the ten items in this discourse's list.
sammādiṭṭhi — “right view” — the tenth and final item, closing the list.
The text
The discourse in full: the ten courses of action defined as not the true teaching, and the true teaching. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Not the true teaching, and the true teaching
§1“I will teach you what is the true teaching and what is not the true teaching. … And what is not the true teaching? Killing living creatures … wrong view. This is called what is not the true teaching. And what is the true teaching? Not killing living creatures … right view. This is called the true teaching.”
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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 intensified saddhamma form, already met at chapter 15's AN 10.147.
Question 2 of 6
According to the guide, what four discourses together form a complete grid testing this project's recurring "teaching" question?
Correct: B. A pattern only visible by tracking all four discourses together across three chapters.
Question 3 of 6
According to the guide, what combination does this specific discourse complete?
Correct: B. Completing a two-by-two grid spread across three separate chapters.
Question 4 of 6
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: D. No location is given for this discourse.
Question 5 of 6
How many discourses total make up this chapter, Ariyamaggavagga?
Correct: B. AN 10.189 through AN 10.198, mirroring chapter 15's own ten-discourse length.
Question 6 of 6
What chapter of AN10 does this discourse belong to?
Correct: B. The fourth chapter of the Fourth Fifty.
