Sacchikātabbasutta — 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 closing realization-verb
Length
under 1 minute to read
Closing this chapter
This discourse closes Ariyamaggavagga, the nineteenth chapter, with its own untranslated colophon ‘Ariyamaggavaggo catuttho’ (the fourth chapter of the Fourth Fifty)
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — the final variation closing this chapter
Why this discourse
Closing this chapter, the Buddha delivers the strongest of the five closing verbs — realization rather than ongoing practice — matching chapter 15's own closing discourse title exactly, this time for the ten courses of action.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
The unskillful courses of action should not be realized; avoiding them and cultivating their opposites should be realized.
An exact title match, closing this chapter as chapter 15 closed its own
This discourse's title, Sacchikātabba, matches chapter 15's own closing discourse, AN 10.154, exactly — both chapters close their own word-pair sequences on the identical strongest verb, direct experiential realization rather than any prior stage of practice.
A briefer closure than its chapter 15 counterpart
Where AN 10.154 closed not only its own chapter but the entire Third Fifty, this discourse closes only Ariyamaggavagga itself — the Fourth Fifty continues for one more chapter (ch20) before its own closure, so this discourse's colophon names only this chapter's own position, ‘Ariyamaggavaggo catuttho,’ without any larger fifty-closing declaration.
Two chapters, one Fifty, four content-swapped sequences in a row
With this discourse, chapters 18 and 19 have together rerun the entirety of chapters 14 and 15's own word-pair sequences (twenty-one discourses' worth of naming themes) against the ten courses of action instead of the ten-factor path — two full content-swaps in a row, confirming this as a genuine editorial pattern within the Fourth Fifty rather than an isolated repetition.
Key terms
sacchikātabba — “should be realized,” from sacchi, “with one's own eyes,” and karoti, “to make or do” — this discourse's own title, matching chapter 15's AN 10.154 exactly.
na sacchikātabba — “should not be realized” — the negation, applied to the ten courses of unskillful action.
Ariyamaggavaggo catuttho — “the Noble Path Chapter, the fourth” — this chapter's own closing colophon, naming it the fourth chapter of the Fourth Fifty, without any larger fifty-closing declaration.
abhijjhā, byāpāda — “covetousness, ill will” — two of the three mental courses of action closing this discourse's unskillful list.
sammādiṭṭhi — “right view” — the tenth and final item, closing the final right-conduct list of this chapter.
The text
The discourse in full: the ten courses of action defined by what should, and should not, be realized. The chapter's own colophon, in Pāli only, is described but not reproduced. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Not to be realized, and to be realized
§1“I will teach you the principle to realize and the principle not to realize. … And what is the principle not to realize? Killing living creatures … wrong view. This is called the principle not to realize. And what is the principle to realize? Not killing living creatures … right view. This is called the principle to realize.”
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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 strongest and final verb in this chapter's own closing practice progression.
Question 2 of 6
According to the guide, how does this discourse's title compare to chapter 15's own closing discourse, AN 10.154?
Correct: B. The same closing verb ending both chapters' own word-pair sequences.
Question 3 of 6
According to the guide, how does this discourse's closure differ from AN 10.154's own?
Correct: B. A briefer closure, naming only this chapter's position within the still-ongoing Fourth Fifty.
Question 4 of 6
According to the guide, what do chapters 18 and 19 together confirm about the Fourth Fifty's own structure?
Correct: B. Twenty-one discourses' worth of naming themes rerun against a new content, confirmed as a deliberate pattern rather than isolated repetition.
Question 5 of 6
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: D. No location is given for this brief, closing discourse.
Question 6 of 6
What does this discourse's own closing colophon state?
Correct: B. Confirming this chapter's position, without any larger fifty-closing declaration.
