Upāsikāsutta — Karajakāyavagga — the twenty-first chapter of the Tens, opening the Fifth Fifty
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
The identical ten-and-ten teaching, specified for a laywoman and heavily compressed
Length
under 1 minute to read
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — the most heavily compressed discourse so far in this chapter
Why this discourse
Narrowing AN 10.213's general mātugāma to upāsikā, a specifically lay Buddhist woman, this discourse compresses the ten-item list down to its first and last items alone, killing and wrong view, with the eight items between simply elided.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A laywoman with the ten unskillful courses of action is placed in hell as if delivered there; a laywoman with the ten skillful courses of action is placed in heaven as if delivered there.
Upāsikā, narrower than mātugāma
Where mātugāma at AN 10.213 named women generally, upāsikā specifically designates a laywoman who has formally taken refuge in the Buddha, teaching, and Saṅgha — a narrower, more institutionally defined category, distinct from the purely descriptive term used one discourse earlier.
The heaviest compression in this chapter so far
Checked against bilara-data before writing, this discourse's own source keeps only the first item (killing) and the tenth (wrong view) named explicitly, eliding all eight items between with a single peyyāla ellipsis — a more aggressive compression than AN 10.212's own partial version.
Key terms
upāsikā — “a laywoman,” specifically one who has formally taken refuge in the Buddha, teaching, and Saṅgha — a narrower category than the general mātugāma used at AN 10.213.
mātugāma — “women” generally, the broader term used at AN 10.213, distinct from this discourse's more institutionally specific upāsikā.
pāṇātipātinī — “she kills living creatures” — the sole unskillful item kept explicit in this discourse's heavily compressed list.
micchādiṭṭhikā — “she has wrong view” — the sole remaining explicit item, closing the compressed list opposite the killing item.
nikkhittā evaṁ sagge — “placed in heaven as if delivered there” — the same closing phrase already met at every earlier discourse in this run.
The text
The discourse in full: the ten courses of action leading to hell and heaven, applied to a laywoman and heavily compressed. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Hell, for a laywoman
§1“A laywoman with ten qualities is placed in hell as if delivered there. What ten? She kills living creatures. … She has wrong view. … A laywoman with these ten qualities is placed in hell as if delivered there.
Heaven, for a laywoman
§2A laywoman with ten qualities is placed in heaven as if delivered there. What ten? She doesn’t kill living creatures. … She has right view. … A laywoman with these ten qualities is placed in heaven as if delivered there.”
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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 term does this discourse use for its subject, narrower than AN 10.213's own "mātugāma"?
Correct: B. A narrower, more institutionally defined category than the purely descriptive mātugāma.
Question 2 of 6
According to the guide, how heavily is this discourse's ten-item list compressed?
Correct: B. The heaviest compression in this chapter so far, confirmed against bilara-data before writing.
Question 3 of 6
According to the guide, how does "upāsikā" differ from "mātugāma"?
Correct: B. A step toward greater specificity within this chapter's short run of female-subject discourses.
Question 4 of 6
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: D. No location is given for this discourse.
Question 5 of 6
Which two items are kept explicit in this discourse's compressed list?
Correct: B. The first and tenth items, bookending the compressed list.
Question 6 of 6
What chapter of AN10 does this discourse belong to?
Correct: B. The twenty-first chapter, opening the Fifth Fifty.
