Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Without rebirth, old age, and death, no Buddha could arise; those three cannot be given up without giving up greed, hate, and delusion; those cannot be given up without giving up view, doubt, and misapprehension of precepts; and so on down nine full levels of triads, to lack of conscience, imprudence, and negligence at the very bottom — with the entire structure then reversed to show how each triad, once given up, permits giving up the one above it.
The Yamakavagga's own chain, built from threes
This discourse strikingly echoes AN 10.61's nine-link chain from the previous chapter — the same regress-without-a-first-cause logic, the same descending and then ascending structure — but rebuilds it entirely from triads rather than single conditions, multiplying the earlier chain's complexity roughly threefold.
Why a Buddha can arise at all
The discourse's opening framing is unusually large in scope: it asks not what causes an individual's suffering but what makes it possible for a Buddha to arise and teach at all — answered, strikingly, with the same three mundane facts that make suffering itself possible: rebirth, old age, and death. Without them, there would be nothing for a Buddha to address.
A precise inventory of what blocks liberation
Read in full, the nine descending triads amount to a remarkably granular inventory of obstruction, from the coarsest (unethical conduct, bad friends) through cognitive faults (wrong attention, a scattered mind) down to what the discourse treats as the true foundation: a basic lack of conscience and prudence, which alone makes every higher-level failure possible.
Key terms
The text
Why a Buddha can arise
§1“Mendicants, if three things were not found, the Realized One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha would not arise in the world, and the teaching and training proclaimed by the Realized One would not shine in the world. What three? Rebirth, old age, and death. If these three things were not found, the Realized One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha would not arise in the world, and the teaching and training proclaimed by the Realized One would not shine in the world. But since these three things are found, the Realized One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha arises in the world, and the teaching and training proclaimed by the Realized One shines in the world.
Nine triads, descending
§2Without giving up three things you can’t give up rebirth, old age, and death. What three? Greed, hate, and delusion. Without giving up these three things you can’t give up rebirth, old age, and death. Without giving up three things you can’t give up greed, hate, and delusion. What three? Substantialist view, doubt, and misapprehension of precepts and observances. Without giving up these three things you can’t give up greed, hate, and delusion. Without giving up three things you can’t give up substantialist view, doubt, and misapprehension of precepts and observances. What three? Irrational application of mind, following a wrong path, and mental sluggishness. Without giving up these three things you can’t give up substantialist view, doubt, and misapprehension of precepts and observances. Without giving up three things you can’t give up irrational application of mind, following a wrong path, and mental sluggishness. What three? Unmindfulness, lack of situational awareness, and scattered mind. Without giving up these three things you can’t give up irrational application of mind, following a wrong path, and mental sluggishness. Without giving up three things you can’t give up unmindfulness, lack of situational awareness, and scattered mind. What three? Not wanting to see the noble ones, not wanting to hear the teaching of the noble ones, and a fault-finding mind. Without giving up these three things you can’t give up unmindfulness, lack of situational awareness, and scattered mind. Without giving up three things you can’t give up not wanting to see the noble ones, not wanting to hear the teaching of the noble ones, and a fault-finding mind. What three? Restlessness, lack of restraint, and unethical conduct. Without giving up these three things you can’t give up not wanting to see the noble ones, not wanting to hear the teaching of the noble ones, and a fault-finding mind. Without giving up three things you can’t give up restlessness, lack of restraint, and unethical conduct. What three? Faithlessness, uncharitableness, and laziness. Without giving up these three things you can’t give up restlessness, lack of restraint, and unethical conduct. Without giving up three things you can’t give up faithlessness, uncharitableness, and laziness. What three? Disregard, being hard to admonish, and having bad friends. Without giving up these three things you can’t give up faithlessness, uncharitableness, and laziness. Without giving up three things you can’t give up disregard, being hard to admonish, and having bad friends. What three? Lack of conscience, imprudence, and negligence. Without giving up these three things you can’t give up disregard, being hard to admonish, and having bad friends.
The chain summarized, downward
§3Mendicants, someone who lacks conscience and prudence is negligent. When you’re negligent you can’t give up disregard, being hard to admonish, and having bad friends. When you’ve got bad friends you can’t give up faithlessness, uncharitableness, and laziness. When you’re lazy you can’t give up restlessness, lack of restraint, and unethical conduct. When you’re unethical you can’t give up not wanting to see the noble ones, not wanting to hear the teaching of the noble ones, and a fault-finding mind. When you’ve got a fault-finding mind you can’t give up unmindfulness, lack of situational awareness, and a scattered mind. When your mind is scattered you can’t give up irrational application of mind, following a wrong path, and mental sluggishness. When your mind is sluggish you can’t give up substantialist view, doubt, and misapprehension of precepts and observances. When you have doubts you can’t give up greed, hate, and delusion. Without giving up greed, hate, and delusion you can’t give up rebirth, old age, and death.
Nine triads, given up in ascending order
§4After giving up three things you can give up rebirth, old age, and death. What three? Greed, hate, and delusion. After giving up these three things you can give up rebirth, old age, and death. After giving up three things you can give up greed, hate, and delusion. What three? Substantialist view, doubt, and misapprehension of precepts and observances. After giving up these three things you can give up greed, hate, and delusion. After giving up three things you can give up substantialist view, doubt, and misapprehension of precepts and observances. What three? Irrational application of mind, following a wrong path, and mental sluggishness. After giving up these three things you can give up substantialist view, doubt, and misapprehension of precepts and observances. After giving up three things you can give up irrational application of mind, following a wrong path, and mental sluggishness. What three? Unmindfulness, lack of situational awareness, and a scattered mind. After giving up these three things you can give up irrational application of mind, following a wrong path, and mental sluggishness. After giving up three things you can give up unmindfulness, lack of situational awareness, and scattered mind. What three? Not wanting to see the noble ones, not wanting to hear the teaching of the noble ones, and a fault-finding mind. After giving up these three things you can give up unmindfulness, lack of situational awareness, and scattered mind. After giving up three things you can give up not wanting to see the noble ones, not wanting to hear the teaching of the noble ones, and a fault-finding mind. What three? Restlessness, lack of restraint, and unethical conduct. After giving up these three things you can give up not wanting to see the noble ones, not wanting to hear the teaching of the noble ones, and a fault-finding mind. After giving up three things you can give up restlessness, lack of restraint, and unethical conduct. What three? Faithlessness, uncharitableness, and laziness. After giving up these three things you can give up restlessness, lack of restraint, and unethical conduct. After giving up three things you can give up faithlessness, uncharitableness, and laziness. What three? Disregard, being hard to admonish, and having bad friends. After giving up these three things you can give up faithlessness, uncharitableness, and laziness. After giving up three things you can give up disregard, being hard to admonish, and having bad friends. What three? Lack of conscience, imprudence, and negligence. After giving up these three things you can give up disregard, being hard to admonish, and having bad friends.
The chain summarized, upward
§5Mendicants, someone who has conscience and prudence is diligent. When you’re diligent you can give up disregard, being hard to admonish, and having bad friends. When you’ve got good friends you can give up faithlessness, uncharitableness, and laziness. When you’re energetic you can give up restlessness, lack of restraint, and unethical conduct. When you’re ethical you can give up not wanting to see the noble ones, not wanting to hear the teaching of the noble ones, and a fault-finding mind. When you don’t have a fault-finding mind you can give up unmindfulness, lack of situational awareness, and a scattered mind. When your mind isn’t scattered you can give up irrational application of mind, following a wrong path, and mental sluggishness. When your mind isn’t sluggish you can give up substantialist view, doubt, and misapprehension of precepts and observances. When you have no doubts you can give up greed, hate, and delusion. After giving up greed, hate, and delusion you can give up rebirth, old age, and death.”
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