Kākasutta — Ākaṅkhavagga — the eighth chapter of the Tens
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A single animal simile, its ten qualities mapped directly onto a human type
Length
under 1 minute to read
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — brief and vivid
Why this discourse
In one of the shortest discourses in this project, the Buddha lists ten unflattering qualities of an ordinary crow — and then simply states that a bad mendicant has exactly the same ten, without further comment.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A crow is rude, impudent, gluttonous, voracious, cruel, pitiless, weak, raucous, unmindful, and acquisitive — and a bad mendicant has exactly these same ten qualities.
No elaboration, no simile mechanics explained
Unlike most animal similes in this canon, which usually explain point by point how each feature of the animal maps onto the human behavior it illustrates, this discourse simply lists the crow's ten qualities, then repeats the identical list for a bad mendicant with no explanatory bridge at all — the comparison is left to land on its own.
An unflattering catalogue, applied without softening
The ten qualities themselves are notably unglamorous and specific — not grand vices but small, ignoble traits: rudeness, gluttony, cruelty, timidity, noise, carelessness, and greed for possessions — giving this discourse an unusually blunt, almost proverbial tone.
The chapter's shortest discourse
At just two nearly identical short lists, this is among the briefest discourses met anywhere in this project, its entire teaching delivered through the bare force of the comparison itself rather than through explanation.
Key terms
kāka — “crow” — this discourse's own title and the animal whose qualities are mapped onto a bad mendicant.
dhaṁsī, pagabbho — “rude, impudent” — the first pair of the ten qualities shared by crow and bad mendicant alike.
mahagghaso, luddo — “gluttonous, cruel” — two more of the ten shared qualities.
muṭṭhassati, necayiko — “unmindful, acquisitive” — the ninth and tenth qualities, closing the list.
tintiṇo, dubbalo — “voracious, weak” — two more of the ten shared qualities, from the middle of the list.
The text
The discourse in full: the crow's ten bad qualities, and the bad mendicant's identical ten. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
A crow's ten bad qualities, and a bad mendicant's
§1“Mendicants, a crow has ten bad qualities. What ten? They’re rude and impudent, gluttonous and voracious, cruel and pitiless, weak and raucous, unmindful and acquisitive. A crow possesses these ten bad qualities. In the same way, a bad mendicant possesses these ten bad qualities. What ten? They’re rude and impudent, gluttonous and voracious, cruel and pitiless, weak and raucous, unmindful and acquisitive. A bad mendicant possesses these ten bad qualities.”
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Self-check quiz
5 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 5
What does this discourse compare a bad mendicant to?
Correct: B. This discourse's own title and central image.
Question 2 of 5
How does this discourse handle the mechanics of its comparison, according to the guide?
Correct: B. The comparison is left to land entirely on its own force.
Question 3 of 5
What kind of qualities does the list actually name?
Correct: B. An unusually blunt catalogue of ignoble, ordinary faults.
Question 4 of 5
How does this discourse compare in length to others in this chapter, according to the guide?
Correct: B. Just two nearly identical short lists, with no further elaboration.
Question 5 of 5
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: D. No location is given for this brief discourse.
