AN 11.10 — At the Peacocks' Feeding Ground

Reading guide

The teaching in one sentence

A mendicant reaches the ultimate end through any of four sets of qualities — an adept's ethics, immersion, and wisdom; the three demonstrations of psychic power, revealing, and instruction; right view, right knowledge, and right freedom; or simply knowledge and conduct — closing with the divinity Sanaṅkumāra's own verse endorsed by the Buddha.

Four sets, narrowing from three to two

The discourse's structure counts down: three sets of three qualities each, then a final pair, each independently sufficient to reach ‘the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal’ — the same superlative formula repeated after each set, insisting there is more than one complete path to the same destination.

A verse quoted, then requoted

The discourse's close is unusual in this project: rather than composing new prose, the Buddha explicitly quotes a verse already spoken by the divinity Sanaṅkumāra — ‘the aristocrat is best among people who take clan as the standard, but one accomplished in knowledge and conduct is first among gods and humans’ — endorses it as well spoken and beneficial, and then repeats it himself in his own voice.

Naming this project's own final chapter opener

This discourse closes Nissayavagga, the chapter these first ten pages have covered, with the traditional double colophon (‘Nissayavaggo paṭhamo’, chapter one finished, followed by an uddāna summary verse) left untranslated in the English source, following this project's established convention for closing formulas.

Key terms

accantaniṭṭha accantayogakkhemī accantabrahmacārī accantapariyosāno — “the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal” — the shared superlative formula closing each of the four sets.

asekha sīlakkhandha samādhikkhandha paññākkhandha — “the entire spectrum of an adept's ethics, immersion, and wisdom” — the first and most familiar of the four sets, the threefold training completed.

iddhipāṭihāriya ādesanāpāṭihāriya anusāsanīpāṭihāriya — “a demonstration of psychic power, of revealing, and of instruction” — the three miracles, the Buddha's own well-known threefold classification.

vijjācaraṇasampanna — “accomplished in knowledge and conduct” — the final, simplest pair, and the phrase at the center of Sanaṅkumāra's verse.

khattiyo seṭṭho janetasmiṁ — “the aristocrat is best among people” — the verse's opening line, conceding worldly rank before subordinating it to spiritual accomplishment.

The text

The discourse in full: four sets of qualities reaching the ultimate end, and the divinity Sanaṅkumāra's verse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

Three sets of three, and a final pair

§1At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, at the monastery of the wanderers in the peacocks’ feeding ground. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!” “Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this: “Mendicants, a mendicant who has three qualities has reached the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal. They are best among gods and humans. What three? The entire spectrum of an adept’s ethics, immersion, and wisdom. A mendicant with these three qualities has reached the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal. They are best among gods and humans. A mendicant who has another three qualities has reached the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal. They are best among gods and humans. What three? A demonstration of psychic power, a demonstration of revealing, and a demonstration of instruction. A mendicant with these three qualities has reached the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal. They are best among gods and humans. A mendicant who has another three qualities has reached the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal. They are best among gods and humans. What three? Right view, right knowledge, and right freedom. A mendicant with these three qualities has reached the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal. They are best among gods and humans. A mendicant who has two qualities has reached the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal. They are best among gods and humans. What two? Knowledge and conduct. A mendicant with these two qualities has reached the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal. They are best among gods and humans.

The divinity's verse, quoted and requoted

§2The divinity Sanaṅkumāra also spoke this verse: ‘The aristocrat is best among people who take clan as the standard. But one accomplished in knowledge and conduct is first among gods and humans.’ Now, that verse spoken by the divinity Sanaṅkumāra is well spoken, not poorly spoken. It’s beneficial, not pointless, and I agree with it. I also say: ‘The aristocrat is best among people who take clan as the standard. But one accomplished in knowledge and conduct is first among gods and humans.’”

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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

How many independent sets of qualities does this discourse say reach the ultimate end?

Correct: D. A descending structure, each set independently sufficient.

Question 2 of 6

What is the first of the four sets?

Correct: B. The threefold training completed, the most familiar of the four sets.

Question 3 of 6

What does the discourse call the three demonstrations?

Correct: B. The Buddha's own well-known threefold classification of miracles.

Question 4 of 6

Whose verse does the Buddha quote and endorse at the discourse's close?

Correct: B. An already-existing verse, explicitly quoted rather than newly composed.

Question 5 of 6

What does the quoted verse say is first among gods and humans?

Correct: B. Subordinating worldly rank to spiritual accomplishment.

Question 6 of 6

Where is this discourse set?

Correct: C. The setting giving this discourse its own title.

Answered 0 of 6 · Correct 0

At the Peacocks’ Feeding Ground

Why this discourse