Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Venerable Ānanda restates the same vital-conditions teaching a third time: each link in the ten-link chain is a vital condition for the next, destroyed by its absence or fulfilled by its presence, exactly as a tree lacking or having branches and foliage.
Three speakers, one teaching
This is the third consecutive discourse to give this identical vital-conditions teaching: the Buddha at AN 11.3, Sāriputta at AN 11.4, and now Ānanda — a triple repetition this project has not seen assembled quite this compactly before, three named speakers in a row delivering the same content unchanged.
A slightly different opening
Unlike AN 11.4's clean break into Sāriputta's own address, this discourse's opening line runs the frame and the teaching's first line together in a single segment — ‘There Venerable Ānanda addressed the mendicants… An unethical person…’ — a minor segmentation difference in the source worth noting rather than a substantive change.
Why three speakers might matter
Read together, these three discourses model something beyond the content itself: a teaching genuinely understood does not remain the Buddha's alone but becomes freely repeatable by his senior disciples, each carrying full authority, with no discourse marking one version as more authoritative than another.
Key terms
The text
Destroyed, like a branchless tree
§1There Venerable Ānanda addressed the mendicants … “An unethical person, who lacks ethics, has destroyed a vital condition for not having regrets. When there are regrets, one who has regrets has destroyed a vital condition for joy. When there is no joy, one who lacks joy has destroyed a vital condition for rapture. When there is no rapture, one who lacks rapture has destroyed a vital condition for tranquility. When there is no tranquility, one who lacks tranquility has destroyed a vital condition for bliss. When there is no bliss, one who lacks bliss has destroyed a vital condition for right immersion. When there is no right immersion, one who lacks right immersion has destroyed a vital condition for true knowledge and vision. When there is no true knowledge and vision, one who lacks true knowledge and vision has destroyed a vital condition for disillusionment. When there is no disillusionment, one who lacks disillusionment has destroyed a vital condition for dispassion. When there is no dispassion, one who lacks dispassion has destroyed a vital condition for knowledge and vision of freedom. Suppose there was a tree that lacked branches and foliage. Its shoots, bark, softwood, and heartwood would not grow to fullness. In the same way, an unethical person, who lacks ethics, has destroyed a vital condition for having no regrets. When there are regrets, one who has regrets has destroyed a vital condition for joy. … When there is no dispassion, one who lacks dispassion has destroyed a vital condition for knowledge and vision of freedom.
Fulfilled, like a tree in full leaf
§2An ethical person, who has fulfilled ethics, has fulfilled a vital condition for not having regrets. When there are no regrets, one who has no regrets has fulfilled a vital condition for joy. When there is joy, one who has fulfilled joy has fulfilled a vital condition for rapture. When there is rapture, one who has fulfilled rapture has fulfilled a vital condition for tranquility. When there is tranquility, one who has fulfilled tranquility has fulfilled a vital condition for bliss. When there is bliss, one who has fulfilled bliss has fulfilled a vital condition for right immersion. When there is right immersion, one who has fulfilled right immersion has fulfilled a vital condition for true knowledge and vision. When there is true knowledge and vision, one who has fulfilled true knowledge and vision has fulfilled a vital condition for disillusionment. When there is disillusionment, one who has fulfilled disillusionment has fulfilled a vital condition for dispassion. When there is dispassion, one who has fulfilled dispassion has fulfilled a vital condition for knowledge and vision of freedom. Suppose there was a tree that was complete with branches and foliage. Its shoots, bark, softwood, and heartwood would grow to fullness. In the same way, an ethical person, who has fulfilled ethics, has fulfilled a vital condition for not having regrets. When there are no regrets, one who has no regrets has fulfilled a vital condition for joy. … When there is dispassion, one who has fulfilled dispassion has fulfilled a vital condition for knowledge and vision of freedom.”
Self-check quiz
6 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.