Gotamakacetiyasutta — Kusināravagga — the thirteenth chapter of the Threes
Setting
Vesālī, at the Gotamaka Shrine, one of six shrines around the city later named together in DN 16
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A threefold self-description of the teaching, a conclusion about what confidence it warrants, and a closing marvel
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The Buddha’s claim to teach from direct knowledge rather than speculation is a recurring theme across the Chinese Āgamas; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — short and declarative, with one genuinely puzzling detail at the end
Why this discourse
The Buddha makes a threefold claim about his own teaching — from direct knowledge, with reasons, with a demonstrable basis — and says that because of this, instruction and advice are worth giving. Then, almost as an aside, the text records that the thousandfold galaxy shook while this particular discourse was being spoken, though nothing here matches the eight causes of earthquake that DN 16 will later lay out in careful detail.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
The Buddha grounds the worth of his own instruction in three claims about how it was arrived at: through direct knowledge, for reasons, on a demonstrable basis.
Three claims, not one
Abhiññāya, based on direct knowledge, not without it — the teaching is not secondhand. Sanidānaṁ, with a basis or reason, not without one — it is not arbitrary. Sappāṭihāriyaṁ, with a demonstrable basis, not without it — Sujato’s rendering is deliberately plain; pāṭihāriya elsewhere in the canon means a psychic feat or miracle, but here the sense is that the teaching can be checked, not merely taken on faith.
Why this licenses instruction
The discourse draws a specific inference: because the teaching meets these three conditions, karaṇīyo ovādo, instruction is worth giving, and karaṇīyā anusāsanī, advice is worth giving. The claim is not that a teacher should instruct because they hold a position of authority. It is that instruction is warranted only when it rests on direct knowledge, reasons, and a demonstrable basis — a standard that applies as much to the reader passing this teaching on as it did to the one who first gave it.
The same standard as the Kālāma advice
AN 3.65, already on this site, tells the Kālāmas of Kesaputta not to accept a teaching merely on report, tradition, or a teacher’s reputation. AN 3.125 is the same standard turned around: instead of telling an audience how to test a teaching from outside, the Buddha states, of his own teaching, that it already meets exactly that kind of test. The two discourses are a matched pair, one addressed to a listener’s caution and one to a teacher’s claim.
A shrine that will be named again
The Gotamaka Shrine is one of six lovely shrines around Vesālī that the Buddha will later name to Ānanda at the Cāpāla Shrine in DN 16, on the day he relinquishes his remaining life force. This discourse gives no indication that it belongs to that final tour, and nothing should be read into the shared setting beyond the fact that the Buddha evidently visited Gotamaka more than once. It is still worth knowing, when a student meets this shrine's name a second time in DN 16, that it was not invented for that scene.
An earthquake that doesn't fit the list
DN 16 systematizes eight causes of a great earthquake: two natural or meditative, and six tied to the major turning points of a Buddha’s life — conception, birth, awakening, first teaching, relinquishing the life force, and final extinguishment. The thousandfold galaxy shaking here, while an ordinary discourse on the grounds of the teaching is being given, fits none of the eight. Honest teaching notes the tension rather than smoothing it over: DN 16’s systematic list is not exhaustive of every earthquake the canon records, and this is one the tidy scheme does not account for.
Key terms
abhiññā — “direct knowledge” — the first ground the Buddha claims for his own teaching, as opposed to secondhand report.
sanidāna — “with a basis, with a reason” — nidāna is a cause or origin; the teaching is not arbitrary.
sappāṭihāriya — “with a demonstrable basis” — elsewhere pāṭihāriya means a psychic feat, but here the sense is a teaching that can be checked.
karaṇīyo ovādo, karaṇīyā anusāsanī — “instruction is worth giving, advice is worth giving” — the conclusion drawn from the three claims above.
sahassī lokadhātu akampittha — “the thousandfold galaxy shook” — the closing marvel, which fits none of the eight causes of earthquake DN 16 later lists.
The text
The discourse in full: the three grounds of the teaching, the conclusion that follows, and the closing marvel. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
The setting
§1At one time the Buddha was staying near Vesālī, at the Gotamaka Shrine. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!” “Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:
Three grounds for teaching
§2“Mendicants, I teach based on direct knowledge, not without direct knowledge. I teach with reasons, not without them. I teach with a demonstrable basis, not without it. Since this is so, you should follow my advice and instruction. This is enough for you to feel joyful, delighted, and happy: ‘The Blessed One is a fully awakened Buddha! The teaching is well explained! The Saṅgha is practicing well!’”
The response
§3That is what the Buddha said. Satisfied, the mendicants approved what the Buddha said. And while this discourse was being spoken, the thousandfold galaxy shook.
· · ·
Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What three claims does the Buddha make about his own teaching?
Correct: B. Abhiññāya, sanidānaṁ, sappāṭihāriyaṁ — three grounds, not one.
Question 2 of 10
How does the guide explain “sappāṭihāriya” in this context?
Correct: B. Sujato’s plain rendering points away from the miracle sense used elsewhere.
Question 3 of 10
What conclusion does the Buddha draw from the three claims?
Correct: B. Karaṇīyo ovādo, karaṇīyā anusāsanī — a standard, not an assertion of authority.
Question 4 of 10
How does the guide connect this discourse to AN 3.65?
Correct: B. A matched pair: one addressed to caution, one to a teacher’s claim.
Question 5 of 10
Where else does the Gotamaka Shrine appear in this site's collection?
Correct: B. The guide is careful not to claim this discourse belongs to that later, final tour.
Question 6 of 10
What caution does the guide attach to the shared setting with DN 16?
Correct: B. The discourse gives no indication it belongs to the final tour.
Question 7 of 10
What happens while the discourse is being spoken?
Correct: B. Sahassī lokadhātu akampittha, the closing marvel.
Question 8 of 10
How does that earthquake relate to DN 16's eight causes of a great earthquake?
Correct: B. DN 16’s systematic list is not exhaustive of every earthquake the canon records.
Question 9 of 10
What does the guide say instruction should rest on, according to this discourse's standard?
Correct: B. The standard is general, not a privilege of the original teacher.
Question 10 of 10
What formula do the mendicants recite at the end?
Correct: B. An early form of the three refuges, offered as grounds for joy rather than obligation.
